Read the category first
The table below shows standard five-card high-hand categories with labelled examples. Royal flush is the ace-high straight flush, shown separately as a familiar name.
Compare with care
Identify the category before examining the relevant ranks. For hands in the same category, use that category’s tie-breaking rules. Suits do not outrank each other in standard high-hand comparison.
Check your format
This reference excludes wild cards, short-deck adjustments and lowball ranking systems. It does not decide every variant or demonstrate a full deal.
Practise two examples
Describe the category of each visible hand before deciding which is higher. Return to the variant’s rules when card selection or a tie is unclear.
Reference
https://www.pagat.com/poker/rules/ranking.html
The hand-ranking reference.
Strongest first. Royal flush is a named straight flush.
| Order | Hand category | Example cards |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Royal flush The ace-high straight flush. | |
| 02 | Straight flush Five consecutive ranks in one suit. | |
| 03 | Four of a kind Four equal ranks and a fifth card. | |
| 04 | Full house Three equal ranks plus a pair. | |
| 05 | Flush Five of one suit, without a straight. | |
| 06 | Straight Five consecutive ranks in mixed suits. | |
| 07 | Three of a kind Three equal ranks and two distinct side cards. | |
| 08 | Two pair Two pairs of different ranks and a fifth card. | |
| 09 | One pair One pair with three distinct side cards. | |
| 10 | High card A hand with none of the categories above. |
Standard high-hand examples. Lowball, short-deck and wild-card formats need separate references.