The short answer
The strongest hand in poker is the Royal Flush — A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit. No hand beats it, and in the rare case where two players each hold a Royal Flush in different suits, the pot is split evenly.
The full hand ranking — what beats what
This is the order that decides every poker hand, from strongest to weakest.
- 1. Royal Flush — A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit
- 2. Straight Flush — five consecutive cards of the same suit
- 3. Four of a Kind — four of the same rank
- 4. Full House — three of a kind plus a pair
- 5. Flush — five cards of the same suit
- 6. Straight — five consecutive cards
- 7. Three of a Kind — three cards of the same rank
- 8. Two Pair — two different pairs
- 9. One Pair — a single pair
- 10. High Card — your highest card
The real odds (in five cards)
These numbers explain why the ranking is built this way: the rarer the hand, the stronger it is.
- Royal Flush — 1 in 649,740
- Straight Flush — 1 in 72,193
- Four of a Kind — 1 in 4,165
- Full House — 1 in 694
- Flush — 1 in 509
- Straight — 1 in 255
- Three of a Kind — 1 in 47
- Two Pair — 1 in 21
- One Pair — about 42% of hands
The most common confusions
Most table arguments come back to the same three questions.
- A Flush always beats a Straight — always
- A Full House always beats a Flush — always
- Suits are not ranked against each other — all suits are equal
- An Ace can be high or low in a Straight (A-2-3-4-5 is legal)
How ties are broken
When two players hold the same type of hand, the highest card within the hand decides, then the kicker. If the best five cards are completely identical, the pot is split. Worth remembering: in Texas Hold'em you can "play the board" and split a pot without your hole cards mattering at all.
The strongest hand you can hold before the flop
Before a single card is dealt, the strongest starting hands are AA, followed by KK, QQ, AKs and JJ. AA beats every other hand heads-up, but against two or more opponents its equity drops significantly — which is why it should be played aggressively, not passively.
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