Hands and Hand Rankings in Poker

To play poker, you need to know the value of all of the different combinations of cards that make up all the possible hands you may be dealt.

Card Ranks and Suits

Individual cards are categorized in two ways: by suit and by rank.

Suit

There are four suits—clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades—all of which are equal in value. Suits are marked by the following symbols:

Certain poker hands require that all cards be of the same suit, whereas other hands can be made of a mix of different suits. Throughout this Quamut guide, wherever suit is important, cards are marked by a specific suit. If suit is not important, cards appear without suits.

Rank

Every card is also marked by a letter or a number that determines its rank. The highest-ranking card is the ace, marked by the letter A. Face cards have an image of a king, queen, or jack and a corresponding letter (K, Q, or J), while numbered cards may by marked by any number from 2–10. Cards are ranked, from highest (ace) to lowest (2); all face cards rank higher than numbered cards. For example, the diamonds are ranked as follows:

In some versions of poker, the ace can be used as both the highest card (above a K) and lowest card (below a 2).

Hand Rankings

Cards of different ranks and suits can be combined together to form hands. Just as each card has a rank, the combinations of cards that form hands also have ranks. These hand rankings determine who has the best cards in a game of poker. The following table lists all the different poker hands and their rankings:

Rank	Hand	Example	Comments
1st	Five of a kind		Five cards of the same rank, of any suit. This hand is possible only when playing with a wild card (W). The higher the cards, the better: A-A-A-A-W beats J-J-J-J-W.
2nd	Straight flush		Five sequential cards of the same suit. The higher the cards, the better: A-K-Q-J-T (a so-called royal flush) beats J-T-9-8-7.
3rd	Four of a kind		Four cards of the same rank, of any suit. The higher the cards, the better: K-K-K-K beats Q-Q-Q-Q.
4th	Full house		Three cards of the same rank, plus two of the same rank, of any suit. The higher the three of a kind, the better: K-K-K-7-7 beats 7-7-7-K-K and also beats J-J-J-T-T.
5th	Flush		Any five cards of the same suit. The higher the top card (the highest-ranking card), the better: a flush with top card K beats a flush with top card Q.
6th	Straight		Five cards of sequential rank, of any suit. The higher the cards, the better: 9-8-7-6-5 beats 7-6-5-4-3. When forming a straight, an A can be used either high (above a K) or low (below a 2). Straights cannot “wrap around”: Q-K-A-2-3 isn’t a straight. When placed before a 2 in a straight, an A is lower than the 2, so 6-5-4-3-2 beats 5-4-3-2-A.
7th	Three of a kind		Three cards of the same rank, of any suit. The higher the cards, the better: 9-9-9 beats 7-7-7.
8th	Two pair		Two pairs of cards of the same rank, of any suit. The player with the higher of the two pairs wins: Q-Q-8-8 beats J-J-9-9.
9th	One pair		Two of the same card of any suit. The higher the cards, the better: J-J beats 9-9.
10th	High card		If no player has a pair or higher, the highest card in a hand wins: the hand A-9-7-3-2 beats K-Q-J-8-4.

Kickers

Some hands don’t take up all five of your cards. For example, two pair requires only four cards; three of a kind requires only three. In such hands, the kicker—the highest card not part of the hand—serves as a tiebreaker. For instance, A-A-J-4-3 beats A-A-7-4-3, since a kicker of J beats a kicker of 7, which ranks lower.

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