How do you determine the winner of a hand?
The first thing to mention is definitely that there are no extra cards. Poker hands are evaluated with exactly five cards. Sometimes you use all five community cards as your best hand, in which case your pocket is useless (bluffing aside, of course). So strike that right away: if you can't beat your opponent with five cards, you've lost (or tied).
This is true even if all players are using the community cards. In the extreme example, say a Royal Flush comes down in the community cards. Everyone gets a Royal Flush (in which case, obviously, you go all in hoping your opponent makes a mistake.) You're not forced to say &quot;Well, I had an ace in my hand, so I break the tie between the two of us.&quot; No, no, and no, you all have the community cards, you tie, split the pot and move on to the next hand.
The next step is to evaluate the hands. It starts like this:

Does any single player have a straight flush? A straight flush is having both a straight and flush at the same time. A flush is all 5 cards being the same suit. A straight is having 5 consecutive cards, consecutive being defined with the order A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A. Ace is in the list twice, but you cannot overlap A. Thus, A, 2, 3, 4, 5 is a straight, 10, J, Q, K, A is a straight, but Q, K, A, 2, 3 is not. A Royal Flush (10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit) is sometimes considered a special straight flush, but in reality it's just the best straight flush.


If yes, that player is the winner.


Do multiple players have a straight flush?


If yes, the winner is the one with the highest card. (A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight, while 10-J-Q-K-A is the highest straight.)
If multiple people share the highest card (either in a different suit or because there is a straight flush in the community cards) they split the pot.


Does any single player have 4 of a kind?


If yes, that player is the winner.


Do multiple players have 4 of a kind?


If yes, the one with the highest 'set of 4' is the winner.
If multiple players have the highest set of 4 (which is not achievable with a standard poker deck, but is with a double deck or community cards), the one with the highest kicker (highest card not in the set of 4) is the winner.
- If this card is the same, they split the pot.


Does any single player have a full house?

If yes, that player is the winner.


Do multiple players have full houses?

If yes, then keeping in mind that a full house is a 3-set and a 2-set, the player with the highest 3-set wins the pot.
If multiple players share the highest 3-set (which isn't possible without community cards like in hold 'em, or a double deck) then the player with the highest 2-set is the winner.
If the 2-set and 3-set is the same, those players split the pot.


Does any single player have a flush? A flush is defined as all 5 cards of the same suit.

If yes, that player is the winner.


Do multiple players have a flush?

If yes, the player with a flush with the highest unique card is the winner.
This hand is similar to 'high card' resolution, where each card is effectively a kicker.
Note that a flush requires the same suit, not just color. While the colors used on the suit are red and black, two each, there's nothing to that connection. A club is no more similar to a spade than it is to a heart - only suit matters. The colors are red and black for historical purposes and so the same deck can be played for other games where that might matter.


Does any single player have a straight? A straight is 5 consecutive cards that do not wrap around the Ace. See full explanation in the Straight Flush description.

If yes, that player wins the pot.


Do multiple players have straights?

If so, the player with the highest straight wins. (A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight, while 10-J-Q-K-A is the highest straight.)
If multiple players share the highest straight, they split the pot.


Does any single player have a 3 of a kind?

If yes, that player wins the pot.


Do multiple players have 3 of a kind?


If yes, the player with the highest 3-set wins the pot.
- If multiple players have the highest 3-set, the player with the highest kicker wins the pot.
- If multiple players tie for highest 3-set and highest kicker, the player with the highest &quot;second kicker&quot; wins the pot. (For example, A A A K Q beats A A A K J - here, A A A are the 3-set, K is the kicker, and Q and J are the second-kickers.)
- If the players tie for the highest 3-set, highest kicker, and highest second kicker, the players split the pot.


Does any single player have 2-pair?


If yes, that player wins the pot.


Do multiple players have 2-pair?


If yes, the player with the highest pair wins the pot.
- If multiple players tie for the highest pair, the player with the second highest pair wins the pot.
- If multiple players tie for both pairs, the player with the highest kicker wins the pot.
- If multiple players tie for both pairs and the kicker, the players split the pot.


Does any single player have a pair?


If yes, that player wins the pot.


Do multiple players have a pair?


If yes, the player with the highest pair win.
- If multiple players have the highest pair, the player with the highest kicker wins.
- Compare second and third kickers as expected to resolve conflicts, or split if all three kickers tie.


At this point, all cards are kickers, so compare the first, second, third, fourth, and if necessary, fifth highest cards in order until a winner is resolved, or split the pot if the hands are identical.


Note that when comparing two hands, all suits are equal in Poker - the ranking of suits from games such as Bridge and Five Hundred have no bearing on evaluating Poker hands. Bridge order is, however, used for certain &quot;bring in&quot; tie breakers, such as 7 card stud.