What Beats What In Texas Holdem Rating: 6,1/10 2158 reviews
Knowing what beats what in poker or Texas Hold’em is an important early step in learning the game. To help you out, I have provided for you an attractive printable or downloadable “cheat sheet” for both 5 card hand rankings as well as top 24 pre-flop starting hands.
- Welcome to our Texas Holdem guide. Poker rules what beats what in texas holdem you to amplify your poker game skills in the coziness of your own apartment, at your very own pace, without the fear of someone snickering at you.The bet is placed on the 'cross' formed by the intersection of the lines running through the middle of the four numbers.
- So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4 because the jack beats the ten. Study these poker hand rankings well and you will find that you get to know them off by heart in no time as you play more and more. It’s important that you know the underlying rules behind the game you are playing and is the first step on your learning curve.
In Texas Holdem all players have seven cards, the two hole cards in their hand and the five community cards that make up the board. Your best five cards are the best five of any of those seven cards. With Omaha games your best five cards must consist of two cards in your hand and three cards on the board.
Poker hands ranked from best to worst:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pair
- One Pair
- High Card
To make things easier on you, I have included some handy charts that can be used to reference during play or even printed out.
Poker Hand Rankings Chart
Never forget what beats what again. Feel free to save this to your phone/tablet/computer or print the chart out.
Click below to download a high-quality PDF that includes a printable copy of both the showdown and pre-flop hand rankings.
The Top 24 Hold’Em Starting Hand Rankings
To help you out, I have also included the top 24 no-limit hold’em starting hands to give you a further idea of what beats what in poker. I based this list on both raw equities as well as post-flop playability.
I have used over 10 years of experience in both tournaments and cash games to compile this info. You get to benefit from my hard work!
How These Hands Were Determined
I took a look at a few of the pre-flop hand ranking charts out there and, while most appeared to get it right for the most part, there seemed to be something off.
The thing is, everyone always does pretty well on the top 5 or 6 hands. However, after that things get a bit murkier
So, what really matters when it comes to weighing hand strength? I decided to take a close look at the problem. Using the knowledge I’ve gained over the past few years, I tried to come up with a better way of codifying hand rankings.
Determining the Overall Playability of Each Hand
I decided to go about it from a logical standpoint. When deciding whether to play a hand or not, what are the factors a strong player considers before acting
So, I decided that there are basically two main factors to consider in determining the strength of a particular pre-flop hand. And, since equity is the tool we use to rank the value of hands I just had to figure out what type of equities matter most and then apply it to each factor
Once I was able to define which equities to consider, it just took a bit of math.
1. Pre-Flop Equity
The first equity I decided to factor in is a hand’s raw pre-flop equity. I mean, sometimes you need to get all-in before the flop, right?
Of course, some hands will get all-in more frequently than others but for the sake of simplicity, raw equity against a strong range will give us a decent enough metric to come up with a comparative ranking.
2. Post-Flop Equity
Secondly, we need to factor in how a hand does post-flop. There’s no doubt, that certain hands play much better after the flop than others.
To calculate how well a hand does after the flop I looked at what post-flop hands tend to get all-in most of the time in a post-flop scenario. This includes the strongest made hands, including top pair and better, as well as strong draws.
Once I was able to figure out what hands are likely to get all-in, I just had to figure out the equity of every hand versus that range on a random flop.
Compiling the Final List
Doing these kinds of calculations by hand would be extremely difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, there is a software program called Cardrunner’s EV that does the math for me.
After I figured out both the raw pre-flop equity and the likely flop equity of each hand, I just used excel to average them. That data was used to compile the rankings.
Here are the final equity percentages:
Which Poker Starting Hand Ranges Should I Use?
Knowing which hands to open raise is important to your success. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
Free Basic Poker Strategy Charts
I have built charts that provide you profitable opening ranges from every position. As a bonus, the charts also include what to do at every decision point possible for playing a 20 to 40 big blind stack
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The guide will give you an excellent starting point for playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em and will get you off on the right foot by allowing you to play fundamentally sound poker right now!
FAQ
What if my opponent and I have the same hand at showdown ?
If more than one player has the same hand then you have to follow the tie-breaker rules to determine the winner.
If two or more players have a flush or straight
In the case where two players have a flush or straight, the person who has the highest card in their hand wins. For example, T9876 beats 76543.
If two or more players have a full house
In the case of multiple full houses, the player with the highest “trips” as part of their full house wins. For example, TTT22 beats 555AA.
What if two or more players have the same pair or two pair?
If multiple players have exactly the same two pair, the highest kicker is used to determine the winner. For example, JJ66Q beats JJ66T.
The same process is used for one-pair. The next highest kicker is used. If that is the same, you use the next highest kicker. So on and so forth until the tie is broken. For example, AAK85 beats AAK84.
Who wins if more than one person has the same high card?
Similarly to one pair and two-pair hands, you use the next highest kicker to determine the winner. You keep moving on to the next kicker until a winner is determined. For example, KT763 beats KT753.
Which is better, trips or two-pair?
Three of a kind beats two-pair. It also beats a pair and high card.
Which is better, a flush or a straight?
A flush beats a straight. It also beats three of a kind, two pair, a pair, and high card.
What is the worst hand in poker?
The worst hand against multiple players is 72 offsuit. The worst hand heads-up is 32o.
What are the odds of getting a Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em?
A royal flush is extremely rare. You can only expect to get a royal flush once every 650,000 hands. That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. Personally, I have played well over 5 million hands and have only had one royal using both cards.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article has helped you learn more about how hand rankings work in poker. If you want to learn about basic poker strategy, be sure to check out my detailed no-limit hold’em basic tutorial.
Learning the Poker Hand Rankings is perhaps the most important step for a beginner. It is impossible to play well if you don’t know what you hold in your hand and whether it is likely to win.
To start with you should ensure you understand the High Hand Rankings, as this is used in the most popular variants of poker such as Texas Holdem.
Some variants, such as Razz Poker have a different aim and use the Low Hand Ranking, and some other variants use both the high and the low hand rankings splitting the pot between the players with the best high hand and the best low hand.
The Low Hand Rankings are also explained below however you only need to learn and understand these if you decide to play a poker variant that uses it. If you simple want to play Texas Holdem then you can ignore the Low Hand Rankings.
High Hand Rankings
There are 10 different high hand rankings in Poker. These are detailed below with number 1 being the best poker hand possible and number 10 being the lowest ranking hand. You’ll never not know the winning poker hand again!
Royal flush
This is the highest poker hand. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all in the same suit. As all suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.
Straight flush
Five cards of the same suit in sequence – such as J 10 9 8 7. In the event that two players both hold straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is ranked higher.
An ace can be counted as low or high, so 5 4 3 2 A is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the lowest type of straight flush. The cards cannot “turn the corner”: eg: K A 2 3 4 is not valid.
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank – such as four queens. The fifth card can be anything. This combination is sometimes known as “quads”.
In the event that two players both hold four of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is ranked higher.
Full house
This consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank – for example three sevens and two tens (colloquially known as “sevens full” or more specifically “sevens on tens”). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher.
For example J-J-J-5-5 beats 9-9-9-A-A. If the threes of a kind were equal, the rank of the pairs would decide.
Flush
Five non sequential cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is ranked higher. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on.
For example K-J-9-3-2 beats K-J-7-6-5 because the highest and second highest cards are the same, but with the 3rd highest card the nine beats the seven.
Straight
Five cards of mixed suits in sequence – for example Q J 10 9 8. When comparing two straights, the one with the higher ranking top card is better.
Ace can count as high or low in a straight, with A-K-Q-J-10 being the highest possible straight and A-2-3-4-5 being the lowest possible straight. The cards cannot “turn the corner” eg: K-A-2-3-4 is not valid.
Three of a kind
Three cards of the same rank plus two other cards. This combination is also known as Trips or a Set. When comparing two threes of a kind the hand in which the three equal cards are of higher rank is better.
So for example 5-5-5-3-2 beats 4-4-4-K-Q. If the three of a kind are of the equal rank then you have to compare the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand, and if those are also equal then the lower card is compared.
Two pairs
A pair is two cards of equal rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make the hand up to five cards.
When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand with the higher highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards – so J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K.
Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.
Pair
A hand with two cards of equal rank and three other cards which do not match these or each other.
When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better – so for example 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. If the pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal too compare the lowest odd cards.
So J-J-A-9-3 beats J-J-A-8-7 because the 9 beats the 8.
High card
Five cards which do not form any of the combinations listed above. When comparing two such hands, the one with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second cards are compared; if they are also equal the third cards are compared, and so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4 because the jack beats the ten.
Study these poker hand rankings well and you will find that you get to know them off by heart in no time as you play more and more. It’s important that you know the underlying rules behind the game you are playing and is the first step on your learning curve.
Low Poker Hand Ranking
There are many variants of Poker where the object is not to get the highest poker hand, but in fact the lowest poker hand. These include, but are not limited to Razz, Omaha Hi Lo poker, Stud Hi Low (Eight or Better) and others.
Remember when looking at the low hand rankings to always read your cards from the highest to lowest to avoid misreads and to get the quickest read on the strength of your hand.
The strongest low hand is the hand which has the lowest high card, if the high card is equal then it comes down to the lowest 2nd high card, if they are equal it carries on to the 3rd high card and continues, so for example 7-5-4-2-A beats 7-5-4-3-A because even though the first 3 high cards (7-5-4) are equal the 4th high card of the first hand is a 2 and is lower than the 3 in the second hand. (Don’t worry it’ll soon click when you read the hand rankings below!)
Note: Suits are irrelevant in low hands so it does not matter if the cards are all the same suit or not – Flushes are ignored for the purposes of low hands.
Top 10 Poker Low Hands
Rank 11 to 40 Low Poker Hands
Highest Hand In Texas Holdem
- 7-6-3-2-A
- 7-6-4-2-A
- 7-6-4-3-A
- 7-6-4-3-2
- 7-6-5-2-A
- 7-6-5-3-A
- 7-6-5-3-2
- 7-6-5-4-A
- 7-6-5-4-2
- 7-6-5-4-3
- 8-4-3-2-A
- 8-5-3-2-A
- 8-5-4-2-A
- 8-5-4-3-2
- 8-6-3-2-A
- 8-6-4-2-A
- 8-6-4-3-A
- 8-6-4-3-2
- 8-6-5-2-A
- 8-6-5-3-A
- 8-6-5-3-2
- 8-6-5-4-A
- 8-6-5-4-2
- 8-6-5-4-3
- 8-7-3-2-A
- 8-7-4-2-A
- 8-7-4-3-2
- 8-7-5-2-A
- 8-7-5-3-A
- 8-7-5-3-2
Unless you decide to focus on learning a game that uses the low hand ranks then you are probably best to just ignore them for the moment while you get to grips with the simpler High Hand Rankings that are used in Texas Holdem, which is the variant that we recommend beginners learn to play first.
Online Texas Holdem
Now that you understand the objective and hands you are trying to achieve, we can now move on to learning about the actual rules and procedure involved in playing the most popular variants of poker.