If you are keen to play poker against friends or colleagues just for fun or decide to play more competitively against other players on a trusted website, then it’s important that you learn the value of the winning poker hands in order to begin with, so you can start playing straight away.

With that in mind, let us now jump straight in and look closer at the main ten possible winning poker hands, from worst to best, which start with a high card and end with the all-elusive Royal Flush.

Why should I start by learning the different winning hands in poker?

To become a decent poker player in no time, it’s essential that you start by learning the different hands you can form while playing because each hand has a different ranking position in terms of how strong it is compared to other hands.

Understanding this basic and crucial information can help you make better decisions about what your next move should be. The fundamental reasons why you should learn the hand rankings are as follows:

• Fundamental poker skill – understanding the hand rankings in their correct order is a fundamental poker skill that every player should learn first, whether they are playing Omaha, Texas Hold ’em, Three Card Poker, or any other variant
• Confidence builder – learning the different poker hands in their correct order can quickly build your confidence, meaning you can now make more strategic moves based on the hands you receive
• Hand strength knowledge – understanding which hands beat others, therefore, the hierarchy of the hands, will enable you to quickly figure out how weak or strong your hand is potentially worth, so you can make better gameplay and betting decisions, such as when to fold, bet or call, when to play aggressively or cautiously, and when to bluff
• Better equipped against opponents – being fully aware of the different hand rankings and what your opponents’ hands could possibly be based on what cards are already in play can help you adjust your strategy accordingly and place more informed wagers

To sum up, learning the different hands in their ranking order can help you become a good poker player in no time. Once you have played a few sessions of poker against different opponents, you will be able to play with greater confidence and will be able to start enjoying playing the game more.

Poker hand ranking positions from worst to best

High card

In poker, a standard deck with 52 cards is used, and the lowest valued card is the 2, followed by the 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. It’s possible to win with just a high card hand (and you would be surprised at how often this happens in poker).

Therefore, if your best possible hand is just a king (because you couldn’t form any other winning hands, even when using the face-up community cards), and your opponent can only manage a queen high card, you would win because your king is stronger than the queen.

Pair 

This is when you have a pair of cards (different suits) but of the same rank, such as a 2-2, 7-7, jack-jack, and so on. The remainder of the hand (so the other three cards) is formed from your next three highest-ranked cards.

Two pair

This hand includes two different sets of two matching cards, such as 2-2-4-4 and any other card, or 10-10-K-K and any other card, etc. The highest-ranked card available in your hand forms the remainder of your hand.

Three of a kind 

This hand includes three cards of the same rank and any other two cards, such as 7-7-7-5-A, 4-4-4-9-K, and so on. The two highest valued cards or the remaining cards (besides the three-of-a-kind cards) complete the hand.

Straight

This one is five cards in consecutive numerical order in any suit, such as 6-7-8-9-10 of spades, clubs, clubs, diamonds, and hearts. An ace can rank below a 2 in this hand, meaning A-2-3-4-5 is the weakest winning straight, or above a king, meaning the highest straight is a 10-J-Q-K-A. It could never be, for example, Q-K-A-2-3, for example.

Flush

This one is any five cards of the same suit (it doesn’t have to be in numerical order), such as 4-8-9-J-K of spades. This one loses to a full house but beats a straight.

Full house 

This one is a combination of any pair and any three-of-a-kind, such as 7-7-7-2-2 or J-J-J-5-5.

Four-of-a-kind 

This one, also known as quads, is four cards of the same rank and any other card, such as 9-9-9-9-Q or 3-3-3-3-10, and so on.

Straight flush 

A combination of the straight and the flush hands, where you have any five cards (of the same suit) in consecutive numerical order, such as 3-4-5-6-7 of clubs or 8-9-10-J-Q of hearts. The only hands that can beat a straight flush are a higher-value straight flush or royal flush.

Royal flush

This all-elusive hand is the strongest poker hand that can’t be beat. It’s when you have a 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit.

Final thoughts

If you decide to play online poker for free or in the real money mode, it’s best to learn these hands as quickly as possible. Also, just remember to gamble responsibly if you decide to play for real.

If you go to sites like PlayWSOP, you can find a super-useful cheat sheet that you can have open and ready to use whenever you play, at least until you have familiarised yourself with the different poker hands.