Texas Holdem Best Hands In Order

The strongest poker hand is the royal flush. It consists of Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of the same suit, e.g. Diamonds, spades, hearts, or clubs. #2 Straight Flush The second strongest hand in poker is the straight flush.

The strength of your starting hand in Texas Hold'em can help you determine your chances of winning, even before the remaining cards are dealt. From a pair of aces — the strongest starting hand — to a 2 and a 7, knowing the strength of your starting hand is an important part of your success at the table. When playing Texas Hold'em you need to know which starting hands are worth staying in with—and which you should fold.

Best Starting Hands

Having a strong starting hand can help you determine your chances of winning even before the flop is dealt. In general, you're a strong contender if your starting hand contains:

  1. The order in which Texas Hold’em is dealt is very specific and, assuming you’re playing with a table full of lucid, honest people, never changes. First, you are dealt two hole cards. Then comes the flop, turn and river cards. The flop After a round of betting for the hole cards, a card is burned.
  2. The best hand in poker is the Royal Flush, a five-card poker hand made of consecutive cards (10 through Ace) of the same suit. What hands to play in poker? Most pros agree that beginners should only play premium hands, even if this means that most of the game will be spent folding preflop.
  • Ace/Ace: the strongest starting hand in the game.
  • King/king, queen/queen, jack/jack: high pairs set you off well.
  • An ace with a face card: sets a good foundation, if the flop works in your favor.

Beyond these cards, you'll also often be happy to see cards in sequence, particularly the high cards and face cards, and pairs in your starting hand. While some of these hands aren't always deemed the ideal hands, they can sometimes pay off if you're willing to take a risk. Don't forget the added bonus if your cards are all in the same suit, too. A flush, especially a straight flush or royal flush, can often win you the game. Again, the flop will play a major role in just how strong your chances are at winning, so assess carefully and determine how much risk you're willing to take.

The specific sequence of cards and the order in which they rank is an important aspect of the game. Studying up on the best starting hands in Texas Hold'em can help improve your game and your odds at winning the pot.

A strong starting hand might also encourage you to make a strong blind (your first bet).

Worst Starting Hands

When you're dealt your starting hand, some combinations greatly reduce your chances of winning. These are generally low numbers that are not in sequence or matched. You might consider folding early if your two cards are:

  • A 2 or a 3, paired with a 7 or an 8: you can't make a straight out of them.
  • An ace or a face card with an unsuited low card: you're taking a risk relying on a single high card.
  • Two unmatched, unsuited low cards (like 4 and 7, 5 and 8, etc.): you'll rarely win with these.

The strategy of what to hold, and why, takes a bit to master, so studying the worst starting hands in Texas Hold'em, even more, can help you improve your game.

Beginner's Advice

Play only the cards in the 10-best list and always fold those in the worst hands list. Following this strategy may improve your results. However, there's no guarantee that receiving a strong starting hand will take the round, or that a weak starting hand is a definite loss. You never know how the flop may run, and while an unsuited 2 and 4 might seem like one to deal, sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised with a two-pair or even a full house. Study up on the various hands you're aiming for.

How you approach the game will also differ based on the game itself. For example, if you're playing No-Limit Hold 'em, knowing the top No-Limit Hold'em hands can help you better understand how to play them.

As your skill increases, you'll also want to learn how position affects your Hold'em starting hand decisions. The more you learn, the more you'll realize how important your starting hands are to your bottom line. Play the good hands and fold the bad, and you'll be well on your way to becoming an expert at Hold'em.

Table Of Contents

Looking for an easy-to-understand and printable list of poker hands to know what-beats-what in Texas hold'em? You've come to the right place.

Learning the poker hand rankings and what are the best hands in poker is the number one thing you need to do before you sit down and play cards at the best UK online poker sites.

You want to know the strength of all poker hands and find out what is the best hand in poker before you begin to play with other players.

To help you learn everything about all the Texas hold'em hands and know what beats what in poker, we prepared a key page for all beginners: the official poker hands rankings.

In this page, you'll find:

  • and lots more
Order

In other words, if you are looking for a list of all poker hands ranked in order of strength and importance - you'll love this page.

Poker Hands Rankings: List of All Poker Hands

About to play your first poker hands? Let's see what beats what in Texas hold'em poker. This list of poker hands is essential to become a successful player and to know how to read the board in poker.

Order

Royal Flush

This is the best hand in poker. The Royal Flush is a very difficult poker hand to get - but when you do, you have the hame in your hands.

A Royal Flush consists of five consecutive cards (10 through ace) of the same suit.

Example of a Royal Flush:

Straight Flush

The second-best hand in the list of all poker hands. Holding a straight flush is almost always sign that you will win the hand.

You don't have mathematical certitude, but it's really hard to be beaten when you have Straight Flush to support you. Why?

Because it beats all other poker hands except for the Royal Flush and a Straight Flush higher in value.

A Straight Flush consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit that are not 10 through ace.

Example of a Straight Flush:

Four-of-a-Kind

Another premium poker hand that will help you win a lot of pots.

A four-of-a-kind is a four-card poker hand consisting of the same card in all the four suits in the game.

Example of a four-of-a-kind:

Full House

This strong poker hand is the combination of two different hands: the three-of-a-kind and the pair.

A full-house poker hand is composed of three same cards in different suits and a pair of cards of the same ranks but (again) of different suits.

Example of a full house:

Flush

This is also a strong poker hand - even if it's not the best hand in poker and a large number of players tend to overestimate its strength.

The flush is a five-card poker hand composed by cards of the same suit. The cards' ranks are irrelevant.

Example of a flush:

Straight

A straight is a five-card poker hand composed by consecutive cards in different suits.

Remember: the flush beat the straight in poker. And the straight beat the three-of-a-kind.

While the Ace can be counted both as 1 or a K, you can't have a straight with two Aces.

Example of a straight:

Three-of-a-Kind

The three-of-a-kind is a poker hand composed of three cards of the same rank but different suits.

Example of a three-of-a-kind:

Two Pairs

A four-card poker hand made by two separate pairs, cards of the same rank but different suits.

Example of a two pair:

Pair

One of the most basic and weakest poker hands.

The pair is a two-card poker hand composed by two cards of the same rank but different suits.

Example of a pair:

Hight Card

The weakest hand in poker and the last one in our list of poker hands. In this case, your 'poker hand' is nothing but the highest-denomination card in your hand.

Example of a high card:

In the example above, the 'high card' is the King of hearts.

Poker Hands Cheat Sheet

Getting ready for a game? Print the free poker hands cheat sheet and bring it with you the next time you play poker!

Click on the image below to download the poker hands ranking in PDF and use it when you play poker. To help you hide your doubts about poker hands from your opponents, we grouped all poker hands in one cheat-sheet…they will never know what you are looking at!

What Beats What in Poker?

Did you go through the poker hands rankings but you are still not sure about what beats what in poker?

The table below is the answer to all your questions.

Texas Holdem Best Hands In Order Traversal

Poker HandBeatsDoesn't beat
Royal FlushAll poker handsN/A
Straight FlushHigh Card, Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, Four-of-a-KindRoyal Flush
Four-of-a-KindHigh Card, Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-Kind, Straight, Flush, Full HouseRoyal Flush, Straight Flush
Full HouseHigh Card, Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-Kind, Straight, FlushRoyal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind
FlushHigh Card, Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-Kind, StraightRoyal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House
StraightHigh Card, Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-KindRoyal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush
Three-of-a-KindHigh Card, Pair, Two PairsRoyal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight
Two PairsHigh Card, PairRoyal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind
PairHigh CardRoyal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pairs

Poker Hand FAQs

What is the best hand in poker?

The best hand in poker is the Royal Flush, a five-card poker hand made of consecutive cards (10 through Ace) of the same suit.

What hands to play in poker?

Most pros agree that beginners should only play premium hands, even if this means that most of the game will be spent folding preflop.

If two players have a four-of-a-kind at the same time, who is the winner?

Best Texas Holdem Hands In Order

When two players have a four-of-a-kind each in the same hand, the winner is the player with the highest-ranking four cards.

If two players have the same four-of-a-kind, who is the winner?

Texas Holdem Best Hands In Order 2019

When two players have the same four-of-a-kind each in the same hand, the winner is the player with the highest 'kicker' — the fifth card in their hand.