Poker Hands

Best Poker Hands Order

It might seem daunting when you're trying out poker for the first time. However, once you have a basic understanding of the game and know how to play poker, the game becomes fun.

In poker, players are given a set of cards, where the players are supposed to form a hand. Each hand has a rank, and compared to the rankings; the player wins the pot accordingly. Some games, like Texas, Hold 'em, or Seven stud, depend upon the higher rankings, while games like Razz use low rankings. Some games use a combination of high-ranking and low-ranking hands.

While playing online poker, you need to acquaint yourself with the poker rules. Know the detailed Rules of Poker here.

What are Poker Hands?

A hand is ranked depending on the patterns on the card. Each card is ranked from highest to lowest, that is from A,K,Q,J,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3, and 2. When it comes to Ace to five low and Ace to six low, the rankings are the lowest or have a higher value when it is five high or straight flush.

In the game of poker, a few tips and tricks always come in handy. Get to know them here.

Hand Rankings in Poker

Straight flush

A straight flush is a poker hand containing cards of the same suit in sequential order like Queen of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, 10,9, and then 8 of Hearts.

It ranks below five of a kind and above four of a kind.

An ace-high straight flush (like an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 of hearts) can rank high under high rules or low (like a 5,4,3,2, A of Hearts in a five-high straight flush)

Each straight flush is ranked by its highest ranking card. That means 10,9,8,7,6 of Clubs will rank higher than 8,7,6,5,4 of Hearts, which will again rank higher than 6,5,4,3,2 of Spades.

For example, an ace-high straight flush, an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of Diamonds is called a royal flush is generally the highest-ranking card.

Four of a kind

Four of a kind, known as quads, is a hand that has four cards of one rank and one card of another rank, known as the kicker. (For example, 9 of Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, Hearts and a Jack of Hearts)

It ranks below a straight flush and above a full house.

Each four of a kind is ranked first by its quadrupled and then by the rank of its kicker. A King of Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and a 3 of Hearts will rank higher than 7 of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Club, and a Queen of Hearts.

Full house

The poker hand rankings of a Full house are above a Flush and below Four of a kind.

It is a poker hand with 3 cards of the same rank and 2 cards of another rank like 3 of Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, 6 of Clubs, and Hearts.

An 8 of Spades, Diamonds, Hearts with a 7 of Diamonds and Clubs will rank higher than 4 of Diamonds, Spades, Clubs and 9 of Diamonds and Clubs.

Flush

A flush occurs when a hand has five cards of the same suit, not necessarily of sequential rank—for example, a King, 10,7,6,4 of Clubs is a flush hand.

Ranks below a full house and above a straight.

It is ranked by order of the highest-ranking card. A King, Jack,9,6,4 of Diamonds will rank higher than Queen, Jack,7,6,5 of Spades.

Straight

In poker hand rankings, a straight hand ranks below the flush and above three of a kind.

A straight hand has 5 cards of the same suit, like 7 of Clubs, 6 of Spades, 5 of Spades, 4 of Hearts, and 3 of Hearts.

Depending on the game's rules, an Ace can rank either high or low in a sequence.

The rank of its highest-ranking card ranks each Straight card. As a Jack of Hearts, 10 of Hearts, 9 of Clubs, 8 of Spades, and 7 of Hearts rank higher than a sequence starting with 10.

Three of a kind

Three of a kind contains three cards of the same rank and two cards of another rank (the kickers), like 2 of Diamonds, Spades and Clubs, a King of Spades, and 6 of Hearts.

Ranks below a straight and above a two pair.

Three of a kind is ranked first by its triplet, then the highest-ranking ricker, and finally the kicker. A 6 of Hearts, Clubs, Spades, a Queen of Clubs, and a 4 of Clubs will rank higher than 3 of Hearts, 3 of Clubs, 3 of Spades, a King of Spades, and 2 of Spades.

Two pair

A two pair is a hand with two cards of the same rank, two cards of another rank, and one card of the third rank. For example, Jack of Hearts and Clubs, 4 clubs and Spades, and a 9 of Hearts make two pairs.

Ranks above one pair and below three pair

Each pair is ranked first by the higher ranking pair, then the lower ranking pair, and then the rank of the kicker.

One pair

One pair is a poker hand with two cards of one rank and three cards of three other ranks. For example, a 4 of Hearts, 4 of Spades, a King of Spades, a 10 of Diamonds, and a 5 of Spades.

It ranks above high card and below two pairs.

One pair is ranked first by the rank of its pair, then the highest-ranking kicker, following the sequential ranking of a kicker.

High card

The lowest rank in poker hand rankings. It is a hand that does not fall into any category or necessarily has cards of the same rank. For instance, a King and Jack of Hearts, 8 of Clubs, 7 of Diamonds, and 4 Spades make a high card.

Ranks below one pair. The bicycle wheel is the best possible hand in the high card. An example of a bicycle wheel is 5 Clubs, 4 of spades, 3 of Hearts, 2 of Hearts, and an Ace of Diamonds.

Which Card Combination is Stronger than others?

While playing Texas Hold Em Poker on the Rummy Bo app, some card combinations have better rankings than others. These are ranked in the order of highest to lowest:

Pocket Aces

Pocket Aces are one of the strongest combinations in Texas Hold Em. Pocket Aces are two ace cards of different patterns like 2 Ace of Spades or 2 Ace of Clubs.

Pocket Kings

The next combination on the line is Pocket Kings. This card combination is basically 2 Kings of different patterns like King of Hearts and King of Hearts.

Pocket Queens

The next best in poker hand rankings is the Pocket Queens. Two Queen cards of poker can be a strong starting hand. For example, Queen of Hearts and Queen of Spades are strong hands.

Pocket Jacks

Next in line in starting hand of poker is Pocket Jacks. Like other cards, Pocket Jacks are when you get 2 Jack cards of different patterns. They are also known as fishhooks.

Ace-King Suited

When it comes to non-pairs, this is the best hand. This is for cards in the same suit. For example, when we have a King of Spades and an Ace of Spades, that will make an Ace-King suit. It is also known as big slick.

Pocket Tens

For instance, when you have a Ten of Spades and a Ten of Hearts, it makes a premium pair. However, you should be able to pay a lot of money for that.

Ace-King Offsuit

An Ace-King Offsuit is one of the best poker hands to play. An Ace-King Offsuit is when you have both these cards in different patterns. Like an Ace of Spades and a King of Hearts. This is the hand that has a very high probability of winning.

Ace-Queen Suited

Again, one of the best poker hands. The Ace-Queen Suited (example: Ace of spades and Queen of Spades) has a lot of post-flop playability. This suit is a good match against many hand rankings and is helpful on queen high flops.

Pocket Nines

It's a pocket Nine when you, for instance, have a Nine of Spades and Nine of Hearts, when you need to pre-flop a strong hand by raising yourself, calling a raise, or betting.

Ace-Jack Suited

The ace-jack is suited like its previous combination, has a lot of post-flop playability, and is a strong top pair. They are an Ace-Jack pair of the same suit.

King-Queen Suited

This is a King Queen pair of the same suit (Queen of Spades and King of Spades). This hand ranking also has a lot of playability because it can interact well with the flops.

Ace-Ten Suited

A pair not as powerful as King- Queen suited, but the Ace-Ten suit has a lot of playability. It has a strong flush and straight potential. Ace-Ten belongs to the same combination of cards like an Ace and Ten of hearts.

Ace-Queen Offsuit

An Ace-Queen offsuit (Ace of Spades and Queen of Diamonds) is one of the poker hand rankings as strong as the Ace-Ten suit.

Pocket Eights

A strong poker hand is poker eights (e.g., Eight of Spades and Eight of Diamond)

King-Jack Suited

Another strong poker hand is King Jack suited (King and Jack Diamond)

King-Ten Suited

A King-Ten suit (e.g., King and Ten of Spades) has the potential to hit strong pairs, straights, and flushes

Other potential pairs of cards are as follows:

Queen-Jack Suited

Example: Queen and Jack of Diamonds makes a strong Queen- Jack suit pair

Ace-Jack Offsuit

Example: Ace of Clubs and Jack of Spades

King-Queen Offsuit

Example: King of Hearts and Queen of Spades

Queen-Ten Suited

Example: Queen of Spades and Ten of Spades

Worst Hands in Poker

2-7 Offsuit

The worst of poker hands in Texas Hold'Em Poker is a 2-7 offsuit. There are hardly any good options available then because you have no straight draw, no flush draw, and even if you have a pair of 7s or 2s, you just cannot have the best hand. You might just might have a rare 7-7-2 flop, but that doesn't mean that this is a good hand.

2-8 Offsuit

A 2-8 offsuit has a similar fate to a 2-7 offsuit. If you know how to play poker, you will understand that this offsuit is slightly better than the 2-7 offsuit because the 8 card is better than 7. As you know, you have no chance of winning a good hand.

3-8 Offsuit

In Texas Hold 'Em Poker, this is another poker hand that starts in the wrong way. You can't expect any of the winnings that you have out there with this combination. Wait for a better hand than to stick with this hand of poker. This is an improbable winner.

2-9 Offsuit

The 2-9 offsuit is slightly better than the other hands mentioned above. This is better than the five other cards because 9 is a comparatively high card. Again, wait out for a better hand, similar to other cards.

2-6 Offsuit

Imagine within 169 possible combinations of poker hands; this ranks 165th. Naturally, this is not the best combination. Know that if you get this poker hand, it's just not your day.

Poker Hands Probability

When dealing with a deck of cards, there are a lot of possible outcomes. Each poker deck has fifty-two cards, each designated by four suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) and one of thirteen ranks (the numbers two through ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace).

Therefore, the odds of getting any Ace as your first card are 1 in 13 (7.7%), while the odds of getting any spade as your first card are 1 in 4 (25%).

Unlike coins, cards are said to have "memory": every card dealt changes the makeup of the deck. For example, if you receive an Ace as your first card, only three other Aces are left among the remaining fifty-one cards. Therefore, the odds of receiving another Ace are 3 in 51 (5.9%), much less than the odds were before you received the first Ace.

Pre-flop Probabilities: Pocket Pairs

In order to find the odds of getting dealt a pair of Aces, we multiply the probabilities of receiving each card:

(4/52) x (3/51) = (12/2652) = (1/221) ≈ 0.45%.

To put this in perspective, if you're playing poker at your local casino and are dealt 30 hands per hour, you can expect to receive pocket Aces an average of once every 7.5 hours.

The odds of receiving any of the thirteen possible pocket pairs (twos up to Aces) is:

(13/221) = (1/17) ≈ 5.9%.