Part 2: Hand Rankings
10 hands. Learn them from strongest to weakest
A Hand Is Made of “5 Cards”
You choose from 7 cards in total: your 2 and the 5 on the board
Your 2 hole cards
The 5 board cards shared by everyone
= the strongest 5 from these 7 cards
The rule for choosing
- You can choose any 5 of the 7 cards
- You do not have to use both of your 2 hole cards
- You do not have to use even one hole card
A common misunderstanding
- There is no rule that “you must use your hole cards” (the difference from Omaha)
- If the 5 board cards as they are make the strongest hand, everyone has the same hand
List of Hands
Stronger at the top, weaker at the bottom. On the right is the probability of making it with 7 cards
- 1Royal Flush0.003%
- 2Straight Flush0.028%
- 3Four of a Kind0.17%
- 4Full House2.6%
- 5Flush3.0%
- 6Straight4.6%
- 7Three of a Kind4.8%
- 8Two Pair23.5%
- 9One Pair43.8%
- 10High Card17.4%
The probability is “the share of times that hand is made when you see 7 cards in Hold’em.” The most common is one pair.
No. 1 Royal Flush
Probability of making it with 7 cards
0.003%
About 1 in 30,000
What hand it is
- A, K, Q, J and 10 of the same suit
- The strongest hand in poker
- The top of the straight flushes
Points to remember
- You may see it only a few times in your life
- It is not something you aim to make
No. 2 Straight Flush
Probability of making it with 7 cards
0.028%
About 1 in 3600
What hand it is
- 5 cards of the same suit with consecutive ranks
- Example: 9♥8♥7♥6♥5♥
- A straight flush other than the royal
Points to remember
- A hand that loses only very rarely
- This is also not a hand you aim to make
No. 3 Four of a Kind
Probability of making it with 7 cards
0.17%
About 1 in 590
What hand it is
- 4 cards of the same rank
- Example: 7♠7♥7♦7♣ + 1 card
- Also called quads
Points to remember
- It often comes from a pocket pair
- The stronger your opponent’s hand, the more you win
No. 4 Full House
Probability of making it with 7 cards
2.6%
About 1 in 38
What hand it is
- 3 cards of the same rank + 2 cards of another rank
- Example: Q♠Q♥Q♦ + 4♠4♣
- “Three of a kind + one pair”
Points to remember
- Be careful when the board has a pair
- The rank of the 3 cards decides which is stronger
No. 5 Flush
Probability of making it with 7 cards
3.0%
About 1 in 33
What hand it is
- 5 cards of the same suit
- The ranks do not need to be consecutive
- Example: A♣J♣8♣5♣2♣
Points to remember
- The highest card decides which is stronger
- A flush with the A is called the “nut flush”
No. 6 Straight
Probability of making it with 7 cards
4.6%
About 1 in 22
What hand it is
- 5 cards with consecutive ranks
- The suits can be mixed
- Example: 9♦8♠7♥6♣5♦
Points to remember
- The top rank decides which is stronger
- Be careful when the board is connected
No. 7 Three of a Kind
Probability of making it with 7 cards
4.8%
About 1 in 21
What hand it is
Points to remember
- Made from a pair in your hand, it is a “set”
- A hand that is strong and also easy to hide
No. 8 Two Pair
Probability of making it with 7 cards
23.5%
About 1 in 4
What hand it is
- Two pairs
- Example: J♠J♦ + 6♥6♣ + 1 card
- Compare from the higher pair
Points to remember
- It comes up often, but it is a strength that can still lose
- It gets weaker as the board grows
No. 9 One Pair
Probability of making it with 7 cards
43.8%
The most likely hand
What hand it is
- 2 cards of the same rank
- Example: T♥T♣ + 3 cards
- The hand that appears most often
Points to remember
- A pair with the highest card on the board is “top pair”
- The remaining 3 cards (the kicker) decide the result
No. 10 High Card
Probability of making it with 7 cards
17.4%
About 1 in 6
What hand it is
- A state where no hand has been made
- Compare by the highest card
- Also called “no pair”
Points to remember
- Even so, if everyone else folds, you win
- Sometimes just holding one A is enough to win
Comparing Hands of the Same Kind
This is where people first stumble
Board
Player A
Player B
Player A wins
The K beats the Q
What a kicker is
- The remaining cards after the hand is made
- The two players are tied with one pair (a pair of A)
- The next highest card decides the result → K vs Q
The order of comparison
- ① First, the kind of hand (flush > straight)
- ② If it is the same hand, the size of the ranks that make the hand
- ③ If that is also the same, the kickers from the top down
If all 5 cards are equally strong, the pot is split (a split).
The A Can Also Be Used as “1”
The only exception, in straights
This counts
This does not count
A-2-3-4-5 counts
- Here, the A is treated as 1
- It is called the “wheel” or the “bicycle”
- It is the weakest of the straights
K-A-2-3 does not connect
- You cannot go around the corner through the A
- The A is only either “the top” or “the bottom”
Because of this exception, hands like A5s can make straights. This becomes important in later chapters.
Six Common Misconceptions
Clear them up first, and the rest gets easier
| Suits have a ranking | They do not. A♠ and A♥ are equally strong |
| You must use both of your 2 hole cards | You do not have to. The 5 board cards alone can make the hand |
| K-A-2-3-4 is a straight | It does not connect. The A is either top or bottom |
| A flush also needs consecutive ranks | It does not. 5 cards of the same suit are enough |
| Two pair can be made using all three pairs | A hand is 5 cards. Only the top two pairs are used |
| The player with the stronger hand always wins | If everyone else folds, you win regardless of your hand |
Misconception 2 in particular is easy to confuse with other kinds of poker such as Omaha.
Practice: What Is This Hand?
From the board and your hole cards, answer what your hand is
Board
Your hole cards
Questions
- Q1: What is your hand? (Choose 5 of the 7 cards)
- Q2: If your opponent holds Q♥J♥, who wins?
- Q3: What happens if your opponent holds 9♥9♦?
You can open the answers below with “See the answer.” Think about them yourself first.
Practice Answers
Get used to the task of choosing 5 of the 7 cards
See the answer
Q1: One pair of K
- The K♦ on the board and the K♠ in your hand make a pair
- The rest, A♥, 9♠ and 7♣, are the kickers
- The 5 cards used: K K A 9 7
Q2: You win
- Your opponent’s QJ has made nothing (high card)
- One pair > high card
Q3: Your opponent wins
- 9♥9♦ and the 9♠ on the board make three of a kind
- Three of a kind > one pair
- Even with the same board, the result changes when the hole cards change
What to learn here
- Looking only at your own hand does not tell you who wins
- At the same time, think about “what would beat me if my opponent held it”
This sense of “thinking about what your opponent could have” leads to the idea of the range, covered from Chapter 1 on.
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