What is the best hand in poker?

A royal flush, an ace-high straight flush (e.g. A♠K♠Q♠J♠T♠), is the best possible hand. It’s the top case of a straight flush, which beats every other hand category.

Do suits break ties between hands?

No. Standard poker hand rankings never use suit to break a tie: only card rank matters, both between categories (a flush always beats a straight) and within one.

Poker Hand Rankings

Every poker hand, best to worst, with an example, or test yourself with a quick quiz.

1ace of spades, king of spades, queen of spades, jack of spades, ten of spades
Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards of the same suit. Ace-high (as shown) is a royal flush, the best possible hand.
2ace of spades, ace of hearts, ace of diamonds, ace of clubs, seven of spades
Four of a Kind
All four cards of one rank, plus any fifth card.
3king of spades, king of hearts, king of diamonds, seven of clubs, seven of diamonds
Full House
Three of a kind plus a separate pair.
4ace of spades, jack of spades, eight of spades, five of spades, two of spades
Flush
Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
5nine of spades, eight of hearts, seven of diamonds, six of clubs, five of spades
Straight
Five consecutive cards of mixed suits.
6eight of spades, eight of hearts, eight of diamonds, king of clubs, four of diamonds
Three of a Kind
Three cards of one rank, plus two unrelated cards.
7ace of spades, ace of hearts, king of spades, king of hearts, seven of diamonds
Two Pair
Two separate pairs, plus a fifth card.
8ace of spades, ace of hearts, king of spades, queen of diamonds, jack of clubs
Pair
Two cards of one rank, plus three unrelated cards.
9ace of spades, king of hearts, nine of diamonds, five of clubs, two of spades
High Card
No pair or better: ranked by the highest card, then the next-highest, and so on.

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How hands are ranked

Every standard poker variant compares hands by category first (a flush always beats a straight, regardless of the cards involved), then by the cards within that category if two hands share a category. Suits never break ties: only rank matters.

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