Poker ranks are always based on five cards only, and if these cards are equal the hands are equal, irrespective of the ranks of any unused cards. In games where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards do not play any part in the ranking. Between hands in the same category the rank of the individual cards decides which is better, as described in more detail below. Any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category (so for example any three of a kind beats any two pairs). The categories of hand, from highest to lowest, are listed below. See ranking of suits for details.)Ī poker hand consists of five cards.
(Note however that suit ranking is sometimes used for other purposes such as allocating seats, deciding who bets first, and allocating the odd chip when splitting a pot that can't be equally divided. In standard poker - that is to say in the formal casino and tournament game played internationally and the home game as normally played in North America - there is no ranking between the suits for the purpose of comparing hands - so for example the king of hearts and the king of spades are equal. There are 52 cards in the pack, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
