STANDARD HIGH POKER
Poker hand rankings and tie-breakers
From strongest to weakest: compare the category first, then the ranks inside the five-card hand. Suits never break ties.
This page uses a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Hold’em chooses the best five from seven; Omaha must use exactly two private and three board cards. Short Deck requires its own ranking rules.
Royal flush
A royal flush is an ace-high straight flush, the highest straight flush.
Straight flush
Compare the top rank; an ace may be low in A2345.
Four of a kind
Compare the four matching ranks, then the remaining kicker.
Full house
Compare the three-of-a-kind rank first, then the pair.
Flush
Compare ranks from highest down. Suits have equal value.
Straight
Compare the top rank only. Suits never break a tie.
Three of a kind
Compare the trip rank, then the two kickers from highest down.
Two pair
Compare the higher pair, the lower pair, then the kicker.
One pair
Compare the pair, then the three kickers from highest down.
High card
Compare cards from highest down until a rank differs.
Three comparisons worth checking
A2345 is the lowest straight
This is five-high and loses to a six-high straight. QKA23 is not a straight: an ace does not wrap the sequence around.
The same pair can have different kickers
This beats AAQ82 because the first differing kicker is king versus queen. There is no sixth-card kicker.
Identical best five-card hands tie
On a royal-flush board, two equally eligible players each have 50% pot equity. Neither has a 100% outright win probability.
Sources and next steps
PokerStars official Hold’em rules · Verified 2026-09-19 · Omaha card-selection rules
Examples describe standard high-hand comparisons, excluding rake, side pots and room-specific odd-chip rules.