Knowing your poker hands is crucial to playing a solid game at the table, and regardless of whether you’re playing Texas Hold’em, or Omaha, you’ll always want to know the value of your hand. When you have this knowledge at your disposal, you’ll be able to make an informed decision on whether to raise, check, call, or fold your hand when it matters most.

The Best Texas Hold’em Hands by Winning Percentage Pocket Aces – statistically the best starting hand in Hold’em – are less than a 75% favorite against 2 or more opponents according to my Texas Hold’em hand rankings. If you’ve ever played Texas Hold’em you already know how important starting hand. Texas Hold’em: a game in which it is easy to learn the basics, but considerably harder to master. For now, let's cover a basic part of the game - starting hands.

Most Winning Hands In Texas Holdem

In this post, we’re going to look at the winning poker hands structure of two different games; Texas Hold’em, and Omaha – and we’ll begin by taking a look at a poker hands chart, followed by the best and worst starting hands. We’ll also show you a list of poker hands to help you make the right decisions in your game.

Texas Hold’em Winning Poker Hands Ranking

In this guide, you’ll see that there are a total of 10 hands in Texas Hold’em poker (or 9 if you don’t count ‘no pair’ as a hand), and we’ll detail these below. (The winning poker hands chart below shows a list of poker hands, ranked best, to worst).

Royal Flush: Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, all of the same suit.

Straight Flush: Any 5 cards of the same suit, in consecutive order. (I.e. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of spades).

4-of-a-kind: 4 cards of the same value (i.e. the 5 of spades, the 5 of hearts, the 5 of clubs, and the 5 of diamonds).

Full House: A full house consists of one 3-of-a-kind hand, and one pair, so for instance, a full house could be the 2 of spades, the 2 of diamonds, the 2 of clubs, and a pair of Aces.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit (i.e. 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9 of hearts).

Straight: Five cards in consecutive order (i.e. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, off-suit).

3-of-a-kind: Three cards of the same value (I.e. 3 of clubs, 3 or spades, and the 3 of hearts).

Two Pair: Two pairs in one hand – i.e. a pair of 2’s, and a pair of 3’s.

One Pair: One singular pair – i.e. a pair of Aces.

No Pair: A no pair hand is when you don’t have any of the above. In this instance, you have what is known as a ‘high card hard’.

Use the poker hands chart above to ensure you’re always in full control of your game!

Omaha Poker Hands Ranking

Omaha uses the exact same hand-ranking process as Texas Hold’em does, and while it may seem as though that’s a little ‘odd’ at first, remember that Omaha is almost identical, aside from the fact that players have four cards, and that betting is usually pot-limit.

This means that a Royal Flush is the best possible hand in a game of Omaha, and high-card (while incredibly unusual due to the 4 cards each player holds) is the lowest possible hand.

For a full guide on playing Omaha, be sure to check out our How to Play Omaha guide.

Best Starting Poker Hands

Knowing your winning poker hands is crucial if you want to play a solid game of poker – and below, we share how to determine whether or not you have a winner on your hand!

Texas Hold’em: The best starting hand is a pair of Aces. A pair of aces (also known as pocket rockets) are a favourite pre-flop over any other starting hand and is almost always one of the best winning poker hands. The second, and third best starting hands are a pair of Kings and Queens respectively, followed by Ace-King suited, pocket Jacks, pocket Tens, and then Ace-Queen suited. The 10th best starting hand is Ace-King Offsuit – which is actually still a very strong hand.

Omaha: Working out winning poker hands in Omaha is a little more complex than Texas Hold’em, when looking at the best starting hands, although mathematically, the best starting hands can be determined.

For example, the strongest hand is AAKK, followed by AAJT, AAQQ, and AAJJ. It’s worth noting however, that the best possible hand in Omaha holds little value against a full-ring of players, hence the need to play aggressively, pre-flop and post-flop; see our poker hands chart for more details.

Worst Poker Starting Hands

Determining the worst starting hands in poker is a little more challenging – largely due to the fact that most players simply have knowledge of the better starting hands – yet knowing what the worst starting hands are is just as important, as it allows you to know when to throw away your hands pre-flop. Below, we look at the worst starting hands for both Texas Hold’em and Omaha.

Texas Hold’em: 2-7 offsuit (this is well-known as the worst starting hand in poker, due to the fact that it’s often used as side-bets in games.) 7-2 offsuit is followed by 8-2 offsuit, 8-3 offsuit, 7-3 offsuit, 6-2 offsuit, 9-2, 9-3, and 9-4 offsuit.

Omaha: Unfortunately, with Omaha, there isn’t an ‘official’ list of worst poker hands – purely due to the fact that there would be too many to list. However, most professionals and poker experts agree that any starting hand that combines any of the worst starting hands in Texas Hold’em generally constitute a very poor starting hand in Omaha too – so it’s worth throwing these away most of the time, pre-flop. If in doubt, consult the list of winning poker hands ranking above.

Learning how to play Texas Holdem is pretty easy. It only looks complicated because there are so many rounds of action. But other than the action preflop and at showdown, each round is the same. So once you get the general idea of the game, it’ll be easy to pick it up.

This page will explain the basics behind Texas Holdem poker, including the rules, betting, winning hands and terminology.

An Example Hand of Texas Holdem – Game Play & Rules

Here is an example hand of Texas Holdem. This should give you an idea as to the rules and how the game plays.

The Blinds & Hole Cards

Before the cards are dealt the blinds are posted. The small blind posts the small blind and the big blind posts the big blind.

Once the blinds are posted the dealer deals each player two cards face down, one card at a time, starting with the small blind and working around the table clockwise. These are the players hole cards.

Preflop

After the hole cards are dealt the first betting round begins. The betting round begins with the player to the immediate left of the big blind, also known as the player under the gun. The options are to call, raise or fold.

Once that player acts the action will continue clockwise around the table. Each player will have the option to call, raise or fold. It keeps going like this until all but one player has folded, winning the pot outright, or until 2 or more players called.

When the action gets to the blinds, they will only need to call the difference between what they posted and the current bet. For example, if you’re playing $2/$4 and the current bet is $12, the small blind would only have to call $10 and the big blind $8 to see the flop.

The Flop

The flop is the first 3 community cards that players can use to make their 5 card poker hand. The dealer will usually burn one card, and then turn over 3 cards in the center of the table. After this another betting round starts.

The betting round will start with the first player to the left of the dealer button that’s still involved in the hand. The options are to check or bet (players can fold too, but checking is free).

Betting will continue clockwise until each player has acted. Depending on the action, players will have the option to check (if there is no betting), call (if someone bet), fold (if someone bet) or raise (if someone bet).

The Turn

The turn is the 4th community card. The turn will play just like the flop.

The River

The river is the 5th, and last, community card that players can use to make their hand. The river will play just like the flop and turn.

Unless all but one player folded during the betting round, once all players have acted there is a showdown to determine the winner. If there was no betting on the river then the first player to the left of the dealer button will need to flip up his or her hand. If there was betting on the river then the player who made the bets/raises (not the caller) will be the first to show. Then going clockwise around the table each player can show their hand (if they think they have the best hand) or muck (if they don’t think they have the best hand).

The player with the best 5 card poker hand, using any combination of their hole cards and community cards will win the hand and pot.

After the chips are awarded, the dealer button is moved one seat to the left. The 2 players to the left of the dealer button will post the blinds and a new hand of Texas Holdem will be dealt.

Texas Holdem Betting

The betting is usually what trips people up when learning how to play Holdem. This section will explain how Texas Holdem betting works, depending on the betting type being used.

No Limit Betting

No Limit Texas Holdem, or NLHE, is the most common form of Holdem nowadays. The betting rules for NLHE are simple:

• Raises must be at least twice that of the current bet. For example, if you wanted to make a raise in a $2/$4 game, the minimum raise would be $8. It can be $9, $15 or even $11.25 — it can be whatever you have the chips for, as long as it’s 2x the current bet.
• A player can move their entire stack “all in” at any time.

Limit Betting

Limit or “fixed limit” betting is a little bit more complicated. Using $2/$4 blinds as an example, here is how the betting works:

• The blinds are half of the small and big bet. So with blinds of 2/4, the small bet would be $4 and the big bet $8.
• Preflop and on the flop the small bet is used. So each bet and raise would be $4. If one player made a bet of $4 and you wanted to raise, you’d make it 8 total. If a player after you wanted to raise, it’d be to $12 total, then $16 and so on.
• The turn and river is the same as preflop and the flop, except for that the big bet is used. So each bet would be in increments of $8.
• Most poker rooms/sites have a cap of how many raises can take place per round. It depends on where you play, but it ranges from 3 to 5. After the cap has been reached, the only options are to fold or call until another the next round.

Pot Limit Betting

Pot Limit is the least common betting type used in Holdem. It’s also pretty easy to understand.

• The minimum bet must be that of the big blind. The minimum raise must be 2x the big blind. So at blinds of $2/$4, the minimum bet is $4 and the minimum raise would be $8 (or 2x the last bet or raise).
• The maximum amount a player can bet is determined by the amount in the pot. If there is $20 in the pot at a game of $2/$4 Limit Holdem, you can make a bet as large as $20. Assuming you bet $20, the player after you can wager as much as $40 ($20 from you + the $20 that was in the pot before you bet). The bigger the pot gets the more that can be wagered.
• There are no betting caps. Players can continue to raise until each player has folded or called, or until everyone is “all in.”

What Hands Win in Texas Holdem

Texas Holdem uses the standard poker rankings chart to determine the winning hand. In order of best hand to worst:

• Royal Flush
• Straight Flush
• Four of a Kind
• Full House (Boat)
• Flush
• Straight
• 3 of a Kind (Trips or Set)
• Two Pair
• Pair
• High Card

In Texas Holdem if 2 or more players have the same hand, the winner is determine by who has the highest of that hand. For example, if 2 players had a flush, one a 9 high flush and the other a J high flush, the J high flush would win.

If 2 or more players have the exact same (high) hand, then the pot is split between those players.

Suits do not break ties in Texas Holdem. It’s not possible to have more than one suit in Texas Holdem, anyway, as there aren’t enough cards in play.

Texas Holdem Terms

Here are some commonly used terms in Texas Holdem. They should help you understand this page a little better, as well as the chit-chat that might go on while you play.

Blinds – The blinds are forced bets made before the cards are dealt. It’s “dead money,” so it encourages action.

Small Blind – The small blind is the player to the immediate left of the dealer button. This player puts in the small blind, which is usually the smaller of the two forced bets, and about half the big blind. For example, in a $2/$4 Holdem game, $2 would be the small blind.

Big Blind – The big blind is the player to the immediately left of the small blind, or two seats to the left of the dealer button. This players puts in the forced big blind before the players are dealt their cards, which is usually twice the small blind. In a $2/$4 game, the big blind would be $4.

Hole Cards – Hole cards are the cards dealt to each player.

Under the Gun – This is the term used for the player first to act (usually to the immediately left of the big blind) pre-flop.

Texas Hold'em Winning Hands Chart

Flop – First 3 (of 5) community cards.

Turn – Fourth community card dealt. Dealt following the betting action on the flop.

Order Of Winning Hands In Texas Holdem Poker

Texas Holdem Winning Hands In Order

River – Fifth, and final, community card. Dealt following the betting action on the turn.

Showdown – Where one or more players show their hands to see who wins the pot. Follows the betting action on the river.

Muck – When a player throws their hand away (folds), usually without showing it.