So you made it to showdown, but which hand is the winning poker hand in Texas holdem poker?

At showdown, your hand is always made from the best combination possible between a total of 5 cards from your hole cards and the community cards.

If all remaining players have the same hand rank, e.g. a pair of eights, then the winner is decided by the kicker, which is the highest card in each players individual best possible 5 card combination. So the person holding A8 wins over a person holding K8.

Eventually the 5 community cards makes the best possible hand for any of the remaining players. In this case the kicker does not count. In Texas Holdem Poker we never use more than 5 cards to decide the winner.

An example to show this:
Player A is dealt AK. player B is dealt 57. The board shows 5-6-7-8-9, no flush. The board (also called the community cards) has the winning hand, and it uses all five cards. Players As higher cards does not give him a kicker advantage. Neither does Players Bs two pair hand beat the straight. Player A and Player B shares whatever is in the pot. We call this a split pot. (IF however Player B happened to have TJ, he would be the winner, as he could showdown a better straight 7-8-9-T-J, than the community straight).

High Card
Sometimes when you get to showdown (SD) you do not have a made hand. This happens when you e.g. miss your draw. In this case, the highest card wins.

One Pair.
Next is the situation when one of your hole cards matches one of the community cards - or you were fortunate enough to be dealt matching cards. If all remaining players have pairs, the highest pair wins, so a pair of aces (AA) beats a pair of kings (KK), which again beats a pair of eights (88).

Two Pair.
One step further up the Texas poker hand rank ladder is two pair. Be aware, that if the board is paired and your hole cards are paired, there is a good chance that your opponent also has two pair (or better) - as the community cards are for everyone.

NB! Sometimes you may experience the possibility of a 3 pair made hand. However, this is not a valid hand in Texas Holdem Poker- as it would require 6 cards. Three Pairs is not a hand.

Three of a kind
This hand comes in two variations.

Set: is when your pocket pair matches a card on the board. You are dealt pocket eights, and the board is 2-5-8-J-A.

Trips: is when one of your cards matches a pair on the board. You are dealt A8, and the board is 2-5-8-8-J.

Straight
A straight is 5 consecutive cards of any suit or color. Aces can function as the highest and the lowest card. So if you hold an Ace, and the board is 2-3-4-5, you have a straight. Be aware, that if you opponent has a 6, he will win the hand, as he has the better straight. This is reversed on boards like x-T-J-Q-K (no flush), where your A will make the best possible straight.

Flush
A flush is when you can showdown 5 cards of the same suit. If both players has a flush, the winner is whoever has the highest card in the flush-suit.

Full House
This is when you have three of one kind, and two of another kind. E.g. you are dealt A8, and the board comes 8-8-A-x-x.

Four of a kind
Similar idea to three of a kind - just 'slightly' better.

Straight Flush
When you have five consecutive cards (a straight) which are also of the same suit. If you have 9-T and the board is 8-J-Q-x-x in the same suit as your cards, and your opponent has AK of that same suit, so he has an A high flush, you still win, as he only has a flush, whereas you have a straight flush, which is a much better hand.

NB! you can sometimes see the Royal Straight Flush T-J-Q-K-A as a hand of its own right, but actually it is 'just' a straight flush, even though it is the best straight flush possible.