# Poker Hands

Knowing the various poker hands and figuring out which one you have (and which ones you beat!) is a fundamental skill in all poker games.

In Texas Hold'em all poker hands are made with five cards.

Each poker hand belongs to a certain type. Within each type hands are sorted by the ranks of the cards. So for example a pair of kings beats pairs of 2s. Each type though beats all lower types no matter what the rank of the cards. So if you have a pair of 2s and a pair of 3s (two pair) that will beat someone who only has a pair a kings.

Here are the hand types from lowest to highest.

### High card

This is the worst you can get, no pair, no straight and no flush. They are ordered by the highest card on down, so if you have Ace-High:

that beats King-High

### A pair

This is when you have two cards of the same rank. So your pair of kings

would beat a pair of tens

### Two pair

Just how it sounds, this is when you have two pairs. This is ordered by the highest of your pairs first, so Queens and Sevens

would beat Jacks and Nines

### Three of a kind

This is when you have three cards of the same rank, for example, Trip Jacks:

### Straight

This is when all your cards are in sequence. Remember that an Ace can be played high or low. Straights are ordered by the top card in the sequence, so a Seven-High Straight:

would beat a Five-high Straight:

### Flush

A flush is when all your cards have the same suit. For example, a King-High Flush:

### Full house

A full house is when you have three of a kind and a pair. They are ordered first by the rank of the three of a kind, so Nines over Deuces:

would beat a Sevens over Kings:

### Four of a kind

Just like it sounds, four cards of all the same rank. This is the second highest hand type in poker so it is pretty good! Also known as Quads. For example:

### Straight Flush

The best hand type is when all your cards are in sequence and they are all the same suit. These are ordered by the top card in the sequence, so an Ace-High Straight Flush (known as a Royal Flush) is the best possible hand in poker:

For a more in depth look at hand rankings with more examples, please look at our Poker Hands section in help.