Poker Hand Rankings: A DEFINITIVE Guide

Maximize Your Winnings: Learn the Best Poker Hand Rankings and Rules with our Comprehensive Tier List.

The origin of Poker is still a hot topic of discussion among many historians, and the fact is that it is one of the most popular card games in the entire world. Statistically, around 60 million players play poker in the US and more than 100 million worldwide. And today we will break down all Poker Hand Rankings chart in this article of ours. 

The topic is one of the most awaited tier lists demanded by our audience, so as usual, we delivered it to our very respectful viewers and readers. However, we would like to clarify that the list is open to constructive criticism. We also want to make you understand that the purpose of the list is not to dishearten any particular fans


Key Points

  • There are a total of 10 entries in the article.
  • We will rank all hands according to their rarity, power, statistics, and probabilities of occurrence of a specific hand.
  • In the highest tiers, you will find hands like Royal Flush (Five of a Kind), Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, and Full House.
  • Among the lowest tiers, you will observe hands like Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, and High Card.

Summary

We will briefly summarise all rankings for you in a table.

S RankA RankB RankC RankD Rank
Royal Flush (Five of a Kind)Four of a KindFlushThree of a KindPair
Straight FlushFull HouseStraightTwo PairHigh Card

Learn more about each hand below.

Introduction

Our ranking list is based entirely on statistics and probabilities of occurrence of a specific hand, so before we begin ranking, let us get familiarized with a systematic pattern on which our classification depends.

The article will categorize into ten different hands, with the first being the best and the last being the worst. We tried to touch even the most delicate information about this game and w ensured we had hands-on details on every matter and delivered them to you on time, as usual. On behalf of our team, we wish you enjoy reading.

S Tier

poker hand rankings chart
S Tier.

S Tier counts as the highest and most pious tier of poker hands. The hands included in the tier are very rare and worthy. These hands are hit once or twice by a player in their lifetime playing poker. 

Royal Flush (Five of a Kind)

Five-of-a-kind is the rarest type of hand in Poker and it is a hand that contains five cards of one rank such as the 3’s of each suit. Finding all 5 the same cards take its rarity to the next level. The hand is alsoconditional, requiring you to use at least one wild card.

As we know that every deck consists of four cards. A wild card gives you the extra fourth card to make your victory assured. There are also a few variations in the game types, depending upon whether the joker card is played. The Joker card gives you the fifth card to continue the five-of-a-kind move, and rank of its quintuplet ranks each five of a kind. For instance, Qâ™  Q♥ Q♣ Q♦ Q ranks higher than 7♣ 7â™  7♦ 7♥ 7.

Royal flush demands the sequential order of the highest-ranked cards. It commonly includes an king, queen, jack, Aace and ten in the exact same suit. A royal flush is a winning ticket to everything and assures your victory. No hand can beat a royal flush. This is why royal flush lies on the top of the table of Poker Hand Rankings.

Probability 0.000154%
Distinct Hands 1

Straight Flush

For the Straight Dlush to work, all five cards in a pocket should belong to the same suit. That suggests that all five cards should consist of sequential ranks. Ranking-wise, it lies beneath five of a kind, whereas it’s right above four of a kind. So the game also follows high rules, making the function of ace multi-functional. 

An ace card can only be ranked low or either high. However, other than these two, an ace can’t occur between the two extremes. There is also another rule for the game. The Deuce to Seven low rules. If an authority always ranks high, it becomes an example of an ace-high flush. Then talking about Ace-to-six low rules, an ace is always ranked low in the order of cards. The highest number of the sequence ranks each combination of the straight flush.

Probability 0.0000153908
Distinct Hands 9

A Tier

Second best ranking
A Tier.

The second most important rank is the A Tier of our Poker Hand Rankings chart, which breaks down the next two best hands on the list. These hands rank low because they are a bit less rare. 

Four of a Kind

Four of a kind is also commonly known by the name of Quads. For the hand to work, four cards out of five should be a similar rank. At the same time, the last card would be of another level, commonly known as Kicker. The particular sequence’s rank decides each quadruple set’s rank, followed by the kicker class.

Four-of-a-kind hands differ by suit alone; for instance, 4♣ 4â™  4♦ 4♥ 9♣ and 4♣ 4â™  4♦ 4♥ 9♦ are of the same rank. Similarly, when we talk about the rank of quadruple, its example is Kâ™  K♥ K♣ K♦ 3♥ ranks higher than 7♥ 7♦ 7â™  7♣ Q♥, which ranks higher than 7♥ 7♦ 7â™  7♣ 10â™ . Here is the only hand that can hold the royal flush, that does not mean it defeats the royal flush, but only hold it till a certain moment before all 5 cards are not explored.

Probability 0.02401%
Distinct Hands 156

Full House

The hand completes when a hand is made such that three cards are of one rank, and the other two are of another hand. One example of a Full House can be 3♣ 3â™  3♦ 6♣ 6♥. The ranking-wise full house lies below four of a kind and above a flush. The rank of every full house is decided by the triplet rank and then by the rank of the pair. The best full house hand is ranked based on its card ranking; a higher card ranking will win.

For instance, 8â™  8♦ 8♥ 7♦ 7♣ end up ranking higher than 4♦ 4â™  4♣ 9♦ 9♣, and then it ranks higher than 4♦ 4â™  4♣ 5♣ 5♦. There can be a situation where ranks are the same, but the only difference is suit. In that case, they are ranked the same; for example, K♣ Kâ™  K♦ J♣ Jâ™  and K♣ K♥ K♦ J♣ J♥. Similarly, this hand follows deuce to six and deuce to seven rules.

Probability 0.1441%
Distinct Hands 156

B Tier

poker hand rankings preflop
B Tier.

B Tier is a tier meant to reside the above-average hands of poker games. These hands are actually of the medium upper class. They can be of quite proper use if used properly and can give you winning moves on your good days.

Flush

Flush is ranked fifth in this list of Poker Hand Rankings. It is a hand composed of 5 cards from the same suit. As we move down the tier list, the rarity of these hands reduces, and they get close to being more common. Ranking, wise Flush occurs between the upper hand, full house, and the lower ranked hand, straight.

Moreover, it follows certain rules, one of which is Under the ace-to-five low rule, it is impossible to cause a flush. For example, J♥ 8♥ 4♥ 3♥ 2♥ is a jack-high hand. The ranking of each flush is based on the rank of the first set of highest-ranking cards. And then secondly, by the rank of the second highest card. As a result, these two things rank a flush. In the process, the rank of the fourth and fifth cards also plays an important role in the context.

We will prove that with an example K♦ J♦ 9♦ 6♦ 4♦ ranks higher than Q♣ J♣ 7♣ 6♣ 5♣, Resultantly it then ranks higher than J♥ 10♥ 9♥ 4♥ 2♥. Hence it ranks higher than Jâ™  10â™  8â™  6â™  3â™ , which ranks higher than J♥ 10♥ 8♥ 4♥ 3♥, which ranks higher than J♣ 10♣ 8♣ 4♣ 2♣. The rank of that card which differs only by their suit is called to be of the same rank.

Probability 0.1965%
Distinct Hands 1277

Straight

A straight hand is yet another poker hand. It is sort of an averaged ranked poker hand. This occurs when a set of five cards consists of sequential ranked cards and they do not have to be in the same suit. Under the high rule of straight hand, Ace can be ranked high or low in the hand sequence. But not both, high and low. When we see the same under Duece to seven low rules, we know that an ace always ranks higher.

Similarly, using the ace to six low rules, the ace will always rank low. Now when we talk about Ace to five low rules, a straight cannot occur. The highest ranking cards decide each straight ranking. For instance, J♥ 10♥ 9♣ 8â™  7♥ ranks higher than 10â™  9â™  8♣ 7♥ 6â™ .

The difference between a suit in cards does not differentiate the cards and are instead of the same rank. There is another type of straight known as the broadcast, for example, A♣ K♣ Q♦ Jâ™  10â™ . At the same time, there is also another type of straight which is also called the baby, directly. An example of a baby straight is 5â™  4♦ 3♦ 2â™  A♥.

Probability 0.3925%
Distinct Hands 10

C Tier

Below average hands
C Tier.

The entries in the current rank of our article are not the best, but you can absolutely do much worse than them.

Three of a Kind

Three of a kind is also known by the names of trips or sets, which has a set of 3 cards of one rank, and two cards of another one, which is known as the kicker. An example of this is 2♦ 2â™  2♣ Kâ™  6♥. Ranking-wise, it lies below straight and above two pairs. The rank of the triplet decides the rank of each three-of-a-kind. Further, it is ranked by the rank of the highest-ranking kicker. And then ultimately by the rank of the lowest-ranking kicker.

We will prove it with an example that 6♥ 6♦ 6â™  Q♣ 4â™  ranks higher than 3♦ 3â™  3♣ Kâ™  2â™ , resultantly it ranks higher than 3♦ 3â™  3♣ J♣ 7♥, making it ranks higher than 3♦ 3â™  3♣ Jâ™  5♦. Three-of-a-kind hands are of equal rank if they differ by suit only. For example, 9â™  9♥ 9♦ 10♦ 8♥ and 9♣ 9â™  9♥ 10♦ 8♦ are of the same rank. When a community card is played, three of a kind is known to be set only if it consists of a pocket pair, and then a third card is placed on the board.

Probability 2.1128%
Distinct Hands 858

Two Pair

Two pairs are quite a below-average hand in the context of the game. The hand consists of two cards belonging to one rank, two are from different ranks, and the last one is again from a distinct rank. It ranks just under three of a kind and above pair. The ranking of two pairs is based firstly on the highest number of pairs in the suit.

Afterward, it is ranked by the rank of the lower-ranked pair. And finally, it is ranked by the rank of a kicker. Like many other hands, the two pairs of hands that are different based on the suit are classified as the same. Example of two teams is that 10♦ 10â™  2â™  2♣ K♣ ranks higher than 5♣ 5â™  4♦ 4♥ 10♥. Hence it ranks higher than 5♣ 5â™  3♣ 3♦ Qâ™ , resultantly it ranks higher than 5♣ 5â™  3♣ 3♦ Jâ™ . This is the third last ranked hand on Poker Hand Rankings probability.

Probability 4.7539%
Distinct Hands 858

D Tier

worst hands
D Tier.

These are without a doubt some of the worst hands you can ever get in a poker game. If you manage to get these, then your chances of success are not great.

Pair

One pair, otherwise known as the pair, is one of the most common hands in the game. The hand is based on one pair of the same rank, and the other three belong to all different ranks. Ranking-wise, it lies at the second last position, just above the high card.

An example is that 9♣ 9♦ Qâ™  J♥ 5♥ ranks higher than 6♦ 6♥ Kâ™  7♥ 4♣. Hence it then ranks higher than 6♦ 6♥ Q♥ Jâ™  2♣. Moreover, which makes it rank higher than 6♦ 6♥ Qâ™  8♣ 7♦, and resultantly  6♦ 6♥ Q♦ 8♥ 3â™  ranks higher than the previous one. Like other hands, when the only difference between hands is a suit, they are ranked equal by the difference in a suit.

Probability 42.2569%
Distinct Hands 2860

High Card

Here is the most common hand and occurs very commonly in the game. A high card is also known as simply no pair or otherwise merely nothing. An example of it could be K♥ J♥ 8♣ 7♦ 4â™ , which can also be known as King high or king-jack high.

A point to be noted is that under the rule named Ace to five low rules, Straights and straight flushes are simply not possible. So that is why such hands are known as High card hands. The ranking criteria of each high card hand are quite distinctive. The highest card in the sequence decides the hand’s rank. Then by the second, third, fourth, and finally by the fifth card of the low-rated hand.

We will clear this with an example, Kâ™  6♣ 5♥ 3♦ 2♣ comes higher in the ranking than Qâ™  J♦ 6♣ 5♥ 3♣. Hence it then ranks higher than Qâ™  10♦ 8♣ 7♦ 4â™ , which makes it ranks higher than Q♥ 10♥ 7♣ 6♥ 4â™ , which resultantly ranks higher than Q♣ 10♣ 7♦ 5♣ 4♦, hence the highest ranked hand is Q♥ 10♦ 7â™  5â™  2♥. Some specialized hands are considered to be best in some context.

Probability 50.1177%
Distinct Hands 1277

Comparison Table

HandsTierProbabilityDistinct Hands
Royal Flush (Five of a Kind)S0.000154%1
Straight FlushS0.0000153908 9
Four of a KindA0.02401%156
Full HouseA0.1441% 156
FlushB0.1965%1277
StraightB0.3925% 10
Three of a KindC2.1128%858
Two PairC4.7539%858
Pair D42.2569%2860
High CardD50.1177% 1277

Patch Notes

In the latest update, the following changes were made to the game.

  • New panel to display REP information. Players can use the thumbs-up icon next to the shop icon while at the tables.
  • Items will now always be featured in the Featured Items area of the Shop & Stash.
  • Made performance optimizations to increase frame rate.
  • Fixes to improve player interruptions with disconnections.

Verdict

In this article, we have listed some of the most common Poker Hand Rankings on the bases of their probability and impact on a game. We obviously could not rank each and every single hand, because that would be a ludicrously long list full of thousands of different entries, so we’ll settle for what we have here.

If you agree with our rankings, please let us know in the comments below. We love hearing our reader’s thoughts on the subject, and we always attempt to update the articles if a good enough explanation is given.

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