Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant in the US. It is also the ranking game internationally, dwarfing other poker games by a long margin. This Poker Hands Guide is based on Texas Hold’em hand rankings, and it will reveal the best-kept secrets to forming winning hand combinations. Every beginning player, therefore, needs to understand the poker hand rankings to determine the strength of each player’s hand and, subsequently, the winner. In this guide, we present the Texas Hold’em hands order of value, from bottom to the highest hand in poker (the rankings apply to Omaha too).

Hand Rank > FAQ : Quiz

Learning the rank of hands in Texas Hold'em is just as important as learning the rules themselves. Be sure to know what beats what, so you won't be surprised the next time that flush beats your straight. Check out the hand rank FAQ to help answer questions you might have about the ranking of hands in Texas Hold'em.

The hands are in order from top to bottom, decreasing in value as you move down.

Rank of hands.

#1 Royal flush.

An ace-high straight flush. It's just a straight flush really, but it's made with the 5 highest value cards.

A royal flush is the absolute best possible hand in the game of Texas Hold'em. You will rarely (if ever) see this hand.

#2 Straight flush.

5 cards of the same suit in sequential order. This is essentially the best hand in the game, only coming second to it's bigger brother; the royal flush.

Winning Hands Hold'em

#3 Four of a kind.

Four cards of the same value. Virtually a guaranteed winner.

Unfortunately you rarely really win as much money with it as you would like, as it's unlikely that other players in the pot will make a hand that they're happy to call lots of bets and raises with. Still, better than nothing!

#4 Full house.

Three of one and two of another. Or you could think of it as 3-of-a-kind + 2-pair. Also known as a 'boat'.

This is the most common out of the 'big hands' you will see in Texas Hold'em. You can win a nice chunk of money if another player ends up making a weaker hand like a flush or a straight.

If you think your opponent has a weaker full house than you, take advantage of Zeebo's theorem.

#5 Flush

Five cards of the same suit.

As long as there are no pairs on the board (e.g. 448JK or 27TAA), this will be the strongest type of hand anyone can make.

Beginner players love to chase flushes, and it usually results in losing money. Make sure you learn about pot odds before you chase your next flush.

Tip: If you're playing online, use the four colour deck feature. This turns the club cards green () and the diamonds blue (). So less chance of mistaking 4 diamonds and 1 heart as a flush.

#6 Straight.

Hands

Five cards in sequence.

This hand is beaten by a flush, so don't make the rookie mistake of over-valuing the straight when there are a number of cards of the same suit on the board. It is actually harder to make a flush than a straight.

#7 Three of a kind.

3 cards of the same value.

A 'set' is when you have 3 of a kind whilst holding a pocket pair. A set tends to be one of the most profitable hands in Texas Hold'em. It's handy to know the difference between sets and trips.

#8 Two pair.

Two pairs of course.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that this hand is stronger than 3 of a kind. It's actually easier to pick up two-pair than it is to get 3 of a kind.

#9 Pair.

Two cards of the same value. Almost like 'two of a kind' really.

A very common hand that can actually win a fair number of pots for you. Just be careful not to go overboard with this hand. The higher the pair the better.

#10 High card.

Just the highest value card.

If two players have the same value high card, you look at the next highest card (and so on) to find the winner.

This is not really much of a hand, but occasionally the winner of the hand will be decided on who holds the card of highest value. Don't expect to win any big pots with this one. It's usually there to determine the winner as a last resort.

Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em articles.

The most popular poker variation across the globe, Texas Hold’em is essentially the only poker game most poker players will ever learn.

Hands In Hold Em

This is because all of the major poker tournaments worldwide (World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, European Poker Tour, etc.) feature the no-limit variation of Texas Hold’em.

Easy to learn, but difficult to master is the phrase that aptly describes this variation of poker. Thanks to its simple rules, uncomplicated gameplay and easy-to-remember hand rankings, Texas Hold’em has stayed top of the popularity charts when it comes to poker game variations.

Nevertheless, the game isn’t as easy to master as it’s to learn!

The variety of possible situations & combinations is so immense in Texas Hold’em that it can be a hugely complex game when you compete with skilled players in tournaments.

If you are a beginner looking to learn Texas Hold’em, then kickstarting your journey by learning the basic rules of the game is the way to go. These rules are easy to grasp and play a vital role in comprehending the gameplay and the game’s fundamental strategy.

Texas Hold’em Poker Rules

Getting to the rules of the game, each player is dealt two hole cards that only belong to them.

Once that is done, five community cards are gradually dealt face-up over the course of betting rounds to form the ‘board’. Players use these shared community cards in combination with their two hole cards to form the highest-ranked possible five-card poker hand

Hand Holdem Texas

There are no restrictions whatsoever with regards to the combination of the five-card poker hand, with players able to choose any of the five cards from the seven cards available. There is no compulsion regarding the usage of the hole cards. These are the basic Texas Hold’em poker rules.

For detailed info regarding poker rules, poker hand rankings, basic poker terms and the working of a poker game, check out this highly informative blog: https://www.gaming360.in/poker/how-to-play-poker

Texas Hold’em Poker Hand Ranking

  1. Royal Flush- All cards of an identical suit in a sequence of A♦-K♦-Q♦-J♦-10♦
  2. Straight Flush- All cards of an identical suit in a sequence of 6♦ 5♦ 4♦ 3♦ 2♦
  3. Four of a kind- Four of a kind hand includes four cards of the same ranking but they are not from the same suit, like 7♦ 7♣ 7♠ 7♥ 10♣
  4. Full House- It consists of two cards of the same ranking and other three cards of the same ranking in the hand, like 9♦ 9♣ 9♠ 7♥ 7♦
  5. Flush- Flush comprises five cards all of the same suit but not in a row, such as Q♦ J♦ 9♦ 6♦ 3♦
  6. Straight- The Straight includes five cards in a row but not from the same suit, such as J♣ 10♦ 9♥ 8♣ 7♠
  7. Three of a Kind- Three of a kind consists of three cards of the same ranking and two non-paired cards in a hand, like K♥ K♠ K♦ 3♣ 5♠
  8. Two Pair- Two Pair comprises two cards which are of the same rank and two cards of another rank in a hand, like 10♦ 10♣ 5♠ 5♣ 2♥
  9. Pair- One pair includes two cards of the same rank in a hand, like 7♦ 7♥ 3♥ 4♠ Q♣
  10. High Card- High card is the lowest-ranked hand in poker. It consists of any 5 cards, such as K♣ J♠ 8♣ 4♦ 2♥

Players build their hands by picking the five best cards from the seven cards (their two opening cards and the five community cards).

Coming to the variations of Texas Hold’em, there are four of them which are differentiated from each other by their betting limits:

Limit Texas Hold’em

Speaking of the first variation, Limit Texas Hold’em has a pre-decided betting limit on each round of betting.

Hence, pre-flop & on the flop, all bets & raises are of the identical amount as the big blind. The size of all bets & raises increases 2x on the turn & the river. Moreover, a maximum of four bets are permitted to each player during every betting round. This comprises a bet, raise, re-raise & cap (final raise).

No Limit Texas Hold’em

The most popular Texas Hold’em variation which is used in all major tournaments, the No Limit Texas Hold’em allows players to bet the amount of their choice, upto all of their chips on the table. Also, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises permitted.

The minimum bet is identical to the size of the big blind while the minimum raise amount is required to be equal to the prior bet or raise in the same round.

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em

In Pot Limit Texas Hold’em, a player is allowed to bet any particular amount, upto the size of the pot. The minimum bet is equal to the size of the big blind and the minimum raise should be equal to the prior bet/raise in the same round.

The maximum raise is equivalent to the size of the pot, which comprises the entirety of the active pot in addition to all bets on the table and the amount the active player needs to first call before raising.

Similar to No Limit Texas Hold’em, there is no ‘cap’ whatsoever on the number of raises permitted.

Mixed Texas Hold’em

As the name suggests, Mixed Texas Hold’em consists of the game switching between rounds of Limit Hold’em & No Limit Hold’em.

The blinds are customarily increased when the game switches from No Limit to Limit, to make sure consistency is maintained in the average pot size in each game. The betting rules for each round are the same as the rules for the particular variation active in that round.

Texas Holdem Hands

Steps to Play Texas Hold’em Poker

Hold Hands Up Emoji

1) For deciding which player begins the game, a single card is dealt face up to each player; the player with the highest-ranked card becomes the first dealer. The dealer button rotates in a clockwise manner after each hand.

2) Each player at the poker table is dealt two cards by the first dealer; these cards are known as hole cards or pocket cards.

Hands Holding Emotions

3) The first betting round takes place. Want to know how the betting rounds work? Check out our all-inclusive blog on ‘How to Play Poker in 2021’

4) Three community cards are dealt face up, known as the Flop.

5) The second betting round takes place.

Best Starting Hands Hold Em

6) The fourth community card is dealt face up, known as the Turn.

7) The third betting round takes place.

Hands Hold Em

8) The fifth community card is dealt face up, known as the River.

9) The fourth and final betting round takes place.

10) If there is more than one player remaining in the hand, the Showdown takes place wherein starting to the left of the dealer, all players reveal their cards face up.

11) The highest-ranked poker hand wins the pot.