Does Five of a Kind Beat a Straight Flush? Poker Rules

The Short Answer

Yes, Five of a Kind beats a Straight Flush. It's the highest-ranking hand in standard poker. Nothing beats it. Not a Royal Flush, not anything else.

Most players never see this hand. That's because it requires wild cards — jokers or other designated wilds — to exist in the game. In a pure "decks only" game with no jokers, Five of a Kind is impossible.

Why This Confuses People

Poker hand rankings follow a clear hierarchy. The problem is that most casual players learn the rankings from a basic chart that doesn't include wild cards.

Those charts show:

Five of a Kind never appears on those lists because it's not possible with a standard 52-card deck. So people assume the Royal Flush is the ultimate hand. It's not.

Complete Poker Hand Rankings (With Five of a Kind)

RankHandExample
1Five of a Kind5♠ 5♥ 5♦ 5♣ 5♥ (with joker)
2Royal FlushA♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♥
3Straight Flush9♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 5♠
4Four of a KindK♠ K♥ K♦ K♣ 2♠
5Full HouseQ♠ Q♥ Q♦ 7♣ 7♠
6FlushA♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 3♦
7Straight10♠ 9♥ 8♦ 7♣ 6♠
8Three of a Kind8♠ 8♥ 8♦ K♣ 4♠
9Two PairA♠ A♥ 6♦ 6♣ 9♠
10One PairK♠ K♥ Q♦ J♣ 3♠
11High CardA♠ J♥ 8♦ 5♣ 2♠

When Does Five of a Kind Actually Occur?

You won't find Five of a Kind in:

You will find it in:

What About the Joker?

In games with one joker, the joker can be any card you need it to be. So if you have four Aces, the joker becomes your fifth Ace. That's Five of a Kind.

Some games use multiple jokers. Some use designated wilds (like the 2 of spades in some variants). The principle stays the same — you need five cards of the same rank, and wild cards make it possible.

How to Use This at the Table

If you're playing a game with wild cards:

  1. Check the house rules before you play. Some games limit wild cards. Some require you to declare your hand clearly.
  2. Remember: Five of a Kind beats everything. If you have it, you win the pot. No exceptions.
  3. Watch for tiebreakers. If two players somehow both hit Five of a Kind (possible with multiple jokers), the higher rank wins. Five Aces beats five Kings.

Quick Reference

The hierarchy in wild card games:

That's it. Five of a Kind sits alone at the top. If you're playing a game with wild cards and you hit this hand, you don't need to worry about what anyone else has. You've won.