S=Spades C= Clubs H= Hearts D=Diamonds 1. Poker ranks are always based on five cards only. 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. There is no ranking between the suits – so for example the king of hearts and the king of spades are equal.Ī poker hand consists of five cards. 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.
