Each hamster is judged in turn and the hamster is removed from the show pen or cage for judging. The hamster is assessed and awarded marks for various categories eg colour, size, etc and at the end of judging these marks are totalled to give the hamster an overall mark. The hamster with the highest overall mark in a class will be the winner and places may be awarded to the hamsters which have the second highest mark, etc to give 2nd, 3rd, 4th places, etc.

At the end of the show the hamster with the highest overall mark from all classes is awarded "Best In Show".