Believe it or not, it only just occurred to me today that a video poker novice might not be familiar with poker hand rankings, so I'm adding a page outlining the standard rankings of hands for their benefit. Please note that in wild card games like Deuces Wild, there is such a thing as a five of a kind, but that hand doesn't exist in card games without wild cards like Jacks or Better.
In a normal poker game, the higher the number on the card (the rank), the better it is. The face cards are the jack, queen, and king in that order, and the ace is the highest card in the deck. (But it's also the lowest when making a low straight.)
Suits aren't ranked at all in video poker. The suits are hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.
1. Five of a Kind - Five cards with the same rank. Only possible in wild card games.
2. Royal Flush - The ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit. The highest possible hand in most cases.
3. Four of a Kind - Four cards of the same rank plus any other card.
4. Full House - Three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. Basically a Three of a Kind combined with a Pair.
5. Flush- Five cards of the same suit.
6. Straight - Five cards of consecutive rank, like 23456.
7. Three of a Kind - Three cards of the same rank plus any other two cards.
8. Two Pairs - Two cards of the same rank plus two other cards of another rank, plus any other card.
9. One Pair - Two cards of the same rank plus any 3 other cards. Most video poker games only pay off for a pair of jacks or better.
Knowing the rankings of the hand is the first step in learning how to play video poker. Click here to read more about poker hand rankings, but from the perspective of traditional poker. You might also be interested in our articles about free video poker and no download video poker.
This page was written on April 10, 2006 and was last updated on September 18, 2007.
