What Is the Hierarchy of Cards in Poker?

In poker, the hierarchy of cards is the order in which the cards are ranked from highest to Lowest. The hierarchy of cards is important to understand because it determines the winner of a hand and the pot.

The highest ranking card in poker is the ace, followed by the king, queen, jack, and ten. The ace is also the high card in a straight flush.

PRO TIP:In poker, the highest ranking card is the Ace, followed by the King, Queen, Jack, 10, and so on down to 2. Suits (spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds) are not taken into consideration when determining the hierarchy of cards. The same rules apply for all variations of poker including Texas Hold’em and Omaha.

A straight flush is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, all of the same suit. The next highest ranking hand is four of a kind, followed by a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, and one pair.

The Lowest ranking hand in poker is high card. High card hands do not contain any pairs or any sequential ranks.

If two or more players have high card hands, the winner is determined by who has the highest ranking card.