You're sitting there, heart hammering against your ribs, looking at three of a kind. The board shows a possible flush. Someone just shoved their entire stack of chips into the middle. Suddenly, you realize you aren't 100% sure about the hierarchy. Does your set hold up? Understanding poker what beats what isn't just about memorizing a chart; it’s about internalizing the math of rarity so you don't look like a deer in headlights when the pot gets massive.
Most people think they know the game until the weird stuff happens. Like, what happens if two people have a Full House? Or if the board has a Straight and everyone is playing the "table's hand"? It’s simple until it isn’t.
The Absolute Hierarchy (Without the Fluff)
At the very top, you have the Royal Flush. It’s the unicorn. It’s Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten, all of the same suit. In a standard 52-card deck, there are only 4 ways to make this. Your odds? Roughly 1 in 649,740. If you see one, take a photo. You’ve basically won the lottery of cards.
Just below that is the Straight Flush. This is any five cards in numerical order of the same suit, like the 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of clubs. It’s monstrous. It beats almost everything except that Royal Flush. But here is where people get tripped up: Four of a Kind (also called Quads) is actually weaker than a Straight Flush. I’ve seen players get cocky with four Jacks only to realize the guy across the table hit a low Straight Flush on the river. It’s a brutal way to lose a stack.
Why the Full House is the Great Divider
Then we get to the Full House. Three of one rank and two of another. "Aces full of Kings" is the king of this category. In the world of poker what beats what, the Full House is where the most money is won and lost. Why? Because it looks invincible.
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If two players have a Full House, the one with the higher "three of a kind" part wins. If those are the same (which can happen in games like Texas Hold 'em where cards are shared), you look at the pair.
- Flush: Five cards of the same suit. They don’t have to be in order. If two people have a flush, the highest card wins. An Ace-high flush is a powerhouse, but a 9-high flush is often just a "second-best hand" trap that drains your bankroll.
- Straight: Five cards in numerical order, mixed suits. The "Wheel" is the lowest (A-2-3-4-5), while "Broadway" (T-J-Q-K-A) is the highest.
- Three of a Kind: Also known as a "set" (if you have a pair in your hand) or "trips" (if there’s a pair on the board).
The Nuance of Two Pair and "The Kicker"
Two Pair sounds strong, and it often is, but it’s also the hand that gets beginners into the most trouble. If two players both have Two Pair, the highest pair wins. If the top pairs are identical, the second pair determines the winner.
But what if both pairs are exactly the same?
Enter the Kicker. This is the fifth card in your hand that isn’t part of the pairs. If you both have Aces and Kings, but your fifth card is a Queen and mine is a Jack, you take the pot. Honestly, "kicker problems" are probably the number one reason amateur players lose at 1/2 No Limit Hold'em. They play Ace-Three, hit their Ace, and then get destroyed by someone playing Ace-King. Both have a pair of Aces, but the King kicker is the silent killer.
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The Bottom of the Barrel: High Card and One Pair
Most hands in poker aren't Royal Flushes. They aren't even Straights. Most hands are won with One Pair or just a High Card.
A pair of Aces beats a pair of Kings. Simple.
If nobody has a pair, you're looking at High Card. Ace-high beats King-high. It feels pathetic to win a pot with nothing but an Ace and a 7 in your hand, but in "heads-up" play (one-on-one), this happens more than you'd think. Professional players like Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu have made legendary "hero calls" with nothing but Ace-high because they sniffed out a bluff. They knew that in the hierarchy of poker what beats what, their "nothing" was slightly better than the other guy's "nothing."
Common Myths and Scenarios That Confuse People
One thing people constantly ask: "Does a Flush beat a Straight?"
Yes. Always.
In some older, very obscure regional variants of poker, this wasn't always the case, but in every modern casino or home game, the Flush (5 cards same suit) sits above the Straight (5 cards in order).
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Another one: Suit rankings. In standard Texas Hold 'em or Omaha, suits do not rank. A Flush of Spades is exactly equal to a Flush of Hearts if the card values are the same. If the board gives everyone a Flush and you both hold the same high card in different suits, you're splitting that pot. No "Spades are better than Diamonds" nonsense here—save that for Bridge.
The "Board Plays" Rule
Imagine the cards on the table (the board) are Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten. This is a Straight. If you have a pair of 2s in your hand, and your opponent has a pair of 3s, you both share the Straight on the board. You split the pot. Your pocket pairs don't matter because you can only use five cards to make your best hand, and those five on the board are better than any combination using your low pairs.
Practical Steps for Your Next Game
If you want to move beyond just knowing the rules and actually start winning, you need to apply this hierarchy to "range construction."
- Stop overvaluing small Flushes. If the board has three hearts and you hold the 4 and 5 of hearts, you have a Flush. But remember: anyone with the 6, 7, 8, or any higher heart beats you. It’s a "thin" hand.
- Respect the Set. In Texas Hold 'em, if you have a pair in your hand and one hits the board, you have a "Set." This is a disguised monster. It’s much stronger than "Trips" (where there is a pair on the board and you hold one card of that rank) because it's harder for your opponent to see it coming.
- Watch the "Straight-Fillers." When three cards to a straight appear on the board (like 7-8-9), the value of your One Pair or Two Pair plummet. Someone almost certainly has a 10 or a 6.
- Count your "Outs." If you have four cards to a Flush, you have 9 "outs" (cards left in the deck) to hit that Flush. Knowing that a Flush beats a Straight gives you the mathematical green light to chase that draw if the price is right.
Understanding the literal order of hands is the "literacy" of poker. You can't write a novel if you don't know the alphabet, and you can't bluff a pro if you're not sure if your Three of a Kind beats their Straight. It doesn't. Study the rarity, respect the kicker, and always double-check the board for a higher possibility before you shove.