HAND RANKINGS

Poker hands will always consist of 5 cards. In Hold ’em each player will be dealt two hole cards and 5 community cards to share. This gives the player a total of seven cards to choose from and select the best poker hand combination possible. If a Hold ’em board was 10s 10h Qd As Qc, the pot would be split between two players holding 2s 2d and 8c 8h, even though the player with the two eights was ahead until the river card. At the end, both players hold the two pair hand 10s 10h Qd Qc, with an Ace kicker. Neither player can produce a higher kicker from his hand; neither player's pocket pair can result in a higher five-card hand than what is on the board.

These are the Poker Hand Combinations ranked from the highest to lowest:

Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J, 10 all of the same suit

The Royal Flush is a special name for the Ace high Straight Flush which is the highest possible straight flush.

Straight Flush: Five cards in consecutive order with same suit

Any lesser straight flush does not have a unique name.

In a showdown among players holding straight flushes, the hand with the higher ranked straight flush wins

Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank.

In a showdown among players holding four of a kind, the hand with the higher ranked four of a kind will win. If multiple hands each contain the same four of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest remaining single card wins.

Full House: Three cards of the same rank plus two cards of another rank.

In a showdown among players holding full houses, The hand with the higher three cards with the same rank will win the hand. If multiple hands each contain the same three of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the higher pair wins. In the event that the players still have the same ranked pair this will result into a tie.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.

In a showdown among players holding flushes, the hand with the highest ranked card will win, in the event that two hands have the same highest card, they will compare the next highest card until a winner is determined and if both players have all the same cards this will result into a tie.

Straight: Five consecutive cards with different suits.

In a showdown among players holding straights, the hand with the highest ranked straight wins. A Straight hand that has Ace to Five ranked cards will be considered a 5 high straight, while a straight hand with 10 to Ace ranked cards will be considered an Ace high straight which is the highest possible Straight.

Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank.

In a showdown among players holding a three of a kind, the hand with the highest ranked Three of a kind wins. If multiple hands each contain the same three of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest kicker cards wins.

Two Pair: Two cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank.

In a showdown among players holding two pairs, the player with the higher pair wins the hand. If both players have the same higher pair they will then compare their second pair and if it is another tie the rank of remaining kicker will determine the winner.

One Pair - Two cards of the same rank.

In a showdown between players with a pair, the higher ranked pair will win, and if both players have the same ranked pairs, the rank of the remaining single cards will determine the winner.

High Card / no pair:

In a showdown, if a player’s hand has no pair or better, the strength of the hand will be determined by the highest card. If in the case that more than one player has the same ranked high card, they will compare the next highest card until a winner is determined. In the event that both players have all the same cards this will result into a tie.