A Look At The Strength of Hands in the Game of Poker

Q: What Beats What in Poker?

A: Now, first off, the answer to the question of "what beats what" in poker is dependent on the variant of poker that you are playing.

For this article, we will be focusing on answering the question of "what beats what" for poker's most popular game - Hold'em (No Limit, Fixed, Pot Limit).

It is obviously important to know the strength of hands when you are starting out playing Hold'em, whether it is online or at a local casino. You should have this chart memorized before you play, or you can reference this page via a bookmark.

Here are the strength of hands in Hold'em, from strongest to weakest:

1. Royal Flush.

This is the strongest hand in poker - this is when your hand makes a Broadway straight (10, J, Q, K, A) and they are all of the same suit (say, spades).

2. Straight Flush.

This is when you make a straight and all of the cards are of the same suit. For instance, let's say you hold the 2 of Spades and the 3 of Spades, and the flop comes As-4s-5s (all spades) - this is a straight flush, and is the second strongest hand in poker.

3. Quads.

This is when you have four of a Kind. For instance, you are dealt a pair of Twos, and the flop comes 2s-2h-Qh. This would give you Quad Twos, and this is the third strongest hand in Hold'em.

4. Full House.

This is when your hand makes Three of a Kind plus Two of a Kind. So, for instance, if you are holding a pair of Twos and the flop comes 2h-Qh-Qd, you would have a full house, Twos full of Queens.

5. Flush.

This is when your hand makes five cards of the same suit. For instance, let's say that you are holding the 7 of Spades and the 8 of Spades, and the flop comes Qs-As-2s - this would give you a flush.

6. Straight.

This is when your hand makes five consecutive cards - for instance, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Let's say that you are dealt 9-10, and the flop comes 7-8-J - this would give you a straight, Jack High.

7. Three of a Kind.

This is when your hand makes Three of a Kind. For instance, if you are dealt 7-9 and the flop comes 7-7-Q, you would have Three of a Kind.

8. Two Pair.

This is self-explanatory, as your hand would make Two Pair. So, if you held Q-K and the flop came Q-K-J, you'd hold Two Pair.

9. One Pair.

If you held Q-K and the flop came K-10-2, you'd hold one Pair of Kings.

10. High Card.

If you held Q-K and the flop came 2-2-J, you'd hold a high card of a King.

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So - for instance, a Straight Flush will beat Quads, a Flush will beat a Straight, Two Pair will beat One Pair, a Royal Flush will beat a Straight Flush, and so on.

Just refer to this chart while you are playing, and you will quickly learn "what beats what" in poker.


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