Poker Hand Combinations Explained. Poker hands fall into one of ten categories. The highest is a royal flush, followed by a straight flush, then four of a kind, a full house, a flush, a straight. A flush is a five-card hand where all cards are all of the same suit. The strength of a flush is determined by its highest card. If two players both have a flush with the same high card, the second highest card is checked (and so on). In the majority of poker formats, a flush beats a straight, but loses to a full house. Poker Hand Rank #5 - Flush. A Flush is five non-consecutive cards of the same suit. The Flush is named after the highest card, so the example below is a Jack Flush. If two players have the same Flush, the rank is decided by the second highest card.
Poker rules can be confusing at times. You might think you know them all, but then during your play with friends, you come upon a situation, and you are unsure of the rule. One such scenario that might confuse you is when you see two players having a flush. So who wins? The answer is pretty clear to an experienced player like myself, and after reading this article, it will be simple for you to know next time also.
A player with the highest flush rank wins. If both players have the flush of the same rank, then the pot would get split between them. This, of course, holds true only if no one else has a card combination higher than a flush.
Flush is a very powerful hand in poker. You are expected to dominate your opponents very often once you hit it. Therefore it is no surprise it doesn’t usually happen that you get to hit one. You will hit a flush only 0.2% percent of the time. There is a common misconception that a flush is easier to hit, but in fact, you will hit flush half as often as you hit a straight (0.4% chance to hit a straight). And because a flush is harder to hit, your winrate with flush will be higher than with a straight.
It is very crucial to play the right hands to maximize your chances of hitting a flush.
Best cards to hit a flush are high suited hands. AK suited is, of course, the best one to have, followed by AQ suited. Your winrate will still be high with all of the suited broadway hands (JTs, QTs, KTs, ATs, QJs, KJs, AJs, KQs, AQs, and AKs).Of course, you can hit a flush with a non-suited hand also, but having a suited hand with increase your chances to hit a flush by a lot.
Table of ContentsBigger cards are better for hitting a flush
Why is a high double suited hand a lot better than the lower double suited hand? If you play AKs, AQs, or AJs, you will always have the nut flush (ace-high flush) when you hit a flush compared to 98s. A flush is a very strong hand, no matter how high your flush is. It is tough to lay down a flush, even to strong bets.
If you hit the nut flush on 5hKcThJh7s board with AhQh and your opponent has 8h9h, it will be very tough of him to fold his flush (AQTJ5 high flush wins against JT895 high flush because it has higher ranking cards). It will also be very tough for you to hold a low flush when you are facing bets, after all, you beat many hands that are willing to bet – all sets, two pairs, some smaller flushes, and bluffs.
Therefore you must be on the winning side of a flush as often as possible. And big suited cards do exactly that.Please note, due to the little chance of having a straight flush of 0.0014%, I just assume that Ace-high flush is the nut flush, and an opponent doesn’t have a straight flush, which would beat our ace-high flush.
One exception – When the bigger cards are not always better
What Hand Beats A Royal Flush In Poker
There is one situation where having AKs is not optimal. It only matters when you hit a flush. In such a scenario, I would rather have any other ace-high flush but the AK high flush. That way, I can know that someoneelse might be holding a 2nd nut flush (K high flush) as I don’t hold the K myself. Some players might be folding lower flushes, but almost no one folds 2nd nut K high flush. And nobody can beat me anyway if I hold the A high flush in my hand.
The chance to hit a flush is already low, and it happens even less often that someone has second nut flush. In all the other scenarios, it is better to have AK than AQ or lower, as our kicker is very valuable. This is also the reason that my winrate with AKs is still a lot higher than with AJs. Most of the time, when we hit a flush, our opponent will not have a flush.
But the times when you see two players showing a flush do happen and it is important to distinguish from 3 possible scenarios:
- One person has a lower flush, and another person has a higher flush
- Both players have a flush of the same rank
- One player has a straight flush (with lower cards), and another player has a higher flush, but just a flush.
Higher vs. Lower Flush
The rules of poker are simple. A player that has a higher flush will win the hand. It doesn’t matter if both players have a flush; it only matters who has the highest flush.
The value of the flush goes from lowest possible flush 23457 of the same suit, and not 23456 as this would also give us a straight flush, which is better than a normal flush. The value of flush goes all the way up to AKQJ9 of the same suit, and this is the biggest flush possible without having the strongest hand in poker – royal flush (AKQJT of the same suit).
The highest flush beats not only all the lower flushes that will not be folding to our huge bets, but it also beats all sets (trips), two pairs, and pairs.If you don’t have the nut flush yourself (highest possible flush, depending on the board), then chances are someone else can have it. Scenarios where you have 2nd nut flush, and someone else holds the nut flush will happen, and you will pay him off. This will reduce your winrate. But all the other times you are up against worse hands you will make a lot of money. Any flush is a great hand to have as it beats so many other worse hands.
Who wins if both players have a flush of the same rank
In the case when both players have the same flush at showdown, and no one else has a better hand than this flush, then the pot would get split between them. First, the rake would get deducted from the pot, and afterward, the pot gets equally split.
Who wins if there is a flush on the table?
Scenario, where both players have the flush of the same rank, is only possible if a flush is present on the table. There is no other option, as that is the only way that both players have all 5 cards of the same rank and same suit.
In my poker career (more than 5 million hands played online), I have seen quite some flushes on the board. A few scenarios are possible:
- Nobody has a stronger hand than the flush on the board: When nobody has a higher card of the same suit in the hole cards (in their hand) at showdown, then the pot would get equally split among the players that are still involved in the hand at showdown. Of course, if you fold before the showdown, then you give up on your hand and can’t win the pot (get equal share in this scenario).
- Someone has a better hand: If there isn’t a royal flush on the board, then chances are some player can have a bigger flush. Remember, in poker, the player that has the best 5 card combination wins. So on a 5689T all hearts, any player having J of hearts or higher still beats 5689T flush. But if someone has 7 of hearts, then that player will have the better nuts. As 6789T of hearts will give him a straight flush and the better hand combination. If someone would hold QhJh they would have the absolute nuts (QJT98 high straight flush).
Straight flush vs. Ace-high flush
If, by any chance, you come upon a situation where one player has a straight flush, and another player has an ace-high flush, then the rules are simple here also. A straight flush is a better hand and wins against any other non-straight flush and against all lower straight flushes (if both players have a straight flush, then the one with higher straight flush wins).
You will hit a straight flush once roughly every 72,000 hands. When on the other hand, you will hit a flush once every 508 hands. So it makes sense that a straight flush wins.
Related Articles:
What Beats A Flush In A Game Of Poker
- Why is flush worth more than a straight?
- Is a flush or a straight more likely to hit?
- A flush beats 3 of a kind. Here is why
Conclusion
Now you know of all the possible scenarios where two players might have the flush. You know correctly who wins and when the pots get split. I am sure there will be no more confusion next time when you see two players have hit a flush.
This page describes the ranking of poker hands. This applies not only in the game of poker itself, but also in certain other card games such as Chinese Poker, Chicago, Poker Menteur and Pai Gow Poker.
- Low Poker Ranking: A-5, 2-7, A-6
- Hand probabilities and multiple decks - probability tables
Standard Poker Hand Ranking
There are 52 cards in the pack, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. In standard poker - that is to say in the formal casino and tournament game played internationally and the home game as normally played in North America - there is no ranking between the suits for the purpose of comparing hands - so for example the king of hearts and the king of spades are equal. (Note however that suit ranking is sometimes used for other purposes such as allocating seats, deciding who bets first, and allocating the odd chip when splitting a pot that can't be equally divided. See ranking of suits for details.)
A poker hand consists of five cards. The categories of hand, from highest to lowest, are listed below. Any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category (so for example any three of a kind beats any two pairs). Between hands in the same category the rank of the individual cards decides which is better, as described in more detail below.
In games where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards do not play any part in the ranking. Poker ranks are always based on five cards only, and if these cards are equal the hands are equal, irrespective of the ranks of any unused cards.
Some readers may wonder why one would ever need to compare (say) two threes of a kind of equal rank. This obviously cannot arise in basic draw poker, but such comparisons are needed in poker games using shared (community) cards, such as Texas Hold'em, in poker games with wild cards, and in other card games using poker combinations.
1. Straight Flush
If there are no wild cards, this is the highest type of poker hand: five cards of the same suit in sequence - such as J-10-9-8-7. Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is higher. An ace can be counted as low, so 5-4-3-2-A is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the lowest type of straight flush. The highest type of straight flush, A-K-Q-J-10 of a suit, is known as a Royal Flush. The cards in a straight flush cannot 'turn the corner': 4-3-2-A-K is not valid.
2. Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank - such as four queens. The fifth card, known as the kicker, can be anything. This combination is sometimes known as 'quads', and in some parts of Europe it is called a 'poker', though this term for it is unknown in English. Between two fours of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is higher - so 3-3-3-3-A is beaten by 4-4-4-4-2. If two or more players have four of a kind of the same rank, the rank of the kicker decides. For example in Texas Hold'em with J-J-J-J-9 on the table (available to all players), a player holding K-7 beats a player holding Q-10 since the king beats the queen. If one player holds 8-2 and another holds 6-5 they split the pot, since the 9 kicker makes the best hand for both of them. If one player holds A-2 and another holds A-K they also split the pot because both have an ace kicker.
3. Full House
This combination, sometimes known as a boat, consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank - for example three sevens and two tens (colloquially known as 'sevens full of tens' or 'sevens on tens'). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher. For example 9-9-9-4-4 beats 8-8-8-A-A. If the threes of a kind are equal, the rank of the pairs decides.
4. Flush
Five cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. For example K-J-9-3-2 beats K-J-7-6-5 because the nine beats the seven.If all five cards are equal, the flushes are equal.
5. Straight
Five cards of mixed suits in sequence - for example Q-J-10-9-8. When comparing two sequences, the one with the higher ranking top card is better. Ace can count high or low in a straight, but not both at once, so A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. 5-4-3-2-A, known as a wheel, is the lowest kind of straight, the top card being the five.
6. Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank plus two unequal cards. This combination is also known as Triplets or Trips. When comparing two threes of a kind the rank of the three equal cards determines which is higher. If the sets of three are of equal rank, then the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand are compared, and if those are equal, the lower odd card is compared.So for example 5-5-5-3-2 beats 4-4-4-K-5, which beats 4-4-4-Q-9, which beats 4-4-4-Q-8.
7. Two Pairs
A pair consists of two cards of equal rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make the hand up to five cards. When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards - so J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K. Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.
8. Pair
A hand with two cards of equal rank and three cards which are different from these and from each other. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better - so for example 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. If the pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal too compare the lowest odd cards. So J-J-A-9-3 beats J-J-A-8-7 because the 9 beats the 8.
9. Nothing
Five cards which do not form any of the combinations listed above. This combination is often called High Card and sometimes No Pair. The cards must all be of different ranks, not consecutive, and contain at least two different suits. When comparing two such hands, the one with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second cards are compared; if they are equal too the third cards are compared, and so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4 because the jack beats the ten.
Hand Ranking in Low Poker
There are several poker variations in which the lowest hand wins: these are sometimes known as Lowball. There are also 'high-low' variants in which the pot is split between the highest and the lowest hand. A low hand with no combination is normally described by naming its highest card - for example 8-6-5-4-2 would be described as '8-down' or '8-low'.
It first sight it might be assumed that in low poker the hands rank in the reverse order to their ranking in normal (high) poker, but this is not quite the case. There are several different ways to rank low hands, depending on how aces are treated and whether straights and flushes are counted.
Ace to Five
This seems to be the most popular system. Straights and flushes do not count, and Aces are always low. The best hand is therefore 5-4-3-2-A, even if the cards are all in one suit. Then comes 6-4-3-2-A, 6-5-3-2-A, 6-5-4-2-A, 6-5-4-3-A, 6-5-4-3-2, 7-4-3-2-A and so on. Note that when comparing hands, the highest card is compared first, just as in standard poker. So for example 6-5-4-3-2 is better than 7-4-3-2-A because the 6 is lower than the 7. The best hand containing a pair is A-A-4-3-2. This version is sometimes called 'California Lowball'.
When this form of low poker is played as part of a high-low split variant, there is sometimes a condition that a hand must be 'eight or better' to qualify to win the low part of the pot. In this case a hand must consist of five unequal cards, all 8 or lower, to qualify for low. The worst such hand is 8-7-6-5-4.
Deuce to Seven
The hands rank in almost the same order as in standard poker, with straights and flushes counting and the lowest hand wins. The difference from normal poker is that Aces are always high , so that A-2-3-4-5 is not a straight, but ranks between K-Q-J-10-8 and A-6-4-3-2. The best hand in this form is 7-5-4-3-2 in mixed suits, hence the name 'deuce to seven'. The next best is 7-6-4-3-2, then 7-6-5-3-2, 7-6-5-4-2, 8-5-4-3-2, 8-6-4-3-2, 8-6-5-3-2, 8-6-5-4-2, 8-6-5-4-3, 8-7-4-3-2, etc. The highest card is always compared first, so for example 8-6-5-4-3 is better than 8-7-4-3-2 even though the latter contains a 2, because the 6 is lower than the 7. The best hand containing a pair is 2-2-5-4-3, but this would be beaten by A-K-Q-J-9 - the worst 'high card' hand. This version is sometimes called 'Kansas City Lowball'.
Ace to Six
Many home poker players play that straights and flushes count, but that aces can be counted as low. In this version 5-4-3-2-A is a bad hand because it is a straight, so the best low hand is 6-4-3-2-A. There are a couple of issues around the treatment of aces in this variant.
- First, what about A-K-Q-J-10? Since aces are low, this should not count as a straight. It is a king-down, and is lower and therefore better than K-Q-J-10-2.
- Second, a pair of aces is the lowest and therefore the best pair, beating a pair of twos.
It is likely that some players would disagree with both the above rulings, preferring to count A-K-Q-J-10 as a straight and in some cases considering A-A to be the highest pair rather than the lowest. It would be wise to check that you agree on these details before playing ace-to-six low poker with unfamiliar opponents.
Selecting from more than five cards
Note that in games where more than five cards are available, the player is free to select whichever cards make the lowest hand. For example a player in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better whose cards are 10-8-6-6-3-2-A can omit the 10 and one of the 6's to create a qualifying hand for low.
Poker Hand Ranking with Wild Cards
A wild card card that can be used to substitute for a card that the holder needs to make up a hand. In some variants one or more jokers are added to the pack to act as wild cards. In others, one or more cards of the 52-card pack may be designated as wild - for example all the twos ('deuces wild') or the jacks of hearts and spades ('one-eyed jacks wild', since these are the only two jacks shown in profile in Anglo-American decks).
The most usual rule is that a wild card can be used either
- to represent any card not already present in the hand, or
- to make the special combination of 'five of a kind'.
This approach is not entirely consistent, since five of a kind - five cards of equal rank - must necessarily include one duplicate card, since there are only four suits. The only practical effect of the rule against duplicates is to prevent the formation of a 'double ace flush'. So for example in the hand A-9-8-5-joker, the joker counts as a K, not a second ace, and this hand is therefore beaten by A-K-10-4-3, the 10 beating the 9.
Five of a Kind
When playing with wild cards, five of a kind becomes the highest type of hand, beating a royal flush. Between fives of a kind, the higher beats the lower, five aces being highest of all.
The Bug
Some games, especially five card draw, are often played with a bug. This is a joker added to the pack which acts as a limited wild card. It can either be used as an ace, or to complete a straight or a flush. Thus the highest hand is five aces (A-A-A-A-joker), but other fives of a kind are impossible - for example 6-6-6-6-joker would count as four sixes with an ace kicker and a straight flush would beat this hand. Also a hand like 8-8-5-5-joker counts as two pairs with the joker representing an ace, not as a full house.
Wild Cards in Low Poker
In Low Poker, a wild card can be used to represent a card of a rank not already present in the player's hand. It is then sometimes known as a 'fitter'. For example 6-5-4-2-joker would count as a pair of sixes in normal poker with the joker wild, but in ace-to-five low poker the joker could be used as an ace, and in deuce-to-seven low poker it could be used as a seven to complete a low hand.
Lowest Card Wild
Some home poker variants are played with the player's lowest card (or lowest concealed card) wild. In this case the rule applies to the lowest ranked card held at the time of the showdown, using the normal order ace (high) to two (low). Aces cannot be counted as low to make them wild.
Double Ace Flush
Some people play with the house rule that a wild card can represent any card, including a duplicate of a card already held. It then becomes possible to have a flush containing two or more aces. Flushes with more than one ace are not allowed unless specifically agreed as a house rule.
Natural versus Wild
Some play with the house rule that a natural hand beats an equal hand in which one or more of the cards are represented by wild cards. This can be extended to specify that a hand with more wild cards beats an otherwise equal hand with fewer wild cards. This must be agreed in advance: in the absence of any agreement, wild cards are as good as the natural cards they represent.
Incomplete Hands
In some poker variants, such as No Peek, it is necessary to compare hands that have fewer than five cards. With fewer than five cards, you cannot have a straight, flush or full house. You can make a four of a kind or two pairs with only four cards, triplets with three cards, a pair with two cards and a 'high card' hand with just one card.
The process of comparing first the combination and then the kickers in descending order is the same as when comparing five-card hands. In hands with unequal numbers of cards any kicker that is present in the hand beats a missing kicker. So for example 8-8-K beats 8-8-6-2 because the king beats the 6, but 8-8-6-2 beats 8-8-6 because a 2 is better than a missing fourth card. Similarly a 10 by itself beats 9-5, which beats 9-3-2, which beats 9-3, which beats a 9 by itself.
Ranking of suits
In standard poker there is no ranking of suits for the purpose of comparing hands. If two hands are identical apart from the suits of the cards then they count as equal. In standard poker, if there are two highest equal hands in a showdown, the pot is split between them. Standard poker rules do, however, specify a hierarchy of suits: spades (highest), hearts, diamonds, clubs (lowest) (as in Contract Bridge), which is used to break ties for special purposes such as:
- drawing cards to allocate players to seats or tables;
- deciding who bets first in stud poker according to the highest or lowest upcard;
- allocating a chip that is left over when a pot cannot be shared exactly between two or more players.
I have, however, heard from several home poker players who play by house rules that use this same ranking of suits to break ties between otherwise equal hands. For some reason, players most often think of this as a way to break ties between royal flushes, which would be most relevant in a game with many wild cards, where such hands might become commonplace. However, if you want to introduce a suit ranking it is important also to agree how it will apply to other, lower types of hand. If one player A has 8-8-J-9-3 and player B has 8-8-J-9-3, who will win? Does player A win by having the highest card within the pair of eights, or does player B win because her highest single card, the jack, is in a higher suit? What about K-Q-7-6-2 against K-Q-7-6-2 ? So far as I know there is no universally accepted answer to these questions: this is non-standard poker, and your house rules are whatever you agree that they are. Three different rules that I have come across, when hands are equal apart from suit are:
- Compare the suit of the highest card in the hand.
- Compare the suit of the highest paired card - for example if two people have J-J-7-7-K the highest jack wins.
- Compare the suit of the highest unpaired card - for example if two people have K-K-7-5-4 compare the 7's.
Although the order spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs may seem natural to Bridge players and English speakers, other suit orders are common, especially in some European countries. Up to now, I have come across:
- spades (high), hearts, clubs, diamonds (low)
- spades (high), diamonds, clubs, hearts (low)
- hearts (high), spades, diamonds, clubs (low) (in Greece and in Turkey)
- hearts (high), diamonds, spades, clubs (low) (in Austria and in Sweden)
- hearts (high), diamonds, clubs, spades (low) (in Italy)
- diamonds (high), spades, hearts, clubs (low) (in Brazil)
- diamonds (high), hearts, spades, clubs (low) (in Brazil)
- clubs (high), spades, hearts, diamonds (low) (in Germany)
As with all house rules, it would be wise to make sure you have a common understanding before starting to play, especially when the group contains people with whom you have not played before.
Stripped Decks
In some places, especially in continental Europe, poker is sometimes played with a deck of less than 52 cards, the low cards being omitted. Italian Poker is an example. As the pack is reduced, a Flush becomes more difficult to make, and for this reason a Flush is sometimes ranked above a Full House in such games. In a stripped deck game, the ace is considered to be adjacent to the lowest card present in the deck, so for example when using a 36-card deck with 6's low, A-6-7-8-9 is a low straight.
Playing poker with fewer than 52 cards is not a new idea. In the first half of the 19th century, the earliest form of poker was played with just 20 cards - the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of each suit - with five cards dealt to each of four players. The only hand types recognised were, in descending order, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, no pair.
No Unbeatable Hand
In standard poker a Royal Flush (A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit) cannot be beaten. Even if you introduce suit ranking, the Royal Flush in the highest suit is unbeatable. In some regions, it is considered unsatisfactory to have any hand that is guaranteed to be unbeaten - there should always be a risk. There are several solutions to this.
In Italy this is achieved by the rule 'La minima batte la massima, la massima batte la media e la media batte la minima' ('the minimum beats the maximum, the maximum beats the medium and the medium beats the minimum'). A minimum straight flush is the lowest that can be made with the deck in use. Normally they play with a stripped deck so for example with 40 cards the minimum straight flush would be A-5-6-7-8 of a suit. A maximum straight flush is 10-J-Q-K-A of a suit. All other straight flushes are medium. If two players have medium straight flushes then the one with higher ranked cards wins as usual. Also as usual a maximum straight flush beats a medium one, and a medium straight flush beats a minimum one. But if a minimum straight flush comes up against a maximum straight flush, the minimum beats the maximum. In the very rare case where three players hold a straight flush, one minimum, one medium and one maximum, the pot is split between them. See for example Italian Poker.
In Greece, where hearts is the highest suit, A-K-Q-J-10 is called an Imperial Flush, and it is beaten only by four of a kind of the lowest rank in the deck - for example 6-6-6-6 if playing with 36 cards. Again, in very rare cases there could also be a hand in the showdown that beats the four of a kind but is lower than the Imperial Flush, in which case the pot would be split.
Hand probabilities and multiple decks
The ranking order of poker hands corresponds to their probability of occurring in straight poker, where five cards are dealt from a 52-card deck, with no wild cards and no opportunity to use extra cards to improve a hand. The rarer a hand the higher it ranks.
This is neither an essential nor an original feature of poker, and it ceases to be true when wild cards are introduced. In fact, with a large number of wild cards, it is almost inevitable that the higher hand types will be the commoner, not rarer, since wild cards will be used to help make the most valuable type of hand from the available cards.
Mark Brader has provided probability tables showing the frequency of each poker hand type when five cards are dealt from a 52-card deck, and also showing how these probabilities would change if multiple decks were used.