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Atlassino Academy · Poker in the room · Lesson 1 of 13

Poker hands, from high card to royal

Ten hands, one order. The ladder from high card to royal flush as poker rooms print it, how often each hand turns up on seven cards, and how two hands are compared.

  • About 18 minutes
  • Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
  • Last checked 6 October 2026

One player turns over a flush, another two pair. Which hand ranks higher, and which one turns up more often?

The short answer

The flush ranks higher: it is the fifth of the ten hands counting down from a royal flush, and two pair is the eighth. Two pair turns up far more often, though: on seven cards it comes about 7.8 times as often as a flush. When the hands are turned face up, which one takes the pot depends on the ladder and, between hands on the same rung, on their cards; how often each hand comes is a separate fact.

Flush

KKK1010774422
Ranks higher

Two pair

JJJJJJ4444AA
Comes up more often

Two example hands that pull in opposite directions: the flush sits higher on the ladder of ten, and two pair turns up more often. The faded card in the two pair is part of the five but not of the combination.

Leo, in the dealer’s place behind a poker table, sets down the last of four twos at the end of the far row of a staircase of face-up cards, with three aces in the row before it and two threes nearest the rail, while Maya watches from the rail.
Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

The question I heard most at the poker table was never about odds. It was about order: does a flush rank above a straight, does a full house rank above a flush. The order is ten rungs, and once it is learned it does not change from table to table.

What people guess wrong is how often each rung comes up. That part needs counting, not memory, and the count is on this page.

The ten hands, from royal flush down

Every poker hand is five cards, and every five-card hand stands on one rung of a ladder of ten. Two poker rooms print the ladder in the same order, rung for rung, from the royal flush down to high card.

  1. Royal flush
    AAKKKQQQJJJ1010
    the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of one suit
  2. Straight flush
    9988776655
    five cards of one suit in sequence
  3. Four of a kind
    QQQQQQQQQQQQ44
    four cards of one rank
  4. Full house
    8888885555
    three cards of one rank and two of another
  5. Flush
    KKK1010774422
    five cards of one suit, not in sequence
  6. Straight
    101099887766
    five cards in sequence, of mixed suits
  7. Three of a kind
    777777KKK22
    three cards of one rank
  8. Two pair
    JJJJJJ4444AA
    two cards of one rank and two of another
  9. Pair
    10101010KKK6633
    two cards of one rank
  10. High card
    AAJJJ886633
    none of the above: the highest card names the hand

Each row of cards is one example of its rung. The faded cards in a row are part of the five but not of the combination that names the hand. In a straight, a flush, a full house, a straight flush and a royal flush, all five cards make the combination; four of a kind leaves one card outside it.

Card ranks, and suits that never rank

A card has a rank and a suit. The thirteen ranks run from the ace down to the two, and the four suits are all equal in value.

  1. A
  2. K
  3. Q
  4. J
  5. 10
  6. 9
  7. 8
  8. 7
  9. 6
  10. 5
  11. 4
  12. 3
  13. 2
  • spades
  • hearts
  • diamonds
  • clubs

A heart is worth exactly as much as a spade. Two hands that differ only in their suits are the same hand.

The ace is the one card that can stand at either end of a straight: above the king, or below the two, as in ace, two, three, four, five. A straight cannot run round the corner from the king through the ace to the two.

The ace at the low end

55443322AA
Straight to the five

The ace at the high end

AAKKKQQQJJJ1010
Straight to the ace

Round the corner

3322AAKKKQQQ
Ace high

The same ace in three rows: at the low end it makes the lowest straight, at the high end the highest, and in the middle of queen, king, ace, two, three it makes no straight at all.

Seven cards, and the highest five

In Texas hold’em each player gets two cards of their own, face down, and five shared cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table: the board. Each player makes the highest five-card hand out of seven cards, their own two and the five on the board.

Your two cards, the ace and the king, and the board: queen, jack, ten and two fours. The ace, king, queen, jack and ten make the highest five; the two fours are left out.

Your two cards

AAKKK

The board

QQQJJJ10104444

The ace and king in the hand, with the queen, jack and ten on the board, make a straight to the ace. The two fours on the board are left out: only five cards count, and a pair of fours ranks below a straight.

  • Two of your cardsand three from the board
  • One of your cardsand four from the board
  • None of your cardsall five from the board

Any of the three is allowed. What happens when the five board cards are the highest hand for everyone still in is lesson 7.5.

How often each hand comes on seven cards

There are 133,784,560 different ways to take seven cards from a deck of fifty-two. Finding the highest five in every one of them gives how often each rung of the ladder is the hand a player ends up with. No Canadian poker room or guide we could read prints these figures; they are our own count of every combination.

How often each hand is the highest hand on seven cardsOut of all 133,784,560 different seven-card combinations
The handHow oftenAbout one inCombinations
Royal flush0.0032%30,9404,324
Straight flush0.028%3,59137,260
Four of a kind0.17%595224,848
Full house2.60%38.53,473,184
Flush3.03%33.14,047,644
Straight4.62%21.66,180,020
Three of a kind4.83%20.76,461,620
Two pair23.5%4.331,433,400
Pair43.8%2.358,627,800
High card17.4%5.723,294,460

The bars are drawn to one scale. The rungs from a royal flush down to four of a kind are so rare that their bars are barely visible beside one pair.

From two pair upward, each rung is rarer than the rung below it. The order bends only at the foot of the ladder: on seven cards, high card turns up less often than a pair or two pair. On five cards it is the most common hand of all, at 50.1%; with seven cards, missing every pair, straight and flush is far rarer, at 17.4%.

Which of two hands ranks higher

Poker in a room is played between the players at the table, not against the casino. At the showdown, when the hands still in are turned face up, the hand that ranks higher takes the pot, the chips bet on the hand. Two hands are compared in steps, and a card of the five outside the combination is what players call a kicker.

  1. The rungA hand on a higher rung ranks above any hand on a lower one.
  2. The combinationOn the same rung, the combination is compared part by part: a full house by its three of a kind before its pair, two pair by the higher pair before the lower, a straight or a flush from its highest card down.
  3. The cards outside itSame combination: the other cards of the five decide, one at a time.
  4. EqualSame five ranks: neither ranks above the other.

Different rungs

Hand A
KKK1010774422
Hand B
101099887766
A flush ranks above a straight, so hand A is higher whatever cards make the two hands.

Same rung, different combination

Hand A
8888885555
Hand B
555555KKKKKK
Both hands make a full house, so the combination itself decides: where the two combinations first differ, hand A has an eight and hand B has a five, and hand A is higher.

Same combination

Hand A
AAAAKKK9944
Hand B
AAAAQQQ9944
Both hands hold the same combination (pair of aces), so the cards outside it decide, one at a time: at the first of them hand A has a king and hand B has a queen, and hand A is higher.

Same five ranks

Hand A
9999JJJ6633
Hand B
9999JJJ6633
Both hands make the same five ranks (pair of nines), so neither ranks above the other and the pot is split.

Each verdict comes from the same steps. In the second pair of hands the three of a kind decides before the pair beside it: three eights over fives rank above three fives over kings.

Who turns the cards over first, how a dealer reads the hands, and how a pot between equal hands is shared out are lesson 7.5.

One of PlaySmart’s learning pages calls knowing the hands and their order essential before you play; another PlaySmart page says that no amount of knowledge can promise the result, and that no hand is ever sure to take the pot or sure to lose it.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Knowing the rankings is the entry ticket, not an edge. Everyone at the table knows the same ladder, and nothing on it decides how the next hand ends.

Decide before you sit down how much money and how much time the evening gets, and leave when either one runs out. A hand that went the other way is not a reason to put more in.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.

1-866-531-2600Ontario · ConnexOntario · 24 hours
1-800-461-0140Quebec · Jeu: aide et référence · 24 hours
1-888-795-6111British Columbia · Gambling Support BC · 24 hours
1-866-332-2322Alberta · Addiction Helpline (Recovery Alberta) · 24 hours
1-800-463-1554Manitoba · Problem Gambling Helpline · 24 hours
1-800-306-6789Saskatchewan · Problem Gambling Help Line · 24 hours
1-888-429-8167Nova Scotia · Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line · 24 hours
1-800-461-1234New Brunswick · Gambling Information Line
1-855-255-4255Prince Edward Island · PEI Gambling Support Line · 24 hours
811Newfoundland and Labrador · Gambling Help Line · 24 hours
1-844-533-3030Yukon · Reach Out Support Line (CMHA Yukon)

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

The lesson on one card

That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print it, or keep it on your phone.

The ten handsFrom royal flush down: what each needs, and how often it is the highest hand on seven cards
The ten hands in order, what each needs and how often it comes on seven cards
The handWhat it needsOn seven cards
Royal flushthe ace, king, queen, jack and ten of one suit0.0032%
Straight flushfive cards of one suit in sequence0.028%
Four of a kindfour cards of one rank0.17%
Full housethree cards of one rank and two of another2.60%
Flushfive cards of one suit3.03%
Straightfive cards in sequence4.62%
Three of a kindthree cards of one rank4.83%
Two pairtwo cards of one rank and two of another23.5%
Pairtwo cards of one rank43.8%
High cardnone of the above: the highest card names the hand17.4%

Suits never rank.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

Practice: name the hand

Level 1 deals your two cards and a board, and asks for the highest hand the seven cards make. Level 2 deals two hands on one board, and asks which ranks higher. Level 3 shows a rung of the ladder and asks how often it comes on seven cards.

Nothing is bet here. Each hand stops at the moment you name it, and every answer is explained.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one hand from it, with the answer.

Level 1 · Name the hand

Your two cards and the five on the board: what is the highest hand these seven cards make?

  • Full house Full house, jacks over tens: the highest five are J♠ J♥ J♦ 10♠ 10♥. All five cards make the combination.
  • Three of a kind That is what the five cards on the board make on their own: three jacks. With your two cards, the seven make a full house, jacks over tens.
  • Four of a kind Four of a kind needs four cards of one rank, and no five of these seven cards hold that.
  • Flush These seven cards make more than that: full house, jacks over tens. A full house ranks above a flush, and a hand is named after its highest five cards.

Full house: on seven cards, the highest hand in 2.60% of all combinations, about one in 38.5.

Every hand in the practice run is worked out the same way: the cards come from a shuffled deck with a fixed seed, and the highest five of the seven cards is found by counting every five that can be made from them.

How the practice run works

Where the hands come from. The cards are dealt from a shuffled deck with a fixed seed, and the deals are chosen so that every rung from a straight flush down turns up at level 1 and every way of deciding between two hands turns up at level 2. The answer is worked out when the page is built, by counting every five that can be made from the seven cards. The wrong answers are named mistakes: a rung the cards do not reach, a rung below the one they make, what the board makes on its own, a neighbouring rung’s figure, or the figure for five cards instead of seven.

One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one hand of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself. Practising a hand you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.

Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Check yourself

Maya with a finger raised and a knowing look.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Three quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.

1The board is K♠ K♦ 7♣ 7♥ 2♠. Hand A holds A♣ 3♦; hand B holds Q♠ Q♥. Which hand ranks higher?

Show the answer

Answer: Hand B. Two hands on the same rung are compared by the combination first, the highest pair, then the second pair.

  • Neither: both hands play the two pairs on the board Hand B’s own pair of queens takes the place of the sevens on the board, so the two hands are not the same.
  • Hand B Hand B makes two pair, kings and queens, and hand A makes two pair, kings and sevens: both are two pair, and the second pair decides, queens against sevens.
  • Hand A, because the ace is the highest card The ace only counts once the two pairs are the same; here hand B’s second pair, the queens, ranks above hand A’s sevens.
2The board is A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♦. One player holds 9♠ 2♥; the other holds 3♥ 4♣. Which hand ranks higher?

Show the answer

Answer: The player with 9♠ 2♥. Each player makes the highest five out of seven cards: their own two and the five on the board.

  • The player with 9♠ 2♥, because that hand is a straight flush The 10♦ on the board is a diamond, so the spades do not run in sequence: the ace, king, queen, jack and nine of spades are a flush.
  • Neither: the straight on the board is the hand for both The straight on the board is there for both players, but one player’s spade turns five spades into a flush, which ranks above a straight.
  • The player with 9♠ 2♥ The 9♠ with the four spades on the board makes a flush, ace high, which ranks above the straight both players have on the board.
3On seven cards, which turns up more often as the highest hand: high card or a pair? new situation

Show the answer

Answer: A pair. At the foot of the ladder the order of rarity bends: with seven cards, missing every pair, straight and flush is rarer than making one pair. No room prints these figures; they come from counting every seven-card combination.

  • They come up about equally often They do not: a pair comes up about 2.5 times as often as high card.
  • High card, because it needs nothing at all That holds on five cards, where high card is the hand 50.1% of the time; with seven cards to take the highest five from, a pair is much harder to miss.
  • A pair A pair is the highest hand in 43.8% of seven-card combinations, high card in 17.4%.

Back to the question we opened with. The flush ranks higher, and two pair turns up far more often; when the two meet at the showdown, the flush takes the pot.

Where to go next, and further reading

Blinds, button and betting rounds How a hold’em hand is dealt, street by street, and who acts first. The showdown Kickers, a board that plays for everyone, split pots and side pots. Starting hands How often each pair of starting cards comes, and how far one is ahead of another. Poker rooms in Canada The rooms we list, and what each room says about its games in its own words.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

Further reading

  • Rules of Play for Table Games — Poker (17.0 Texas Hold’em, 33.0 No Limit and Pot Limit) · BCLCThe rules a B.C. poker room deals by: blinds, the button, the order of play, the rake, the showdown, side pots, table stakes and what makes a bet binding.
  • Poker Texas Hold’em · Loto-Québec, Casino de MontréalHow a hand goes in the Montréal poker room, the hands from the royal flush down, and what decides between two equal hands.
  • How to play poker · OLG PlaySmartGetting a seat through the brush, what a buy-in, a rake and a session fee are, and why a budget comes before the table.
  • Poker strategies · OLG PlaySmartNot a playing strategy: when to walk away, taking a break and keeping your seat, and what going on tilt means.

How it’s worked out

The ladder, numbers, sources and hosts

Where this happens. Every table on this page is a hold’em table in a poker room you can walk into. A poker screen at home ranks the hands the same way, but it runs under different rules and belongs to a track of its own.

The ladder. The order of the ten hands is the order two poker rooms print. One of the two rooms words the two-pair line loosely; what this lesson takes from that line is its place on the ladder, below three of a kind and above one pair, and not its wording. The names of the hands are ours, kept the same all the way through; a misprint on one room’s page lives only inside its quotation.

Numbers. Every figure on this page is counted over all 133,784,560 seven-card combinations, and the few figures for five cards over all 2,598,960 five-card ones: the highest hand of each is found, and the combinations are added up rung by rung. The count is checked against a second, independent count of the same combinations. Every figure carries a machine-readable key and is recomputed by the same engine on every build.

What is deliberately absent. No suit ranks above another here: one room breaks ties by suit in seven-card stud, and that is a stud rule, not a hold’em rule. The showdown itself, kickers in depth, a board that plays for everyone and how a split pot is shared are lesson 7.5. How a hand is dealt and bet is lesson 7.2; the room, the list and the buy-in are lesson 7.3. How often starting cards come, outs, pot odds and the strongest hand a board allows are lessons 7.6 to 7.9. There is no chart of hands to play on this page, and no advice on how to play.

Sources. Every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.

Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. Poker in a room is played between the players at the table, and the room takes a fee from the pots, which is lesson 7.10. Knowing the ladder tells you which hand ranks higher; it does not decide which cards come, and everyone at the table knows the same ladder. Nothing on this page says how an evening at a poker table would end.

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