poker hand rankings
Poker Hand Rankings Explained For Tournament Players
A clear poker hand rankings guide with examples, common mistakes, and tournament notes for using rankings in real decisions.
Search intent
Ranking-reference intent from players who want the official order plus enough context to avoid common hand-reading mistakes.
Interactive chart
Tap a hand to see what it beats
Best to worst
Rank #1
Royal flush
The highest possible straight flush.
- Example
- A K Q J T, all one suit
- Beats
- Every standard poker hand.
- Loses to
- Nothing in standard high-hand poker.
- Tournament note
- Rarely relevant preflop, but useful as the top anchor when learning rankings.
The official ranking order
Poker hand rankings run from royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, down to high card. The hand category is checked first, then card ranks and kickers break ties inside the same category.
What rankings do and do not solve
Rankings tell you which five-card hand wins at showdown. They do not tell you whether ace-five suited should shove for 10 big blinds, whether pocket nines can call off at a final table, or whether a suited connector has enough fold equity.
Tournament shortcut
Use rankings for hand reading after the flop, then use stack depth and position for preflop decisions. Short-stack tournament poker rewards hands that combine equity, blockers, and the chance to win the blinds immediately.
Ranking mistakes to avoid
The most common mistakes are ranking a straight above a flush, forgetting that full house beats flush, and overvaluing one pair when tournament stacks are shallow and ranges are polarized.