What poker hands beat what?

I want to come up with a better strategy at playing poker. Can anybody tell me what poker hands beat what? Thanks!

Answers( 1 )

To know what poker hands beat what, you have to know how these hands rank. Here is a comprehensive article that you might find useful to your question:


There are two categories for poker hands - premium hands and additional hands. Premium hands are the highest ranked combinations while additional hands are the mid to lower ranked combinations. Let us discuss Premium Hands first.

1. Royal Flush - You get this hand when you put together the 10, J, Q, K and A of the exact same suit. It is unlikely that you would be able to form this hand because your opponents will not allow you to do so.

2. Straight Flush - It is true that it is quite difficult to come up with a straight flush. However, it is a little more achievable than a royal flush. This hand is a lot similar to the royal flush, but instead of putting together 10, J, Q, K and A, you can use any cards that connect as long as they are in the same suit. For instance, you can form 8, 9, 10, J, Q of spades.

3. Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) - When you are able to come up with a four-of-a-kind, you have a hand that is almost unbeatable by other hands (except for the royal flush and the straight flush). You have a quad when you have four cards of the same rank, such as Q-Q-Q-Q. Like the straight flush, it is more often that the Quad is the best hand in a particular poker game.

4. Full House (Boat) - This hand is also referred to as a "boat" because the cards collectively resemble a sailboat when they are placed on the table. A full house is a combination of a three-of-a-kind along with a pair. For example, the dealer gives you A-A and at pre-flop, you get A-3-3. A full house typically beats other hands apart from the ones that are previously mentioned. However, the tricky part happens when another player puts together a full house. To have a stronger full house, the value of your three-of-a-kind should outrank your opponent's. 

The aforementioned hands are the strongest you can put together in Texas Hold'em. However, there are still other hands you can come up with and still win the pot.

1. Flush - You have a flush when you put together an entire hand of the same suit. For example, you are able to come up with 4-9-10-J-K, all of which are hearts. This is a good hand to have and more often, you will not flop when you have it.

2. Straight - Let's discuss two types of straight hands - the plain straight and the small straight. You get a plain straight when you put together five cards that connect with each other and that are not of the same suit. For instance, you have 3-4-5-6-7. On the other hand, if you put together 2-3-4-5-7, you only have a small straight. While that hand is ideal for Yahtzee, it is no good in poker.

3. Three-of-a-Kind (Trips or Set) - You get a three-of-a-kind when you have three cards of the same rank along with two cards which are not of the same value. This is a good enough hand in most cases, but you have to be careful when there are three or four community cards that are of the same suit or connectors.

4. Two-Pair - It is true that two-pair hands rank low on the list. However, it is still possible for you to win big pots with this hand. You have a two-pair when you get two cards of the same rank along with another pair of cards with a different value.

5. Pair - It may be difficult to win a big pot when you have two cards of the same value and the rest are of varying ranks. However, you can still win. Given that your opponents are loose players, then you have a big chance of winning a big pot with a good pair.

6. High Card - You must pray to the gods of poker not to get this hand because it is probably the one of the worst hands you can get. You have what is called a high card when you can't even put together a pair. You have to note that this hand is weak and it rarely wins in a showdown on the river. However, there are still rare winning occasins when you get the highest ranking cards like the Ace and King.