What Is a Good Hand in Poker? How Often Each Hand Wins
A good hand in poker is one likely to be the best of those still in, so it depends on how many players are left. Against one opponent, two pair or better wins most showdowns, and a pair of sixes or better made with your own cards wins more than it loses. Against three opponents you want three of a kind, against five a flush and against eight a full house. Ace high is rarely enough: holding the ace, it beats one random hand 28.81% of the time.
What is a good hand in poker? It depends on how many players are left
There is no fixed line between a good hand and a bad one. Each extra player is one more hand yours has to beat, so what wins heads-up loses at a full table. This is the weakest of the nine kinds of hand that wins more often than not at each table size. It looks at the average hand of each kind, so a strong two pair can do better than the row says and a weak one worse:
| Opponents | Weakest winner | Its win rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two pair | 64.25% |
| 2 | Three of a kind | 62.5% |
| 3 | Three of a kind | 55.8% |
| 5 | Flush | 59.5% |
| 8 | Full house | 55.3% |
Against random hands at showdown, after all five board cards, where no one folds. Against one opponent the figure is an exact count; against more it is simulated. How the numbers were made is under the next table.
How often every hand wins against one opponent
Here is every kind of hand against one random hand, and how often you end up with each. Win rate here means winning the pot alone; a tie is a separate column, and it is not equity:
| Hand | You end with it | Wins | Ties | Loses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 0.03% | 94.83% | 4.57% | 0.60% |
| Four of a kind | 0.17% | 90.72% | 4.24% | 5.04% |
| Full house | 2.60% | 86.99% | 7.17% | 5.84% |
| Flush | 3.03% | 84.99% | 3.46% | 11.55% |
| Straight | 4.62% | 80.70% | 12.19% | 7.11% |
| Three of a kind | 4.83% | 72.70% | 3.46% | 23.84% |
| Two pair | 23.50% | 64.25% | 5.21% | 30.54% |
| One pair | 43.82% | 40.76% | 3.18% | 56.06% |
| High card | 17.41% | 15.82% | 2.41% | 81.77% |
We dealt out every possible hand on every possible board, 2,598,960 boards with 1,081 holdings each, and set each one against all 990 holdings left in the deck. So this table is an exact count of 2,809,475,760 deals, with no sampling. The first column matches the seven-card counts on the hand probabilities page. Each row averages the strong and weak versions of a hand, and a straight flush ties when the board makes one for everyone.
Is ace high good? King high, queen high and jack high by the numbers
Ace high depends on whose ace it is. Holding it, you beat one random hand 28.81% of the time, tie 1.82% and lose 69.38%. Against two players that falls to 8.1% and against three to 2.2%. If the ace is on the board everyone has it, and the same hand wins 15.89%. Every step down costs a lot: king high in your hand wins 19.34%, queen high 11.53%, jack high 5.58% and ten high 1.73%.
| Hand | Wins vs 1 | Ties vs 1 | Wins vs 2 | Wins vs 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace-king high, both in your hand | 31.12% | 0.87% | 9.5% | 2.8% |
| Ace high, the ace in your hand | 28.81% | 1.82% | 8.1% | 2.2% |
| Ace high, the ace on the board | 15.89% | 3.05% | 3.5% | 0.8% |
| King high, the king in your hand | 19.34% | 1.61% | 3.6% | 0.6% |
| Queen high, the queen in your hand | 11.53% | 1.42% | 1.3% | 0.1% |
| Jack high, the jack in your hand | 5.58% | 1.23% | 0.3% | under 0.1% |
| Ten high, the ten in your hand | 1.73% | 1.04% | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| Nine high, the nine in your hand | 0.10% | 0.87% | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
Against one hand, exact. Against two and three, simulated, with each deal meeting one seeded random set of opponents; "under 0.1%" means the hand can win but did so too rarely to print. So high card is a hand to call with only against one player who may be bluffing. Otherwise check it or fold it, unless you mean to bluff. Nine high is the lowest hand you can finish with: seven different ranks with no straight cannot top out below a nine, as with 2-3-4-5-7-8-9.
High card: what it is, how ties break, and how often it is all you have
High card means no pair, no straight and no flush: your best five cards are just the five highest. You end with it on 17.41% of deals, the 23,294,460 of 133,784,560 seven-card hands that make nothing. Ties break by comparing the five cards from the top down, so ace-king-nine beats ace-queen-jack, and if all five match, the pot is split. In Hold'em the board's cards count for both of you, so two players with no pair can tie when their best five cards match. The kicker guide and the split pot rules cover the details.
Is one pair good? Pairs from deuces to aces
One pair is the most common hand you will make, and on average it loses: 40.76% wins to 56.06% losses against one random hand, because that row includes pairs on the board that everyone shares. A pair made with your own cards is a different hand. Against one opponent every such pair from sixes up wins more than it loses, and aces win 79.35%. By three opponents aces are down to 51.0%, and by eight 17.6%:
| Pair | vs 1 | vs 3 | vs 5 | vs 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aces | 79.35% | 51.0% | 33.3% | 17.6% |
| Kings | 75.98% | 45.0% | 27.2% | 13.0% |
| Queens | 72.01% | 38.5% | 21.2% | 8.8% |
| Jacks | 68.10% | 32.8% | 16.3% | 5.9% |
| Tens | 64.26% | 27.8% | 12.4% | 3.8% |
| Nines | 61.02% | 23.6% | 9.4% | 2.4% |
| Eights | 57.58% | 19.8% | 7.0% | 1.4% |
| Sevens | 54.13% | 16.4% | 5.0% | 0.8% |
| Sixes | 50.66% | 13.2% | 3.4% | 0.4% |
| Fives | 46.98% | 10.4% | 2.3% | 0.2% |
| Fours | 44.26% | 8.7% | 1.6% | 0.1% |
| Threes | 41.46% | 7.0% | 1.1% | 0.1% |
| Deuces | 38.57% | 5.4% | 0.7% | under 0.1% |
A pair made with your own cards means a pocket pair, or one hole card pairing the board. Against one hand, exact; against more, simulated, as above. Each pair has its own starting-hand page, such as pocket aces.
Which pair you have: top pair, second pair and below
Where the pair sits on the board matters too. Top pair wins 77.51% against one random hand, 48.0% against three and 15.5% against eight, so it is a strong hand heads-up and a weak one at a full table. A pair that sits on the board and uses neither of your cards wins 21.74%.
| Pair | vs 1 | vs 3 | vs 5 | vs 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overpair: a pocket pair above the whole board | 77.29% | 48.1% | 31.1% | 16.8% |
| Top pair with the best kicker | 80.61% | 54.1% | 37.3% | 21.9% |
| Top pair, any kicker | 77.51% | 48.0% | 30.4% | 15.5% |
| Second pair | 67.91% | 31.8% | 14.8% | 4.4% |
| Third pair or lower | 48.41% | 12.0% | 3.1% | 0.4% |
| A pocket pair below the top card | 53.30% | 17.6% | 6.6% | 1.7% |
| A pair on the board, none in your hand | 21.74% | 2.2% | 0.3% | under 0.1% |
Top pair pairs the highest board card with one of your own. "Best kicker" means your other card is the highest rank not on the board. Against one hand, exact; against more, simulated.
Two pair, trips and better: when a big hand stops being safe
Big hands are not one hand either. Two pair wins 64.25% against one random hand, but 84.89% if both your cards pair the board and 25.10% if both pairs are on the board and shared. Three of a kind wins 72.70% overall. A set wins 89.28% and trips made with one card 91.23%, a little more, partly because a paired board leaves fewer straights and flushes; with all three on the board it wins 27.36%. Trips aside, the rule holds at every level: the more of your hand the board gives everyone, the less it is worth. Holding three pairs changes nothing here: they count as two pair. A full house has its own page in Zeebo's theorem.
| Hand | vs 1 | vs 3 | vs 5 | vs 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two pair, both hole cards pairing the board | 84.89% | 63.5% | 49.2% | 34.9% |
| Two pair, a pocket pair and a board pair | 67.37% | 33.2% | 17.8% | 7.7% |
| Two pair, one hole card and a board pair | 66.64% | 31.1% | 15.4% | 5.7% |
| Two pair, both on the board | 25.10% | 5.6% | 1.5% | 0.2% |
| A set: a pocket pair and one on the board | 89.28% | 73.7% | 62.8% | 51.4% |
| Trips: one hole card and a board pair | 91.23% | 76.7% | 64.9% | 50.7% |
| Three of a kind, all on the board | 27.36% | 5.0% | 1.1% | 0.1% |
| Straight, both hole cards | 94.30% | 85.0% | 77.4% | 68.2% |
| Straight, one hole card | 81.14% | 53.5% | 35.0% | 17.6% |
| Straight, all on the board | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Flush, both hole cards | 96.03% | 89.2% | 83.3% | 75.9% |
| Flush, one hole card | 82.45% | 57.5% | 41.6% | 27.7% |
| Flush, all on the board | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Against one hand, exact; against more, simulated. A straight or flush all on the board can never win alone: everyone holds it, so you can only tie or lose to a hand that improves on it. Two pair or three of a kind on the board can still win alone on the kicker. The hand rankings give the full order.
How each hand's win rate falls from 1 to 8 opponents
Weak hands fall fastest. One pair goes from 40.76% to 2.2% from one opponent to eight, and two pair from 64.25% to 10.7%. A straight holds up better, 80.70% to 36.5%, and a flush 84.99% to 49.4%. A flush made with one hole card is more exposed than that row suggests, 82.45% to 27.7%, because someone else may hold a bigger one.
| Hand | vs 1 | vs 3 | vs 5 | vs 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 94.83% | 94.0% | 93.2% | 92.0% |
| Four of a kind | 90.72% | 88.0% | 87.0% | 86.2% |
| Full house | 86.99% | 74.4% | 65.1% | 55.3% |
| Flush | 84.99% | 69.8% | 59.5% | 49.4% |
| Straight | 80.70% | 62.3% | 49.4% | 36.5% |
| Three of a kind | 72.70% | 55.8% | 46.4% | 36.3% |
| Two pair | 64.25% | 33.8% | 20.1% | 10.7% |
| One pair | 40.76% | 13.2% | 5.8% | 2.2% |
| High card | 15.82% | 0.8% | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
The vs 1 column is exact. The others are simulated: every deal met one seeded random set of eight opponents, so each column adds seats to the same deals, and a row is measured as often as its hand exists. No simulated figure in the tables on this page has a standard error above 0.03 points. These are win rates: the share of pots won alone.
What hand usually wins
Turn it round: if everyone stayed to the river, what would the best hand be? Heads-up it is one pair or high card about 43% of the time. With nine players it is two pair or better 90.6% of the time, and one pair wins only 9.4%. Few real hands go to showdown nine-handed, so this is the top of the range and not a target.
| Players | High card | One pair | Two pair | Three of a kind | Straight | Flush | Full house or better |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5.9% | 37.1% | 31.4% | 7.2% | 8.0% | 5.2% | 5.1% |
| 3 | 2.0% | 30.0% | 33.9% | 9.2% | 10.8% | 7.0% | 7.1% |
| 4 | 0.6% | 24.1% | 33.8% | 11.0% | 13.1% | 8.5% | 8.9% |
| 6 | 0.1% | 16.1% | 30.5% | 13.9% | 16.6% | 10.8% | 12.0% |
| 9 | under 0.1% | 9.4% | 24.6% | 16.7% | 20.1% | 13.4% | 15.8% |
Simulated, with every deal met by a seeded random set of opponents, and a standard error under 0.01 points.
Why real opponents beat these numbers
A random hand never folds, and that is why these figures flatter you. The hands that call a river bet are not random: they are the ones that have something. Suppose an opponent turns up only with the best quarter of the holdings on that board. Then one pair wins 1.77% of the time, top pair 17.19%, two pair 12.70% and three of a kind 42.51%:
| Hand | Wins vs random | Wins vs best quarter | Ties | Loses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 94.83% | 83.78% | 14.35% | 1.87% |
| Four of a kind | 90.72% | 81.85% | 8.01% | 10.14% |
| Full house | 86.99% | 56.71% | 23.89% | 19.39% |
| Flush | 84.99% | 54.27% | 5.20% | 40.53% |
| Straight | 80.70% | 41.22% | 37.49% | 21.29% |
| Three of a kind | 72.70% | 42.51% | 2.57% | 54.92% |
| Two pair | 64.25% | 12.70% | 3.57% | 83.72% |
| One pair | 40.76% | 1.77% | 0.41% | 97.83% |
| High card | 15.82% | 0% | 0% | 100.00% |
Against one opponent. The best quarter is the top 271 of the 1,081 holdings on each board, plus any tied with the last of them, so it changes with the board. Real ranges are not that simple: some bluff and some fold a good hand. It shows the direction of the error and not its exact size.
Related tools
Frequently asked
What is a good hand in poker?
One likely to be the best of those still in. Against one opponent, two pair or better wins most showdowns; against three, three of a kind; against five, a flush; against eight, a full house. Figures are win rates against random hands that never fold.
Is ace high good in poker?
Rarely. Holding the ace it beats one random hand 28.81% of the time, and ace-king high 31.12%. Against two players ace high falls to 8.1%. If the ace is on the board, everyone has it, and it wins 15.89%.
Is king high good in poker?
No. Holding the king it beats one random hand 19.34% of the time and two random hands 3.6%. It can win a heads-up pot when both players missed, and little else.
Is queen high or jack high good in poker?
No. Queen high in your hand beats one random hand 11.53% of the time and jack high 5.58%.
Is 10 high or 9 high good in poker?
Almost never. Ten high in your hand wins 1.73% of the time against one random hand and nine high 0.10%, with 0.87% ties. Nine high is the lowest hand you can finish with in Hold'em.
What cards are good in poker?
Before the flop, big pairs and big suited cards: the best starting hands article ranks them. After the flop, what counts is the finished hand and how many players are left, which is what this page measures.
Is two pair good in poker?
Against one opponent, usually: it beats one random hand 64.25% of the time, and 84.89% if both your cards pair the board. Against three it wins 33.8% and against eight 10.7%.
Terms used in this article
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