Poker Hands Rankings: Texas Holdem Hands Rankings and Guide

Poker Hands Ranking

In poker, each possible hand you can make is ranked by their rarity, with the rarer hands being more valuable and therefore ranked higher than more common hands. However, it’s important to note that not all games use the same hand ranking system, as the rules between variants can differ greatly. The following poker hand ranking chart applies to the following games.

• Texas Hold’em
• Omaha
• Stud
• Five-Card Draw

Other games, such as Short Deck, Razz, and Badugi, have different hand rankings based on how hard it is to make hands according to their rules.

Poker Hands Probability

While that probability column may seem like an important one to remember, it’s really just there for completeness’ sake; it’s not something you’d use in-game. It’s a calculation that shows how often you’d make each hand if you were dealt a random five-card hand, so there’s no strategic knowledge to knowing these probabilities.

If you’re a bit of a math nerd and want to know how it’s calculated, here’s how it’s done.

We start by working out the number of possible five-card hands. This can be found with the equation 5⁵², which equals 2,598,960. Then, we divide the possible number of hand combinations by that number. For example, there are four possible ways to make a royal flush, so the calculation is 4/2,598,960, which can be simplified to 1 in 649,739.

Winning Poker Hands: What are the Best Poker Hands?

Now we will show you the poker rankings in a more practical setting. We will provide the hole cards and the community cards, and show you what your best five card hand would consist of.

Let’s begin:

High Card Example

A hand with no cards of the same rank, your highest-ranked card is the most important.

One Pair Example:

Two cards of the same rank.

Two Pair Example: 

Two sets of two different cards of the same rank.

Good Poker Hands

Three Of A Kind Example:

Three cards of the same rank.

Straight Example:

Five cards in order but of different suits.

Flush Example: 

Any five cards of the same suit.

The Stronger Hands in Poker

Four Of A Kind Example: 

Four cards of the same rank.

Straight Flush Example:

Any five cards in order, all of the same suit.

Royal Flush Example:

The cards T, J, Q, K, and A, all of the same suit.

Poker Hand Tie-Breakers and Kickers

On occasion, you are going to find yourself in a situation where the best hand at the table is being shared by more than one player. In these instances, in order to break the tie and declare a winner, the extra cards that are not directly contributing to the best hand comes into play. These cards are known as ‘Kickers’. The player with the highest kicker (outside of the top hand) takes the pot.

Let’s look at an example:

In the rare case where both players have identical five cards hands and share kickers, then they split the pot equally.

Starting Hands are the Key to Success in Texas Hold'em

You might think that starting hand strategy in poker is all about getting big cards and winning with them, but that’s only half the story. The other half of the story is avoiding getting yourself into situations where you call down with weak cards.

If you’ve played poker already, you’ll probably nod your head in agreement when you hear this situation:

You’re in the Big Blind and you catch top pair on the flop with a weak kicker. A player bets, and you call the flop with your top pair. The player bets both the turn and river, and you call again (even when you really don’t want to). When you turn your cards over, you find to your dismay that your opponent has a bigger kicker and wins the pot.

You’ve just been out-kicked! This happens all the time and the key is to let it happen to your opponents – not you! Always remember this fundamental principle to poker: “A bet saved is a bet earned!”

With that, let’s go to the next section where we will look at the top 10 starting hands in Texas Hold’em Poker.

Position Affects Your Hand Value

The most important aspect to focus on in this ranking chart is to notice the value of position when it comes to your hand. In Texas Hold’em, position is a huge advantage – you want to be as close to the Button as possible (as the Button the last person to act after the flop).

When you are in positions like the SB (Small Blind) and BB (Big Blind), your starting hand EV drops significantly in Texas Hold’em. This is due to the fact that you often end up betting or calling in these positions with hands that are much weaker than you would normally play.

In addition, people behind you get to see your actions, so they are in better position to perform tricky moves or steal the pot if necessary. This is why many Texas Hold’em experts say that if you observe a game, that money tends to flow toward the direction of the Button.

This means that you want to tighten up your starting hand selection early in the game and drop questionable hands like [KT], [QT], [JT], [T9] – and possibly even [KJ] or [QJ] – in early position. You can see for yourself on the EV chart that these hands will lose you money in the long run in Hold’em. In late position, however, you can relax your starting hand selection to include these cards. You can also begin playing pocket pairs a bit more liberally in late position.

Absolute Value vs. Relative Value

Another concept that players should understand with regards to their poker hands, is that each hand has both; an absolute value and a relative value. Absolute value is the value of the hand on its own, whereas relative value refers to the value of a hand with respect to the community cards.

Let’s look at an example:

Player 1: Ace of hearts + Ace of spades

The Board: 10 of clubs + 9 of clubs + 8 of hearts + 6 of clubs + Jack of spades

The absolute value of this pocket pair is very high, in fact it is the highest possible AV a player can have. However given the cards that are on the board, the relative value of Player 1’s hand is significantly lower and an opponent could win the pot with a combination of different hands. Staying conscious of values and playing hands based on the relative value is vital.

Poker Hand Rankings and Expected Value

David Sklansky’s starting hand analysis from the book “Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players” is considered a standard in the poker world. However, these EV charts were created by Sklansky without any definitive proof of why certain hands were better – they simply were.

With this starting hands EV chart, you now have statistical rankings of each Hold’em hand. By only playing hands that have profitable expected value, you will greatly increase your ability to earn money over the long-term at Texas Hold’em. Please remember, however, that this is a compilation of EV for the average player, and the average player may not play the same way that you do.

You will still need to play your poker hands tactically, which means that you still need to observe your opponents, take notes, watch out for traps and calculate your odds. You need to play your hand as the situation dictates and not get married to a hand just because it is a long-term winner. Remember: Texas Hold’em is all about knowing when to fold’em as well.