The six hands, in clear order.

The standard category order

The category comes first: a hand from a higher category outranks a hand from a lower one in this format. A big individual card does not bypass the category order.

Inspect one category at a time

Work through a comparison

Example one: 4♣ 4♦ 4♥ and A♠ K♠ J♠. Start by naming them: trail and colour. The trail is in the higher category, despite the ace in the other hand.

Example two: K♣ K♦ 3♥ and Q♣ Q♦ A♥. Both are pairs. Their repeated ranks are different, so the kings are the relevant comparison. The ace is a remaining card; it does not replace the pair as the first comparison.

Example three: two otherwise matching high-card hands with different suits. Do not invent a suit hierarchy. A complete rule set needs to state how equality is resolved.

Why ace sequences need a note

An ace can appear in an A–K–Q or A–2–3 sequence, but the order assigned to these sequences varies in published rules and house conventions. A diagram that silently chooses one convention can mislead a reader who is using another.

A wraparound such as K–A–2 should not be treated as a sequence just because it includes an ace. Only apply a special interpretation if the specific rules explicitly support it.

Use the chart as a reference

All examples are static illustrations. The explorer does not deal cards, accept money, calculate a wager or produce a winning strategy. It simply lets you focus on a category while the full table remains available above.

You can print this page using your browser’s print function. For unfamiliar words, use the glossary; for altered formats, read the variation guide before reusing a standard chart.