There are ten possible hand combinations, or hand rankings you can have in poker. Any game of poker is essentially based on what best 5 card combination you have compared to what best 5 card combination your opponent has, and which hand beats which.
In games such as Texas Hold'em, there are shared cards, and ties can happen more frequently. Typically the tie breaker is determined by the "kicker" or what highest card you have that you are not using to create the tying hand. You can only break a tie with a kicker with hands that do not require all five cards, or have the green back of a card shown below.
| Example Hand: | Name of Hand: | Hand Description: | Tie Breaker |
     | Royal Flush | The royal flush is in fact just a straight flush with an Ace high, but since the royal flush is the best hand you can possibly have in poker, it gets its own name. | If two players have a royal flush, it is a tie, and they split the winnings. |
     | Straight Flush | A straight flush is five suited sequential cards. It is ranked by the highest card in the straight. | If two players have straight flushes, the one with a higher highest card in the straight is the winner. If the highest card is the same, then it is a tie and the winnings are split. |
    | Four of a Kind | Four of a kind is four cards of the same rank, or the same number. | The higher ranking four of a kind is the winner. In the case of shared cards where the four of a kind is shared, then the highest "kicker" determines the winner. |
 | Full House | A full house is three of a kind and a pair. | If two players have full houses, whoever has the higher ranking 3 of a kind is the winner. If the 3 of a kind is shared, then it is the pair that is higher the winner. |
  | Flush | A Flush is five suited cards that are not sequential. | The Flush is ranked by the highest card in the flush. |
| Straight | A straight is 5 sequential cards that are not suited. | The Straight is ranked by the highest card in the sequence. |
| 3 of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank | The higher ranking of the 3 of a kind is the winner. In the case of shared cards, the player with the highest ranking kicker is the the winner. |
| Two Pair | Two sets of cards with the same rank. | Whoever has the higher ranking of the 2 pairs is the winner. In the case of shared cards, or same cards the player with the highest ranking kicker is the the winner. |
| A Pair | One set of cards with the same rank. | Whoever has the top pair is the winner. In the case of shared cards, or same cards the player with the highest ranking kicker is the the winner. |
| High Card | If you have none of the above combinations, your hand is defined by the highest card. | In the case of a tied high card, then players compare next highest and so on. |