NICE88 Poker Hand Rankings: Royal Flush Down to High Card

Poker hand rankings: royal flush down to high card

Poker hand rankings sort every five-card poker hand into ten fixed classes, from strongest to weakest. Every variant of poker that compares five-card hands — Texas Hold’em, Omaha, seven-card stud — uses this same order. Learn it once and it applies at every table you sit down at. The ten ranks, top to bottom:

1. Royal Flush
2. Straight Flush
3. Four of a Kind
4. Full House
5. Flush
6. Straight
7. Three of a Kind
8. Two Pair
9. One Pair
10. High Card

Each one gets a real example hand below.

Royal Flush

A Royal Flush is an ace-high straight flush: five sequential cards of one suit running from ten to ace. Example hand:

1. A♦
2. K♦
3. Q♦
4. J♦
5. 10♦

It’s the single strongest five-card hand in the rankings, and no other hand can beat it.

Straight Flush

A Straight Flush is five cards of sequential rank, all in the same suit, that don’t reach the ace-high run of a Royal Flush. Example hand, a straight flush in clubs:

1. 9♣
2. 8♣
3. 7♣
4. 6♣
5. 5♣

Between two straight flushes, the one topping out on the higher card wins.

Four of a Kind

Four of a Kind is four cards of one rank plus a fifth, unrelated card called the kicker. Example hand, Four of a Kind sevens with a 2 kicker:

1. 7♠
2. 7♥
3. 7♦
4. 7♣
5. 2♥

It beats every hand below it in the rankings, including any Full House.

Full House

A Full House combines three cards of one rank with two cards of another. Example hand, kings over fours:

1. K♠
2. K♥
3. K♦
4. 4♣
5. 4♠

Between two Full Houses, the hand with the higher three-of-a-kind wins the comparison.

Flush

A Flush is five cards of the same suit that aren’t all in sequence. Example hand, a Flush in hearts:

1. Q♥
2. 9♥
3. 7♥
4. 5♥
5. 2♥

Two Flushes are compared card by card from the highest down, the same way High Card hands are.

Straight

A Straight is five cards in sequential rank across at least two suits. Example hand, ten-high:

1. 10♠
2. 9♥
3. 8♦
4. 7♣
5. 6♠

An ace can sit at either end of a Straight — running A-2-3-4-5 or 10-J-Q-K-A — but never wraps around the middle.

Three of a Kind

Three of a Kind is three cards of one rank plus two unrelated kickers. Example hand, jacks with an 8 and a 3 as kickers:

1. J♣
2. J♦
3. J♥
4. 8♠
5. 3♦

It sits below every Straight and above every Two Pair.

Two Pair

Two Pair combines two cards of one rank, two of another, and a single kicker. Example hand, nines and fives with a king kicker:

1. 9♠
2. 9♥
3. 5♦
4. 5♣
5. K♥

Between two Two Pair hands, the higher top pair wins first; the kicker only matters if that’s also tied.

One Pair

One Pair is two cards of one rank plus three unrelated kickers. Example hand, aces with a 10, 6 and 2 as kickers:

1. A♠
2. A♥
3. 10♦
4. 6♣
5. 2♥

It’s the most common hand that still counts as a made hand rather than nothing at all.

High Card

High Card is any five cards that don’t fit the nine ranks above it. Example hand, King-high with no pair, flush or straight:

1. K♦
2. J♠
3. 8♥
4. 5♣
5. 2♦

When two players both hold High Card, the comparison runs down through each card in order, highest first.

How kickers break ties

A kicker is a card that doesn’t make the hand’s rank on its own but decides the winner when two players hold the same rank. Two players both holding One Pair aces compare their three remaining cards, highest to lowest, until one card differs.

Hand	Cards	Result
Player A	A♠ A♥ 10♦ 6♣ 2♥	Wins — 10 kicker
Player B	A♦ A♣ 9♠ 7♥ 3♦	Loses — 9 kicker

Both hands are a pair of aces; the 10 kicker outranks the 9, so Player A takes the pot. Kickers matter most in Pair and Two Pair hands, where the paired cards alone often tie.

Comparing the ten ranks at a glance

Rank	Hand	Beats
1	Royal Flush	Every other hand
2	Straight Flush	Four of a Kind and below
3	Four of a Kind	Full House and below
4	Full House	Flush and below
5	Flush	Straight and below
6	Straight	Three of a Kind and below
7	Three of a Kind	Two Pair and below
8	Two Pair	One Pair and below
9	One Pair	High Card only
10	High Card	Nothing else

A quick way to read the table: pick your hand’s rank number, and it beats every rank with a higher number underneath it.

Where poker fits among NICE88’s other table games

Poker hand rankings apply the moment cards are compared, but they’re not the only table-game skill worth knowing. If a two-hand shoe interests you more than a five-card hand, the baccarat casino game runs through the third-card rule and the three available bets. Prefer a hand where every decision is yours? How to play blackjack walks through the deal, the hit-or-stand call and the payout.

And if a wheel beats a deck of cards, how to play roulette sets out both wheel types and why the extra zero matters. Read the rules at your seat before you play at NICE88 casino.

Table game	What decides the hand
Poker	The five-card ranking your hand falls into
Baccarat	A fixed third-card rule — no choices once your bet is placed
Blackjack	Your own hit-or-stand call against the dealer’s upcard
Roulette	Where the ball lands on a European or American wheel