The crown jewel of poker hands! This is the highest hand possible, consisting of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten. They must all be in the same suit. Every Royal Flush is equal in value, regardless of suit.
A hand comprised of five cards in sequence in the same suit is called a Straight Flush. For example: cards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, all of Hearts. In the event of two straight flushes, the one with the highest card is the superior hand. It's important to note that an Ace can be counted as a low card OR a high card (but never both simultaneously).
As the name implies, Four of a Kind consists of four cards of the same numerical or face value (i.e.: same rank). For example: four Jacks or four 7's. In the event there are two Four-of-a-Kind, the hand containing the higher set of four cards is the superior hand: four 4's beats four 3's. It won't happen in single deck standard poker, but if in another type of poker game you need to compare two Four of a Kind where the sets of four cards are of the same rank, the hand with the highest fifth card wins.
Stated simply, a Full House is comprised of three cards of one rank and two cards of another, i.e.: three Jacks and two Aces (also referred to as "Jacks, full of Aces "). When it is required that two full houses need to be compared, it is the rank of the three cards determines which is higher. For example J-J-J-9-9 beats 10-10-10-K-K. If the threes of a kind were equal, the rank of the pairs would decide: i.e.: Q-Q-Q-K-K loses to Q-Q-Q-A-A.
A Flush is when you hold five cards, all of the same suit. If it becomes necessary to compare two flushes, the hand containing the highest card will determine the winning hand. In the event that the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared, and so on.
A Straight is when you hold a sequential series of cards of mixed suits . For example 2-3-4-5-6 or 9-10-J-Q-K. If it becomes necessary to compare two sequences, the one with the highest ranking card wins. In the example above, the hand with the King high would be the winner, since a King is higher than a 6. As usual an ace can count high or low in a straight, but it cannot be both at once.
Just as the name implies, Three of a Kind is three cards of the same rank in a hand. Three of a kind is also known as Triplets (or "Trips" for short). When comparing two hands, each containing threes of a kind, the hand where the three equal cards are of higher rank is the better hand, i.e.: 3-3-3-7-K loses to 4-4-4-9-J. In the situation where a comparison of two hands become necessary (each with sets of three card of equal rank), the hand containing the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand will determine the winning hand.
A pair is two cards of equal rank, such as a Q of Hearts and a Q of Diamonds for example. A hand with two pairs, where the two pairs are of different ranks (if they were all the same rank, it would be Four of a Kind) is known as Two Pairs. When comparing different pairs, each with Two Pairs, the hand with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards . For clarity, a hand containing so Q-Q-6-6-8 will beat Q-Q-4-4-2. If the event that the higher pairs are equal, then the lower pairs are compared. In the situation where both pairs are the same, the remaining odd cards are compared. For example: Q-Q-6-6-8 will beat Q-Q-6-6-7, since the final determining card 8 is greater when compared to the 7 of the losing hand.
Like the Two Pairs above, a hand with only two cards of equal rank is called a Pair. When comparing two hands, each containing a Pair, the hand with the higher pair is the better hand. So 9-9-2-4-5 beats 8-8-10-J-J. In the event that the pairs being compared are equal, the highest ranking remaining cards from each hand will determine the better hand.