Most Commonly Asked Poker Questions

Not sure what beats a full house or what a straight can beat? Here are the answers to the most commonly-asked poker questions this side of the Strip.

Does a flush beat a full house?

No. A full house beats a flush in the standard poker hand rankings. The odds against making a full house in a game of Texas Hold’em are about 36-to-1, while the odds against making a flush are 32-to-1. The full house is a more rare hand and beats a flush.

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. Using the standard poker hand rankings, a flush beats a straight, regardless of the strength of the straight. The odds against making a straight in Texas Hold’em are about 21-to-1, making it a more common hand than a flush (32-to-1 odds against).

• Poker hands Royal flush Straight flush Four of a kind Full house Flush Three of a kind Two pair Pair High card A royal flush is an ace high straight flush. A straight flush is a five-card straight, all in the same suit. Four of a kind, or quads, are four cards of equal value. A full house contains a set (3) of cards of one value and a pair of.
• The lowest card in the hand. Three cards of same rank with two other non-paired cards. Two pairs of two cards of same rank. Highest pair = best two-pair hand. Any two cards of same rank plus three random cards. Five non-consecutive, non-matched cards of varying suits. A consecutive run of ˜ve cards all in the same suit. Four cards all of same rank.
• HOW A VIDEO POKER STRATEGY CHART IS ARRANGED. The strategy charts for all non-wild card games are organized the same way. The hand with the highest average return goes at the top of the strategy chart. For most video poker pay tables that hand is the royal flush. It is followed by lower paying hands and partial hands in order of decreasing return.

Does a straight beat a full house?

No. The odds against making a full house in Texas Hold’em are about 36-to-1, while the odds against making a straight are about 21-to-1. Both are strong five-card hands, but a full house occurs less often than a straight. A full house beats a straight in the poker hand rankings.

In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high games, like Texas hold 'em and seven-card stud, the highest-ranking hands win.

Does three of a kind beat two pair?

Yes. Both three of a kind and two pair can make a lot of money in poker, but three of a kind is the best hand when it goes head to head with two pair. The odds against making three of a kind in Texas Hold’em is about 20-to-1, while the odds against making two pair is about 3-to-1.

Does three of a kind beat a straight?

No. The odds of making both of these hands are very close in a game of Texas Hold’em. The odds against making a straight are 20.6-to-1, while the odds against making three of a kind are 19.7-to-1. The straight comes about slightly less often, making it the winner against three of a kind in the poker hand rankings.

Does a flush beat three of a kind?

Yes. The battle of strong hands between a flush and three of a kind sees the flush as the stronger hand. The odds against making a flush in Texas Hold’em are about 32-to-1, with odds against making three of a kind at around 20-to-1.

Does a straight beat two pair?

Yes. The poker hand rankings dictate that a straight is a stronger hand than two pair. The straight occurs with about 21-to-1 odds against in Texas Hold’em, while the odds against making two pair stand at about 3-to-1.

Does four of a kind beat a full house?

Yes. Both four of a kind and a full house are among the strongest poker hands, but four of a kind is a much rarer holding. Texas Hold’em odds against making four of a kind are 594-to-1, while you have about 36-to-1 odds against making a full house.

Does three of a kind beat a flush?

No. When the flush and three of a kind go head to head, the flush comes out as the best according to the poker hand rankings. The odds against making three of a kind sit around 20-to-1, with the odds against hitting a flush at 32-to-1.

Does a full house beat a straight in poker?

Yes. The full house comes in less often than a straight. In Texas Hold’em, the odds against drawing a full house are around 36-to-1, while the odds against making a straight are around 21-to-1.

Does a straight flush beat four of a kind?

Yes. Four of a kind is an exceedingly rare hand in poker, but the straight flush is an even more elusive five-card hand. The odds against making a straight flush in Texas Hold’em is about 3,590-to-1, much rarer than four of a kind (594-to-1 odds against)

Almost all variants of poker are based around a poker hand that’s made up of 5 cards. It is these 5 cards that determines who the winner is. Therefore, it is critical that you understand the ranking order of poker hands so that you know how strong your poker hand is compared to your opponents.

Royal Flush

This is the best possible hand you can get in poker and is unbeatable. It’s basically a “Straight Flush” that runs from Ace to Ten.

Straight Flush

Five cards in numerical order and are all of the same suit. This is similar to a “Royal Flush” with the only exception being that it does not contain an Ace. In instances where multiple players have a Straight Flush, the one with the highest high value card wins.

Four of A Kind (also known as “Quads”)

As the name suggests, it’s a combination of four cards of the same rank and a kicker (the fifth card).
In the event there are more than 1 player with this hand, the one comprised of the highest quads wins.

In community card games, where players can use cards from the “board” (cards are placed faced up, and can be used by any player to create a best 5-card hand), and therefore it’s possible that multiple player can have “Four of a Find” made up from the same quads, then the player with the highest kicker wins.

Full House

Texas Hold'em Poker Card Chart

Fourth in the poker hand rankings is the Full House. It is a combination of any three cards of the same numerical value and a pair of another value. When there’s multiple “Full House” hands, the one with the highest triplet wins. If players have the same triplets, then the one with the highest pair wins.

Flush

A “Flush” is a set of five cards with the same suit. The cards do not have to be in sequential order be a Flush. Between two or more flushes, the one with the highest high value card wins, with an “Ace-high Flush” being the strongest.

In the event that multiple hands have the same highest high value card, the winner is then determined by the second highest high value card, so on and so forth.

Straight

Any five cards in sequential order that is of different suits. Two Straights are compared by the value of their high cards. An ace can be used as the highest value card in the Straight, or the lowest value card in a Straight. For example, an Ace-high straight, like the one in our example, is the strongest Straight you can get (also known as a “Broadway” Straight). But a Straight consisting of Ace, two, three, four, five is considered the weakest Straight (also known as “Wheel” straight).

Three of a Kind (also known as “Trips” or “Set”)

A three of a kind is just a Full House without the additional pair. Meaning, the other 2 cards are of different values. When there are multiple “Three of a Kind”, the one with the highest triplet wins.

If players have the same triplets, then the winner is determined by the one with the highest value of the two remaining cards, and if multiple players have the same card here again, then the player with the second highest high value card wins.

Two Pairs

You probably can guess what this is. It’s simply Two Pairs of any value. In instances where there are more than 1 player with a Two Pairs, the winner is first determined by the one with the highest pair, then the highest second pair, then the kicker (fifth card).

One Pair

This hand consists of one pair of the same value cards, and 3 unrelated cards, all of different value. In the event of a tie, the hand with the highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, then the winner is determined by the hand with the highest value card of the 3 kickers, then the 2nd highest, then then 3rd.

High Card

If your hand doesn’t fall into any of the above categories, then what you have is a “High Card” hand and the value of the highest card in the hand determines the strength of this hand. So, a player with a 10 High Card would beat a player with a 8 High Card.

Poker Card Chart

In instances where multiple players have the same highest high card, then it goes down the remaining four cards to determine who the winner is.

As shown in our example, the strongest High Card hand is a A, K, Q, J, 9.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The ranking order is absolute, and there are no instances where a lower ranked hand would beat a higher ranked hand.

Your friend is wrong. Suits don’t play a role in determine the strength of a hand in poker. Only the numerical value of the card does. So in this example, since you both have the same two pairs, then the winner would be the one with the highest kicker (the fifth card). So, that would be you, because your 10 is higher than your friend’s 9.

No, it doesn’t. As we explained in the above question, suits play no roles in poker. This is same for the colour of a card.

Even Though there are seven cards in total, you are only able to use 5 cards from the seven to create your strongest 5-card hand. Therefore, it’s not possible to have 3 pairs, which requires 6 cards. In this particular instance, what you have is a Two Pair hand.

5 Card Poker Chart

No, it doesn’t. Aces can only be used as a high card or a low card in the case of any poker hand that requires the numbers to be in a sequential order, such as a “Straight” or a “Straight Flush”. So, a “10, J, Q, K, A” is the highest Straight possible (also known as a “Broadway” Straight), and a “A, 2, 3, 4, 5” is the lowest Straight possible (also known as a “Wheel” Straight). But Aces cannot be used as a wraparound Straight, such as “K, A, 2, 3, 4”.