When Wild cards are used, a wild card contained in a flush is considered to be of the highest rank not already present in the hand. For example, in the hand (Wild) 10♥ 8♥ 5♥ 4♥, the wild card plays as the A♥, but in the hand A♣ K♣ (Wild) 9♣ 6♣, it plays as the Q♣.
Some home games and some casinos play the Double-ace flush rule, in which a wild card in a flush always plays as an ace, even if one is already present. In such a game, the hand A♠ (Wild) 9♠ 5♠ 2♠ would defeat A♦ K♦ Q♦ 10♦ 8♦ (the wild card playing as an imaginary second A♠), whereas by the standard rules it would lose (because even with the wild card playing as a K♠, the latter hand's Q♦ outranks the former's 9♠). This rule is rare, and is an exception to standard practice, so it should be announced clearly if you intend to use it.
Some poker games are played with a deck that has been stripped of certain cards, usually low-ranking ones. For example, the Australian game of Manila uses a 32-card deck in which all cards below the rank of 7 are removed, and Mexican stud removes the 8s, 9s, and 10s. In both of these games, a flush ranks above a full house, because having fewer cards of each suit available makes flushes rarer.
Full house (for example, 2-2-2-Q-Q)
A full house is a poker hand such as 3♣ 3♠ 3♦ 6♣ 6♥, which contains three matching cards of one rank, plus two matching cards of another rank. It is also called a "boat" or "tight". It ranks above a flush and below four of a kind.
Between two full houses, the one with the higher ranking set of trips wins. If two have the same set of trips (possible in wild card and community card games), the hand with the higher pair wins.
Examples:
10♠ 10♥ 10♦ 4♠ 4♦ ("tens full") defeats 9♥ 9♣ 9♠ A♥ A♣ ("nines full")
K♠ K♣ K♥ 3♦ 3♠ defeats 10♠ 10♥ 10♦ 4♠ 4♦
Q♥ Q♦ Q♣ 8♥ 8♣ ("queens full of eights" or "full house, queens over eights") defeats Q♥ Q♦ Q♣ 5♠ 5♥ ("queens full of fives")
Four of a kind (for example, J-J-J-J-6)
Higher ranking quads defeat lower ranking ones. Between two equal sets of quads (possible in wild card and community card games), the kicker determines the winner.
Examples:
10♣ 10♦ 10♥ 10♠ 5♦ ("four tens" or "quad tens") defeats 6♦ 6♥ 6♠ 6♣ K♠ ("four sixes")
10♣ 10♦ 10♥ 10♠ Q♣ ("four tens, queen kicker") defeats 10♣ 10♦ 10♥ 10♠ 5♦ ("four tens with a five")
Straight flush (for example, Q-J-10-9-8 of one suit)
Four of a kind is a poker hand such as 9♣ 9♠ 9♦ 9♥ J♥, which contains four cards of one rank, and an unmatched card. It is also called "quads". It ranks above a full house and below a straight flush.
A straight flush is a poker hand such as Q♠ J♠ 10♠ 9♠ 8♠, which contains five cards in rank sequence, all of the same suit. It ranks above all other poker hands (unless wild cards are used, in which case it ranks below five of a kind).
Two such hands are compared by their high card in the same way as are straights, and the same wild card rules apply as for straights. The ace rule also applies: 5♦ 4♦ 3♦ 2♦ A♦ is a 5-high straight flush. An ace-high straight flush such as A♣ K♣ Q♣ J♣ 10♣ is called a royal flush, and is the highest ranking poker hand possible without wild cards.
Examples:
7♥ 6♥ 5♥ 4♥ 3♥ defeats 5♠ 4♠ 3♠ 2♠ A♠
J♣ 10♣ 9♣ 8♣ 7♣ ties J♦ 10♦ 9♦ 8♦ 7♦
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