Poker hand

A poker hand is a five-card combination used to determine the winner in most poker games.

A poker hand is a five-card combination used to determine the winner in most poker games. Hands are ranked by rarity and card pattern, with royal flush as the highest standard hand and high card as the lowest in common high-hand games. In variants such as Texas hold’em, players use shared and private cards to make the best five-card hand.

Definition

A poker hand is the set of cards a player uses under the rules of a poker variant, typically five cards in standard play. The strongest hand at showdown wins the pot in most high-hand games.

Hand rankings

Standard poker hand categories are ordered by frequency and strength, from royal flush down to high card. When two hands are in the same category, the higher-ranking cards decide the winner.

Use in poker variants

In draw games and five-card poker, players often receive exactly five cards. In community-card games such as Texas hold'em and Omaha, players combine private cards with shared cards to make the best five-card hand.

Variants and rule differences

Not all poker games use the same objective. Lowball games award the lowest hand, and high-low split games divide the pot between qualifying high and low hands.