Casino Poker Hands and Examples

In casino poker, the objective of the game is to survive through the betting rounds to emerge as the player holding the best 5-card hand. The 5-card hand can be composed of cards from both a player’s pocket cards and from the shared community cards.

There are 10 different casino poker hands. These hands are ranked in a hierarchy that goes from the highest hand, the Royal Flush, to the lowest winning hand, the simple High Card. These poker hands are placed in order according to their rarity and difficulty in achievement.

Here are the casino poker hands in rank order from highest to lowest and an example of each hand:

Royal Flush: A consecutive, suited 5-card hand beginning with an Ace (A-K-Q-J-10 Spades)
Straight Flush: A consecutive string of 5 cards of the same suit that does not begin with an Ace (8-7-6-5-4 Diamonds)
Four of a Kind: A set of four cards of the same value (5-5-5-5-9)
Full House: A pair of cards and three-of-a-kind (K-K-9-9-9)
Flush: Five cards of the same suit, not in consecutive order (2-5-6-J-Q Clubs)
Straight: Five cards in consecutive order, not suited (2-3-4-5-6)
Three of a Kind: A set of three cards with the same value (J-J-J-5-2)
Two Pair: Two different pairs (8-8-A-A-6)
Pair: One pair of cards with the same value (7-7-10-2-5)
High Card: A hand with the highest card out of all the players at the table (A-J-9-8-3)

The same casino poker hand hierarchy also applies to online poker games.