Suicide Kings, One-Eyed Jacks, Aces over Eights and a Full House, for every poker hand out there youll find a hundred different ways of naming it. If you find yourself forgetting what beats what when the cards are called, review these hands, ranked in order from highest to lowest. Next time youll know whether to fold or raise the stakes.

Royal Flush
Odds: 649,739/1
Possible hands: 4
The Royal Flush is the Holy Grail of poker hands, and you could go your whole life without ever seeing one. But if you happen to get dealt a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace all in the same suite, and youre not dreaming, its time to start counting the pot because its going to be yours.

Straight Flush
Odds: 72,192/1
Possible hands: 36
The Straight Flush is a little (but not much) easier to come by than its royal cousin, and consists of five cards in numerical order, all of the same suite. The hand cant wrap around (i.e., K, A, 2, 3, 4), and in the case of two straight flushes at the table, the hand that ends with the highest ranked card takes home the cash.

Four of a Kind
Odds: 4,164/1
Possible Hands: 624
In a game without wild cards, a Four of a Kind is almost guaranteed to shut down the competition. As its name implies, the hand consists of four cards of the same numerical value, one from each suite. As with all poker hands, the higher card value wins out with multiple fours-of-a-kind are laid on the table.

Full House
Odds: 693/1
Possible Hands: 3,744
Compared to the hands above, youll see Full Houses quite a bit if the game goes on long enough. The hand is made up of five cards, with three of a kind and a pair. If theres more than one Full House, the three of a kind is used to determine the ties breaker followed by the pair. This means that a J-J-J-7-7 beats an 8-8-8-5-5, which in turn beats an 8-8-8-3-3.

Flush
Odds: 508/1
Possible Hands: 5,108
It sounds fancier than it really is, but a well-timed flush has been responsible for increasing the winnings of many a poker player. Unlike a Royal Flush, a standard Flush requires five cards all of the same suite, but of any numerical value. In a tie, the highest card wins.

Straight
Odds: 254/1
Possible Hands: 10,200
Five cards in numerical order, regardless of suite. Just like a Straight Flush, the cards have to number between 2 and Ace.

Three of a Kind
Odds: 46/1
Possible Hands: 54,912
Three cards of the same rank of any suite with two cards that arent a pair.

Two Pairs
Odds: 20/1
Possible Hands: 123,552
Two sets of pairs with a fifth unrelated card. This often gets confused among novices as beating a Three of a Kind, but a Three of a Kind beats Two Pairs every time.

One Pair
Odds: 2.4/1
Possible Hands: 1,098,240
A pair of cards with the same numerical rank along with three non-matching cards. The most common hand in poker, it can take guts to make a stand with just a pair. Its paid off, though, especially if your skills at bluffing are above par.

High Card
Odds: 1/1
Possible Hands: 1,302,540
If everyone is dealt nothing but garbage, no matter how rarely this actually happens, then the player showing the highest card when the bets are called wins the pot.