Texas Hold’em Hands: Rankings, Kickers and Split Pots

Texas Hold’em hand rankings from highest to lowest

Compare the hand category first. A low straight still beats three aces, and any ordinary flush beats any ordinary straight. The examples use card ranks without a particular deal; where a suit is required, it is stated explicitly.

A royal flush is commonly given its own row for convenience, although it is the ace-high version of a straight flush. The ranking does not change according to the amount in the pot, the player’s position or who bet first.

Build the best five-card hand before comparing players

The board belongs to every player still in the hand. At the river, each has seven available cards, but only five are used for the final comparison. There is no requirement to include both private cards, and their being private does not give them extra value.

Using two hole cards is straightforward when you hold two hearts and three hearts appear on the board. Your five hearts can form a flush. Using one hole card happens when four hearts are on the board and your ace of hearts completes an ace-high flush.

Using no hole cards is called playing the board. If the board is an ace-high straight and nobody can make a flush, every player who reaches showdown has that same straight. A pair of aces in someone’s private cards does not beat it, because one pair ranks below a straight.

There are 21 possible five-card selections from seven cards. You do not need to count them at the table; the point is to consider the strongest available combination rather than automatically taking two private cards plus three board cards. That exact-two-card requirement belongs to Omaha, not Texas Hold’em.

How kickers and tied hands are compared

Two players can share a category without sharing the same strength. Compare the ranks that make the combination first, then any remaining cards that belong in the five-card hand. Once all five relevant ranks match, the hand is tied.

Pairs, two pair and matching sets

A pair of kings beats a pair of queens regardless of kickers. With equal pairs, compare the highest remaining card, then the next and finally the third. For two pair, compare the higher pair, then the lower pair and then the single kicker.

A full house is decided by the three-of-a-kind rank first. Queens full of twos beat jacks full of aces. Three matching cards therefore matter more than the strength of the accompanying pair. Four of a kind is compared by the four-card rank, then the fifth card if needed.

Straights, flushes and equal five-card hands

For a straight, compare the top card. An ace can complete A-2-3-4-5, where it acts below the two, or 10-J-Q-K-A, where it is high. It cannot wrap around to create Q-K-A-2-3. A six-high straight beats a five-high straight.

Compare flushes from their highest card downward until a rank differs. A flush uses all five cards, so there is no extra kicker outside it. Suits do not break ties in standard Hold’em: spades do not outrank hearts. If all five card ranks are equal in otherwise equal hands, the players share the pot they are eligible to win.

Four showdown examples

These are invented teaching deals, not results from a poker session. In the card notation below, h means hearts, d diamonds, c clubs and s spades. Each deal uses distinct cards and shows the complete five-card board.

In the split-pot example, neither private card improves the board. The nine and eight in Player A’s hand cannot become “extra kickers” for the straight. In the flush example, each player uses only one hole card. These are two common reasons that a strong-looking private holding does not decide the winner.

A split result also depends on which pot is being compared. An all-in player can be eligible for the main pot without being eligible for a side pot funded by later bets. Hand rankings decide the winner among eligible hands; they do not change the contribution limits of a side pot.

Starting-hand strength is not a showdown ranking

A starting hand contains two cards, so it cannot yet be a five-card straight or flush. Pocket aces are a strong starting pair, but unimproved aces remain one pair at showdown. A lower starting pair that makes three of a kind can beat them.

There are 1,326 distinct two-card combinations in a standard 52-card deck. Grouping equivalent suits produces 169 starting-hand classes: 13 pairs, 78 suited non-pairs and 78 offsuit non-pairs. This is why an opening-hand grid has a different purpose from the ten-row ranking reference above.

Notation such as AKs means ace-king suited; AKo means ace-king offsuit. A starting-hand chart may recommend different actions depending on position, stack size, earlier betting and the number of players. There is no universal instruction to play every hand in a particular category.

Understanding these distinctions is enough for this reference. A ranking chart answers which completed hand is stronger. It does not calculate whether a call is worthwhile or tell you what another player holds.

Draws and board changes can alter the picture

Four hearts are a flush draw, not a flush. Four consecutive ranks are a straight draw, not a straight. If the missing card never arrives, compare the hand that actually exists. Potential combinations have no extra value in the showdown ranking.

The board can also make a private pair less useful. Suppose you hold pocket threes and the final board has two kings, two nines and an ace. Your best hand is the board’s two pair with an ace kicker. The threes do not make a third pair count, and a player holding a king can make a full house.

Players call this sort of loss of relative value counterfeiting. It is a reason to rebuild the best five cards after the turn and river instead of carrying forward the label you gave your hand on the flop.

• A draw is not treated as a completed hand.
• Only two pairs fit into a five-card two-pair hand.
• A sixth card cannot break an otherwise exact tie.
• One community card can improve several players at once.

A simple order for checking the winner

You can practise with a deck or written deals without placing a bet. Reveal two private hands and five community cards, then compare them systematically. Keep the suits visible when a flush is possible.

1. Build each player’s strongest five-card combination.
2. Compare the hand categories using the ranking table.
3. For matching categories, compare the relevant ranks in order.
4. Declare a tie only when the complete five-card values match.

The PokerStars hand-ranking reference explains the standard categories. Casino poker games can share those categories while using different betting rules and an opponent supplied by the house. The casino offers below are from CanadaSpin’s existing reviews; they are not a list of verified player-versus-player Hold’em rooms or poker bonuses.

Texas Hold’em hand questions