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Poker hands cheat sheet
Updated November 2026
Here's every poker hand from best to worst on one card, with real cards and how often each comes up by the river. Save it to your phone or print it for your next game.
How do you read it?
Hand 1 beats everything below it, hand 2 beats everything below that, and so on. The number on the right is how often you'll make that hand by the river in Texas Hold'em, if you stay all the way.
Only five cards count. You can make your hand from any of your two cards and the five on the table.
Best five from seven
What's the quickest way to learn the order?
- Bigger groups beat smaller groupsFour of a kind beats three, three beats two, and two pair beats one pair.
- Remember the two that surprise peopleA flush beats a straight, and a full house beats a flush.
- Rarer hands winThat's where the order comes from, and it's why the list makes sense.
Which ties cause arguments?
- Two full housesThe three of a kind decides first.
- Two flushesCompare the highest card, then the next.
- The lowest straightAce to five, called a wheel. It loses to two to six.
- Same pairThe next highest side cards decide it.
Which starting hands are best?
Pocket aces, then kings, then queens. Below that the order depends on how many players are in the hand. The full list ranks all 169 against one opponent and against a full table.
The top three
How do you keep it handy?
Use the Save as image button on the cheat sheet and you'll have a picture on your phone. Bookmark this page for next time. In most home games you can keep it next to you, and in a casino you should learn it first, since you won't want to read it at the table.
Have you got it?
Twelve spots in three rounds.
Questions players ask
What is the best hand in poker?
A royal flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten of one suit.
Do suits matter?
Only for making a flush. No suit is better than another.
How many hands are on the list?
Ten.
Hosting friends who keep asking what beats what?
Send them this page, or print the card.