Poker Squares scoring

A finished Poker Squares grid contains ten poker hands: five horizontal rows and five vertical columns. Score each hand once, then add all ten values to produce the board total.

Click the Grid uses the American scoring system throughout the 52-deal campaign and Daily Poker Squares.

American Poker Squares scoring

The large rewards for flushes, full houses, four of a kind, and straight flushes encourage ambitious construction. However, a board made entirely of unlikely projects can finish with many zero-point lines. Reliable pairs and two-pair hands still matter because all ten lines contribute to the total.

What each hand means

Royal flush

10–J–Q–K–A, all in the same suit. A royal flush is also a straight flush, but it receives the higher royal-flush value rather than both scores.

Straight flush

Five consecutive ranks in one suit, such as 4–5–6–7–8 of clubs. An ace may be low in A–2–3–4–5 or high in 10–J–Q–K–A.

Four of a kind

Four cards of the same rank plus any fifth card, such as four queens and a 3.

Full house

Three cards of one rank and two of another, such as three 8s and two kings.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit whose ranks do not form a straight. The order of the ranks does not matter.

Straight

Five consecutive ranks in mixed suits. A–2–3–4–5 and 10–J–Q–K–A are valid. Q–K–A–2–3 is not.

Three of a kind

Three cards of one rank with two unmatched cards. If the other two match each other, the hand is a full house instead.

Two pair

Two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and one unmatched card.

One pair

Two cards of one rank plus three cards that do not form another pair or a stronger hand.

High card

A hand that matches none of the categories above. It scores zero in both common Poker Squares systems.

English Poker Squares scoring

Some books and games use English or British scoring. It rewards common hands more evenly and gives much less weight to rare flushes.

Scores from the two systems are not directly comparable. Before comparing results with another app, book, or player, confirm which table was used.

How crossing hands affect the total

Each card is counted in its row and again in its column, but the hands are still scored independently. Suppose a jack completes two pair in its row and one pair in its column. Under American scoring, those lines contribute 5 and 2 points, for 7 points combined.

There is no extra bonus for using one card in two scoring hands, no penalty for duplicate hand types, and no tie-break by high card. Two boards with the same total have the same score on Click the Grid.

Understanding the table is only half of the game. The Poker Squares strategy guide explains how the different rewards should influence placement. If the mechanics are still new, start with how to play Poker Squares. The Poker Squares FAQ answers common questions about the daily deal, replays, and saved scores.