The poker hand is your greatest ally, but first you got to know what you card ranking you have as well as might be in your opponent’s hand before you play your cards. Every card has a certain ranking in a poker game from the Ace of Spades to the King of Hearts and every card in between. Depending on your poker hand, you may be able to win the game or be ready to call a bluff against your opponent. Learn the basic card rankings, so you can make the right move.

Royal Flush:

The highest possible poker hand, a royal flush combines an Ace high straight and a flush. Made up of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten, all of the same suit. If two players hold a royal flush, they split the pot.

Straight Flush:

A straight flush is like a royal flush, with five cards forming a straight and flush, but not an Ace high. An example of a straight flush is, a nine, eight, seven, six and five all of the same suit. When two players hold a straight flush, the player whose hand starts with the highest card wins. When both hands contain the same high card, they split the pot.

Four of a Kind:

A hand containing four cards of the same rank, like four Aces or four Jacks. When two players each have a four of a kind, the highest ranking hand wins.

Full House:

Three cards of one rank and two of another rank form a full house. Examples of full houses include three Kings and two tens or three fours and two Aces. When two players have a full house, the player with the highest three of a kind wins the pot. In the two examples, the hand with three Kings is the higher hand.

Flush:

A flush is a poker hand with all five cards of the same suit, either five Hearts, Clubs, Spades or Diamonds. When two or more players each have a flush, the hand with the highest card wins. If two hands have the same highest card, the next highest card is compared, and so on, until one hand is determined to be higher than the other.

Straight:

Five cards in numerical sequence form a straight, like six, five, four, three and two. When two or more players have a straight, the one with the highest card wins. If two players have straights with the same highest card, they split the pot. Suits do not matter when determining the strength of a straight. An Ace can play as the highest card, in Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, or the low card in five, four, three, two, Ace. The Ace is the only rank that can be used this way.

Three of a kind:

Three cards of the same rank, like three Jacks or three eights. When two players have three of a kind, the highest ranked three of a kind wins the pot. If two players have the same three of a kind, the player with the highest fourth card wins.

Two pair:

A poker hand consisting of two cards of the same ranking, in combination with two other cards of the same rank, like two tens and two sixes. When two players have two pair, the one with the highest pair wins. If two players have the same highest pair, the highest second pair wins, followed by the highest fifth card, or kicker.

One pair:

Hands that contain only two cards of the same ranking, like two Aces or two Jacks, with three unmatched cards have one pair. When two or more players have one pair, the highest pair wins. If two players have the same pair, the highest third card wins.

High card:

A poker hand containing none of the combinations listed above ranks as a high card hand. When two or more players have high card hands, the highest card wins, followed by the second highest card, third highest card, etc. in the case of ties. Hands are ranked from Ace down through two.