Poker hand rankings, explored

Every poker game — Hold'em, Draw, Stud, Omaha — ranks five-card hands the same way. Click through the ladder, deal random hands, and pit two hands against each other to see exactly why one wins.

Royal Flush

10
10
J
J
Q
Q
K
K
A
A

The five highest cards of a single suit: 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. It is simply the best possible straight flush — nothing beats it.

Detected as: Royal Flush (rank 1 of 10). Terms to know: , , and .

Which hand wins?

Hand 1Winner

Two Pair, Jacks and Sixes

Hand 2

10
10
10
10
3
3
8
8
Q
Q

One Pair of Tens

Two Pair, Jacks and Sixes beats One Pair of Tens because Two Pair is a higher category than One Pair. Category always wins before any card-by-card comparison.

How ties are broken

Category first: any flush beats any straight, no matter the cards.
Within a category, compare the defining cards first (the pair, the trips, the straight's top card).
Still tied? Compare kickers — the leftover side cards — from highest down.
If every deciding card matches, the hands tie and split the pot. Suits never break ties in standard poker.