Poker Hand Rankings: The Full Order From Royal Flush to High Card

What Poker Hand Rankings Actually Are

A poker hand is always the best five cards you can make. In Hold'em you build it from two private cards and five shared ones; in Seven Card Stud you pick your best five from seven of your own; in five-card games and most video poker you simply keep the five you end up with. The rankings tell you which of those five-card combinations beats which.

The order is based on how hard each hand is to make. The rarer the combination, the higher it sits. That is why a flush beats a straight and a full house beats a flush, even though some beginners assume the opposite. Suits never rank against each other in standard poker, so a heart flush is not better than a spade flush just because of the suit.

Poker Hand Rankings Order, Strongest to Weakest

1. Royal flush: A-K-Q-J-10 all of one suit. It cannot be beaten. 2. Straight flush: five cards in sequence, all the same suit, such as 9-8-7-6-5 of clubs. 3. Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank, like four queens. 4. Full house: three of a kind plus a pair, such as 7-7-7-K-K. 5. Flush: any five cards of one suit, not in sequence.

6. Straight: five cards in sequence of mixed suits. The ace can play high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A), but a straight cannot wrap around, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. 7. Three of a kind: three cards of one rank with two unrelated cards. 8. Two pair: two different pairs plus one extra card. 9. One pair: two cards of the same rank. 10. High card: none of the above, so the highest card decides.

Korean tables often use borrowed names. Four of a kind is commonly called 'four card' (pokadeu), three of a kind is 'triple', and the top hand is frequently called a royal straight flush. Some home games also call the A-2-3-4-5 straight a 'back straight' and treat it as a special case, so if you play with friends, agree on those house rules before the first hand.

Breaking Ties: Kickers and Split Pots

When two players hold the same type of hand, you compare the ranks inside it. Two flushes are compared card by card from the highest down. A full house is decided by the three of a kind first, so 8-8-8-2-2 beats 7-7-7-A-A. Two pair compares the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the leftover card.

That leftover card is the kicker, and it settles more Hold'em pots than people expect. If you hold A-K and your opponent holds A-9 on a board with an ace, you both have a pair of aces, but your king kicker wins. If the best five cards are identical for both players, for example when the board itself is the best possible hand, the pot is split. Suits are never used to break a tie in standard rules.

How the Rankings Work in Popular Poker Variants

Texas Hold'em is the most widely played version online and the one you will most often find in live dealer form as Casino Hold'em, where you play against the dealer rather than other players. Seven Card Stud, known in Korea as Seven Poker, uses exactly the same rankings but gives you more cards to choose from, so strong hands like flushes and full houses appear more often than in Hold'em.

Video poker games such as Jacks or Better also use the standard order, but the paytable decides what each hand pays, and a low pair often pays nothing at all. Always read the paytable on the specific game before you play, since it varies between titles and providers.

Be careful with Badugi and other low-ball games that some Korean players know from home games. These turn the usual logic upside down, rewarding the lowest unpaired cards in different suits. The standard poker hand rankings in this guide do not apply there, so learn those rules separately.

Demo Play vs Real Money

The best way to make the poker hand rankings automatic is repetition without pressure. Many casino lobbies let you open video poker and some table poker games in demo mode with play credits. It costs nothing and is a good way to test yourself on tie-breaks, kickers and when a straight beats three of a kind.

Real money changes the experience. Each decision now has a cost, and the speed of video poker in particular can make spending add up quickly. Accounts at offshore operators normally require identity verification before withdrawals, and any casino bonus comes with wagering requirements and game restrictions, which often exclude or reduce the contribution of table and video poker. Read the full terms on the operator's official site before accepting any offer.

Also note that live poker against other players and casino poker against the house are different products. In the second, the game has a built-in edge, so no amount of hand-ranking knowledge turns it into a source of income.

Where to Play Poker Games Among Our Listed Betting Sites

The operators on this site are primarily sportsbooks: 1xbet, Melbet, 1xbit, 1win, Bet365, Parimatch, Pinnacle, Nekoneko, Wego88 and Megapari. Most of them also run a casino section alongside sports betting, and that is where poker-style games usually appear, whether as video poker, live dealer Hold'em variants or RNG table games. The exact selection changes over time and differs from brand to brand, so check each lobby yourself rather than assuming a particular game is available.

1xbet, Melbet and Megapari tend to appeal to players who want one account for sports and a broad casino lobby, though the sheer size of those menus can make it harder to find specific poker tables. 1xbit leans towards crypto users, which suits some players and not others. 1win and Parimatch combine sports and casino in a similar way. Bet365 and Pinnacle are best known for their sportsbooks, so judge their poker offering on what you actually see after logging in. Nekoneko and Wego88 are smaller names, and you should take extra time to read their terms.

A key downside applies to all of them: no South Korean licence is supplied for any operator on this site, and gambling with offshore sites is restricted under Korean law. Confirm KRW support, payment options, verification steps and withdrawal rules on each operator's official site before you register, and never rely on unofficial mirror links or promo codes found elsewhere.

Playing Poker Responsibly

Set a fixed budget before you start and treat it as the cost of entertainment, not an investment. Decide in advance how long you will play and stop when either the time or the money runs out, even in the middle of a good run. Chasing losses is the fastest way for a casual session to go wrong.

Use the tools operators provide, such as deposit limits, session reminders and self-exclusion, and take breaks away from the screen. If poker stops being fun, starts affecting your sleep, work or relationships, or you feel the need to hide how much you play, step back and contact a support service such as the Korea Center on Gambling Problems. Poker is strictly for adults aged 18 and over.