Poker Hand Rankings and Tie-Break Rules

Texas Hold'em hands rank 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. Each player uses the best 5 cards out of their 2 hole cards and the 5 board cards.

Play it for real at Natural8

※ Buttons are partner links (nofollow); sign-up happens on Natural8. 18+. Play responsibly.

Updated: 2026-10-30 · natural8.cn editors

On this page

All 10 hands, best to worst
How to break a tie between the same hand type
The Short Deck (6+) exceptions
Common beginner mistakes
FAQ

All 10 hands, best to worst

The “7-card odds” column comes from our own count of all 133,784,560 possible 7-card combinations (2 hole cards + 5 board cards): it's the chance that you end up with that hand once the river is dealt.

#	Hand	Example	What it is	7-card odds
1	Royal flush	A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠	10-J-Q-K-A of one suit	0.0032%
2	Straight flush	9♥8♥7♥6♥5♥	Five cards in a row, all one suit	0.028%
3	Four of a kind (quads)	Q♠Q♥Q♦Q♣3♠	4 cards of one rank + 1 kicker	0.17%
4	Full house (a boat)	J♣J♦J♥4♠4♦	Three of a kind + a pair	2.60%
5	Flush	A♦J♦8♦6♦2♦	Five cards of one suit, not in a row	3.03%
6	Straight	10♣9♥8♠7♦6♣	Five cards in a row, mixed suits	4.62%
7	Three of a kind (trips / a set)	7♠7♥7♣K♦2♠	3 cards of one rank	4.83%
8	Two pair	A♣A♥9♠9♦5♣	Two pairs + 1 kicker	23.5%
9	One pair	K♥K♣10♠6♦3♣	One pair + 3 kickers	43.8%
10	High card	A♠Q♦9♣5♥3♠	None of the above; highest card plays	17.4%

Our poker odds calculator labels made hands in this order: high card, one pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush.

How to break a tie between the same hand type

Compare hand types first. The higher hand type wins outright; even the lowest flush beats the highest straight.
Then compare the main ranks. Straights and straight flushes go by the top card; quads, trips and full houses compare the biggest group first; two pair compares the higher pair, then the lower pair.
Then the kickers. Compare the remaining cards from highest to lowest; for flushes and high-card hands, compare all 5 cards one by one from the top.
If all 5 cards match, split the pot. Suits don't rank.

Example: the board is K♠ 9♦ 7♣ 4♥ 2♠. You have A♦K♣ and your opponent has K♥Q♠: you both have a pair of kings, and you win with the ace kicker. If the board itself is the straight A-K-Q-J-10, everyone is “playing the board” and the pot is split.

The Short Deck (6+) exceptions

Short Deck removes the 2s through 5s and plays with 36 cards. With fewer cards a flush is harder to make, so in Short Deck a flush beats a full house, and the ace can join 6-7-8-9 to make the lowest straight (A-6-7-8-9). Whether three of a kind or a straight ranks higher varies between sites, and we found no clear statement on Natural8's official pages, so check the table info in the client. Natural8's Short Deck Bad Beat Jackpot requires the losing hand to be at least four sixes. Formats and stakes are on the Short Deck page.

Common beginner mistakes

“I have 7 cards”: only the best 5 count. If the board already shows two pair, your pocket pair may give you “three pairs”, but only the top two pairs plus one kicker count.
“Flushes are compared by total value”: no, by the highest card, then the second-highest if tied, and so on.
“K-A-2-3-4 is a straight”: it isn't. The ace can only sit at the top (A-K-Q-J-10) or the bottom (A-2-3-4-5).
“If I misread my hand I'll lose it”: in online poker the software automatically picks your best 5 cards at showdown, so you won't lose because you didn't spot your straight.
“A flush always wins”: on a paired board, watch out for full houses and quads.

Once you know the rankings, the next step is the starting hand chart, and the order of play in our beginner's guide.

FAQ

Does a flush beat a straight in Texas Hold'em?

Yes, a flush beats a straight. With 7 cards you make a straight about 4.62% of the time and a flush about 3.03%; the flush is rarer, so it ranks higher. In Short Deck (6+) a flush even beats a full house.

Do suits have a ranking?

No. In Texas Hold'em spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs are all equal. If two players have exactly the same hand and ranks, they split the pot; suits are never used to break ties.

Can an ace be used as a 1?

Yes, but only in A-2-3-4-5, the lowest straight. “Wrap-around” hands like Q-K-A-2-3 are not straights.

What is a kicker?

The leftover card(s) used to break a tie between equal hands. If two players both have a pair of aces, the one holding A-K beats A-Q with the king kicker. Only the best 5 cards count, though; the 6th and 7th cards never play.

How do two full houses compare?

Compare the three-of-a-kind part first; the higher trips win. If the trips are the same rank (for example, they're on the board), compare the pair part.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these official Natural8 pages on 2026-10-30. The official terms always prevail.

natural8.cn is an independent guide, not the official Natural8 website, and is not affiliated with Run Good N.V. or the GGPoker network. Sign-up, deposits and play all happen in the official Natural8 client. Online poker carries financial risk and is restricted or illegal in some countries — check your local law first.