Does a royal flush beat three of a kind?

Yes. A royal flush beats three of a kind in poker — every time. In the ranking of 10 hand categories, royal flush is #1 and three of a kind is #7. Categories are compared first: the royal flush is the single best hand in poker — nothing beats it, and every three of a kind loses to it.

#1
Royal Flush — wins

A-K-Q-J-10, all one suit. The unbeatable hand.

A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
#7
Three of a Kind — loses

Three cards of the same rank ("trips").

8♠8♥8♦K♣2♥

How rare is each hand?

Rarity is exactly why the order is what it is. Out of 2,598,960 possible five-card hands, a royal flush shows up in 0.000154% of them (4 combinations), while three of a kind appears in 2.11% (54,912 combinations). The harder a hand is to make, the higher it ranks.

Does three of a kind ever beat a royal flush?

No — never. The category comparison is absolute: the highest possible three of a kind still loses to the lowest possible royal flush. Ranks inside a category only matter when both players hold the same category.

Prove it to yourself

Which hand wins? Tap it.

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