A hand in a higher-ranking category always ranks higher than a hand in a lower-ranking category. A hand is ranked within its category using the ranks of its cards.

There are nine categories of hand when using a standard card deck , except under ace-to-five low rules where straights, flushes and straight flushes are not recognized.

An additional category, five of a kind, exists when using one or more wild cards. The fewer hands a category contains, the higher its rank. It ranks above a straight flush but is only possible when using one or more wild cards, as there are only four cards of each rank in the deck.

Each five of a kind is ranked by the rank of its quintuplet. Each straight flush is ranked by the rank of its highest-ranking card.

It ranks below a straight flush and above a full house. Each four of a kind is ranked first by the rank of its quadruplet, and then by the rank of its kicker.

Each full house is ranked first by the rank of its triplet, and then by the rank of its pair. Each flush is ranked first by the rank of its highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its second highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its third highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its fourth highest-ranking card, and finally by the rank of its lowest-ranking card.

It ranks below a flush and above three of a kind. If you have no pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, etc. If these cards are also the same, the third-highest card plays and so on.

These cards are known as the kicker. Both players have an ace, but Player 1 wins, because he has a king as his second highest card kicker.

His opponent only has a queen. If you can form a hand containing two cards of the same value, you have a pair. The hand above contains a pair of aces.

A pair of aces beats any other hand containing only a pair in NLHE aces are high in poker. The kicker would be decisive if an opponent also had a pair of aces.

In the hand above, you have two pair, tens and sixes. The ranking of the cards is important. Two pair, kings and queens, beats queens and jacks, for example.

And the biggest pair is always decisive. There are 10 possible poker hands. The most valuable hand is a Royal Flush, a Straight Flush made of the highest value cards in the game.

The highest value poker hand is a Royal Flush, while the lowest is a high card. The full ranking order is royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.

The ranking order of suits is spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. In popular poker games such as Texas Hold'em, there is no ranking of card suits, however suits are sometimes ranked in other games like Bridge.

The best hand in poker is a Royal Flush, which is the highest value straight flush. The worst hand in poker is a high card. The lowest possible high card five-card poker hand if Aces are high is 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 with no flush present.

If two poker hands are the same, the winner is decided by a kicker. For example, a pair of 8s with a K kicker beats a pair of 8s with a 10 kicker.

If two hands are identical, the pot is split. Remember Me? Forgot Password? View Full Cheat Sheet. View larger. Understanding hand rankings is your first step on the road to becoming a winning poker player.

Knowing the best hands will help you:. Five cards, all in one suit, but not in numerical order. Five cards in numerical order, but not of the same suit.

Two different pairings or sets of the same card in one hand. Spades Black suit, depicting a medieval weapon. Hearts Red suit, showing a heart. Diamonds Red suit, represented by a geometric diamond shape.

Clubs Black suit, represented by a three-leaf symbol. Watch now. Learn the poker rules here. Texas Hold'em Rules. Poker Starting Hands. Just avoid being sucked into becoming pot committed because it will only end in tears if you are relying on a High Card.

This is because it is more likely to make at least a pair with seven cards available than to miss everything. The odds of being dealt High Card on the flop is only the tip of the iceberg.

To view a wider range of odds and probabilities of being dealt different hands then check out our very own poker odds calculator.

High Card is the lowest hand rank in poker. You can learn all of the poker hands here. All other poker hand values beat a High Card.

Of course, a hand with a High Card will also lose to a hand with a High Card of a better rank. A poker High Card can only beat another High Card hand if its rank is better than that of the opponent.

The odds of winning with a High Card are not great. The losers have been numerous, and the amounts lost on the game have reached hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars.

Here are some famous examples of people who lost everything living the poker life. Some time ago, poker portals began spreading information about the dire situation of Ted Forrest.

There is much evidence that the six-times World Poker Series bracelet winner signed two documents that has brought him a lot of trouble and landed him in court.

Two years later, the case was closed, but court records indicate that Forrest has not paid off all the debt. The casino won in court, and unfortunately things are not looking too optimistic for the player.

The extremely likeable and capable player Erik Lindgren turned into a degenerate gambler who lost all confidence of the community after Black Friday.

Lindgren was a member of the team Full Tilt Professionals, and received a lot of money from the operator just before the closure of Full Tilt Poker.

Lindgren, addicted to sports betting, started to borrow from many people. By , his debts had reached such a level that he was no longer able to repay them.

He decided to join a special program for people addicted to gambling, and filed for bankruptcy. Howard Lederer, another famous poker player, claimed that before Black Friday Lindgren had borrowed from the operator several million dollars.

In , Jamie Gold became a world ranking poker star. Why, then, does his name appear on the list of the biggest bankrupts?

Under its provisions, Gold was required to give him part of the winnings. Finally, Leyser sued the WSOP champion, the case was concluded in his favor, and Gold has probably lost a significant part of his winnings.

That was only the beginning of the collapse of an able poker player. The former WSOP champion has since invested in a failed TV format, did not get paid for representing Bodog, and the poker room at the Tropicana Casino, in his name does not bring sufficient profit.

On top of this, the IRS has pressed him to pay back taxes. One should also mention many losses at the tables, and the championship bracelet he put up for sale in Everything points to the fact that Gold is already a fallen poker star.

Every day, millions of people around the world either jump online or gather with friends to play a fun game of poker holdem. Hundreds if not thousands of websites are attracting more and more fans of this thrilling game.

Are you also ready to start your adventure with this fun form of entertainment? Find out why you should play poker holdem and other exciting variants and get to know which poker websites will work for you.

Poker is a game that has a lot of variations. Is there a way to get to know them all? However, if you use traditional methods, it will take you a very long time.

You would have to find reliable information about each variant and how to read the best poker cards. You will need to make sure you read through everything carefully.

If you want to learn how to play these games, you would also need someone to show you how the gameplay looks like.

However, there is a place where you can play all types of variants — poker websites! Thanks to them you will familiarize yourself with the best poker cards , their arrangements and the rules.

You will learn to play all the varieties that interest you. Poker has clearly defined rules and you can start playing almost instantly. By playing online on poker websites , without any risk you will be able to try your hand at any variant of this game and find your favorite one.

Do you often play poker with friends or have you dreamt of playing a real casino game? Would you like to improve your skills and your game?

Poker websites can teach you about the best poker cards , new strategies, and they can even help you develop your own tactics. You will also solidify your knowledge of the rules and gameplay — skills that are invaluable at the poker table.

In , this accountant and amateur poker player won the main tournament at the World Series of Poker, the most prestigious tournament in the world.