Poker hand rankings

Royal Flush

Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of the same suit.

Straight Flush

Straight with all five cards in the same suit.

Four of a kind

Four of a kind is next highest. It consists of the four cards of any one rank together with any fifth card.

Full House

A full house ranks next; it consists of any three of one kind and any pair of another kind.

Flush

It consists of any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.

Straight

A straight consists of any five cards of two or more suits in sequence of rank.

Three of a Kind

Three of a kind are any three cards of the same rank plus two other cards which do not constitute a pair and do not include the fourth card of the same rank.

Two Pair

Two pair, which ranks next under three of a kind, consists of two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and any fifth card which is neither of those ranks.

One Pair

One pair - any two cards of the same rank, together with three other cards which do not combine with the other two to form any of the higher-ranking hands above.

Ties and kickers

Poker is all about making the best five-card hand from the seven or nine available (five community cards and your own two hole cards in Texas Hold'em, five community cards and your own four hole cards in Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo). That means in the event of a tie with four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair one pair or high card, a side card or 'kicker' comes into play to decide who wins the pot.

Example

Player A has two pair with 10s and 6s and a Queen as the fifth card. Player B has also two pair with 10s and 6s but a 4 as the fifth card. In this case, player A wins with a Queen "kicker".

With a three of a kind, one pair or high card tie, a second, third or even fourth kicker could come into play to decide the pot. If the kickers can't decide one overall winner, those players involved will have to share the pot.