HAND RANKING RULES IN POKER

To make things a tiny bit more complicated (look, we never said this was going to be a walk in the park), there are a few instances where players can have similar holding values.

If players have similar hands, the one with the higher-ranking cards holds the strongest hand and wins. For example, in one-pair hands like KK vs. JJ, KK wins.

If two players have the same pair, for example AA and AA, the "kicker" (the next highest card) decides. For instance, AAKJ9 beats AAQJ9 because AAKJ9 has a higher kicker (K vs. Q). If kickers are also tied, compare the next highest cards, and so on.

If all five cards match, the pot is split.

Similar rules apply to two-pair hands; the player with the higher kicker wins.

Here are a few other poker hand ranking rules to remember:

Two pairs are ranked by the higher pair first, then the lower pair, and finally the kicker if needed. For example, JJ227 beats TT998.
Flushes are compared by the highest card; KhQh8h6h3h beats KsQs7s4s3s.
Straights are ranked by the highest card in the sequence; QJT98 beats T9876.
Full houses are determined by the higher set first; 77722 wins against 666AA.
If no players have a hand, the highest card wins, with ties broken by the next highest card, and so on. For example, AQJ85 beats AQJ83.