Poker hands
How to build
a poker hand
Combinations
Hand composition is the same in all types of poker games – a Royal Flush is always Ace-King-Queen-Jack and 10, whatever poker variable you play. However, their rank may change depending on the game. Pay particular attention to the order of the Full House and Flush. The rank of combinations is shown in the rules for each type of poker game.
Royal flush
Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit.
Straight flush
Five cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking.
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank plus any other card.
Full house
Three cards of the same rank (Three of a kind) plus a pair. Three of a kind card values determine the rank of the Full house.
Example: Full house Ace-to-Six
Flush
Five cards of the same suit, not in consecutive ranking.
Example: Jack flush
Straight
Five cards in consecutive ranking, that may or may not include an Ace, regardless of suit. The Ace can count as a high or low card.
Example: Straight to the Ace
Three of a kind
Three cards of the same rank, regardless of rank and suit, and two other cards.
Example: Three of a kind–Nines Up
Two pairs
Two pairs of the same rank, regardless of the value and suit of the fifth card: the rank of the hand is determined by the higher of the two pairs in value.
Example: Two pairs–Queen high
Pair
Two cards of the same rank, plus three cards that cannot make a higher ranked combination.
Example: A pair of Kings
High card
The highest ranking card.
Example: King high
If two players have identical combinations. The winner is the hand with the highest of the cards not in the combination. A tie occurs when more than one player has the same value of high card not in the combination.
