Hands from strongest to weakest
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Royal flush
Ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all in the same suit. It is not a separate hand category; it is the highest possible straight flush.
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Straight flush
Five consecutive ranks, all in the same suit. A royal flush is the ace-high version.
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Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank, plus one other card.
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Full house
Three cards of one rank and a pair of another rank.
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Flush
Five cards of the same suit that are not consecutive in rank.
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Straight
Five consecutive ranks in more than one suit. An ace can be high or low: A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight.
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Three of a kind
Three cards of the same rank, plus two unrelated cards.
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Two pair
Two cards of one rank, two of another rank, and one unrelated card.
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One pair
Two cards of the same rank, plus three unrelated cards.
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High card
When no category above is made, the highest card plays.
How ties are decided
When two players have the same category, compare the ranks that make the hand. For example, the higher four of a kind beats a lower one. If those ranks match, compare the remaining cards in order; these are called kickers. For a straight, the straight with the higher top card wins.
If both players have the same best five-card hand, the pot is split. Suits have no ranking in standard poker and cannot break a tie.
Using your cards in Texas Hold'em
Each player can use any combination of their two private cards and the five community cards. The final hand always contains exactly five cards: both private cards, one of them, or neither. If the five community cards already make the best hand, every remaining player shares that hand.
For the deal and betting sequence, read the Texas Hold'em rules.