1. Is There 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem Game
2. What Are The Odds Of 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem
3. Is There 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem Card Game
4. Is There 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem Tournaments
5. What Are The Odds Of Flopping 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem

One questions I hear all of the time from poker players new to Texas Hold'em is “what is a kicker and when does it count?”. At first, it can be quite a confusing concept to wrap your head around but once you have an understanding of what a kicker is, it's actually quite simple.

The only tricky part of a tie breaker with four of a kind is when the four falls on the table in a game of Texas Holdem and is therefore shared between two (or more) players. A kicker can be used, however, if the fifth community card is higher than any card held by any player still in the hand, then the hand is considered a tie and the pot is. A Straight Flush and 4 of a Kind are stronger than a Full House, and a Full House is rarely beaten on the river in a game of Texas Hold’em poker. There are at least 5 different poker hand combinations that rank lower than a Full House, and the next one on our list is a Flush. Texas Holdem Flop Occurrence Probabilities. The occurrence probabilities of the different types of Holdem flops can be a little confusing because about half of the possible flops contain more than one of the types that are shown. Texas Holdem Glossary. Newcomers to Texas holdem often get confused by some of the colorful slang and jargon used at the tables. We’ve put together this lengthy and (hopefully) comprehensive Texas holdem terms page to provide definitions for some of the words and phrases you might not be familiar with.

Here is the definition:

A kicker is a card in poker that decides the winner if two or more players are tied with the same hand rank. E.g. a player with AK will outkick an opponent's AQ on a AJ932 board. Both players have a pair but AK has the better 5-card hand of AAKJ9 vs AAQJ9 where the K/Q, J, and 9 count as kickers.

One key point to keep in mind is that the best 5-card hand wins in poker. Winners are usually determined from the rank of a hand (e.g. flush vs full house or Ace-high flush versus King-high flush) but when both players hold the same hand rank, a kicker must come into play to separate the winners from the losers by making a 5-card hand.

So you might be wondering who wins in this scenario:

Well think about it for a minute, and then if you can't work it out, have a read of the list below.

Table Of Contents

• How To Determine When A Kicker Play

How To Determine When A Kicker Play

Here is a list of the hands in poker and how/if a kicker is played:

High card:

A high card plays when neither player has a pair or better. When both players have a high card, all cards can be counted as a kicker. Take your two hole cards and five community cards, then start with the highest-ranking card and compare to your opponent while ignoring the two weakest cards of the 7 total.

An example of where a high card kicker plays:

• Your hand: A♠ 9♣
• Your opponent's hand: A♥ 5♠
• The community cards: K♥ Q♣ 8♦ 2♠ 3♠
• Your best 5 cards: A♠ K♥ Q ♣ 9♣ 8♦
• His best 5 cards: A♥ K♥ Q♣ 8♦ 5 ♠

We ignore the 3♠ and the 2♠ on the board since they are lower than the other 5 cards.

And now, let's take this situation where one of your kickers doesn't play:

• Your hand: A♣ 7♠
• Opponents hand: A♥ 5♥
• The community cards: K♦ Q♦ 9 ♣ 8♥ 3♣
• Your best 5 cards: A♣ K♦ Q♦ 9 ♣ 8♥
• Hist best 5 cards: A♥ K♦ Q♦ 9 ♣ 8♥

I.e. the 5♥ and the 7♠ are both lower than the other 5 cards on the board and therefore the pot is split.

One pair:

With one pair a kicker is used when your second card is better than your opponent and the remaining cards on the board.

• Your hand: A♥ K♥
• Opponents hand: A♦ Q♣
• The community cards: A♣ T♦ 7♠ 5♠ 2 ♦
• Your best 5 cards: A♥ A♣ K♥ T♦ 7♠
• Hist best 5 cards: A♦ A♣ Q♣ T♦ 7♠

In this case, you have your opponent out kicked with the hand of a pair of Aces with King kicker vs a pair of Aces with a Queen kicker.

Two pair

A single card kicker plays with two pair only when you do not make two pair with both of your hole cards. For example:

• Your hand: A♥ K♥
• Opponents hand: A♦ Q♣
• The community cards: A♣ T♦ 7♠ 5♠ 5♦
• Your best 5 cards: A♥ A♣ 5♠ 5♦ K♥
• Hist best 5 cards: A♦A♣ 5♠ 5♦ Q♣

The pot will be split if both players have the same two pair using both their hole cards.

Two pair winners are determined by first determining the best highest-ranked pair between you and your opponent, and then if these are the same, you compare the 2nd pair.

Can you now work out the example we gave in the introduction? Here is broken down:

• Your hand: A♣ 2♦
• Opponents hand: A♦ 7♠
• The community cards: A♥ 9♥ 9♣ J♦4♣
• Your best 5 cards: A♣ A♥ 9♥ 9♣ J♦
• Hist best 5 cards: A♦ A♥ 9♥ 9♣ J♦

Therefore the pot will be split since neither the 7♠ nor the 2♦ are played and both players have the same hand.

Three of a kind:

A kicker with three of a kind is determined in the same way as one pair. If you have AK on an AA752 board, vs AQ you will have the best 5 cards with AAAK7 vs AAAQ7.

• Your hand: A♥ K♥
• Opponents hand: A♦ Q♣
• The community cards: A♣ A♠ 7♠ 5♥2♦
• Your best 5 cards: A♥A♣ A♠ K♥ 7♠
• Hist best 5 cards: A♦ A♣ A♠ Q♣ 7♠

You have the best five cards in this scenario because the K♥ plays after the three Aces.

Note the difference between an ordinary 3 of a kind and a set – a set is when you make three you of a kind using the two hole cards whereas an ordinary three of a kind is when you have three of the same card using only one of your hole cards.

Take this example of having 99 on an A9642 board, you have three of a kind (or set) on this board but it's impossible for anyone else to also have 99.

So there are no kickers when you have a set, because it's impossible for your opponent to have three cards of the same rank, but a kicker can count for an ordinary three of a kind where only one card is used from your hole cards.

Straight:

There is no kicker with a straight because a straight is made using 5 cards.

Flush:

Similar to a straight, there can be no kickers with flushes as these hands require the 5 cards to be used.

Full house:

There are no kickers with a full house. Hands are ranked in a similar way to two pair.

Firstly, the best three of a kind is the winner, if both players have the same three of a kind, the best pair wins. If both players have the same three of a kind and pair, the hand will always be split.

Four of a kind:

A kicker does not play with a four of a kind (quads) unless the four of a kind is on the board.

• Your hand: A♥ 5♠
• Opponents hand: K♦ J♦
• The community cards: Q♥ Q♦Q♠ Q♣ 4♦
• Your best 5 cards: Q♥ Q♦Q♠ Q♣ A♥
• His best 5 cards: Q♥ Q♦Q♠ Q♣ K♦

You will win this hand as your Ace kicker players after the four Queens.

Straight flush/Royal Flush:

Similar to a straight and flush, kickers do not play as a straight or royal flush require 5 cards.

Here is a summary of when kickers do and don't count in poker:

When A Kicker Doesn't Play

We already mentioned when a kicker doesn't play e.g. in a straight, flush or full house. However, a kicker also won't decide the winner when you and your opponent has the same hand e.g. A5 vs A5.

A kicker also doesn't decide the best hand when there are better kickers already on the board.

For example, if you have A4 and your opponent has A3 on an AK762 board, the best 5 cards for both opponents is AAK76 and the kicker won't be included in the hand. Therefore, the pot will be split between the two players despite us having a better hole card than our opponent.

Kickers can also be counterfeited. If you have a hand of A5 on a AQT2 board, any card higher than a 5 on the river will mean that your kicker has been counterfeited and won't play. E.g. if the river was a 7 the best 5 cards would be AAQT7.

When Is A Kicker Important?

Is There 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem Game

A kicker most often comes into play when you have a high card or single pair.

However, the best hand you can get with a kicker is AK, because if your opponent has an Ace or King in their hand, you will have them outkicked and you will be a big favourite to win the hand (roughly 75% favourite).

AK always makes top pair top kicker which is the best one pair hand you can make.

Since players most often play high-rank hands, kickers are most important when you have a high card. This is why it is not advisable to play weak ace hands (e.g. A2 or A3) very often (see poker position).

A2 will make top pair bottom kicker on an ace-high board (e.g. AQ753) and is a significantly weaker hand than top pair top kicker.

If you do happen to have top pair bottom kicker on an ace-high board, it is quite likely that you could be facing another ace with a better kicker (or better) if a lot of money goes into the pot.

Being outkicked is one the common poker mistakes I recommend watching out for, so make sure you carefully consider your kicker the next time you are on the table!

Related questions

Do suits matter when counting kickers?

Kickers do not depend on suits and suits should not be considered when determining the winner of the hand except when a flush is possible.

Does kicker matter in 3 of a kind?

Yes, a kicker will be counted with 3 of a kind in the same way that it would be for a single pair.

Does the kicker matter in a straight or flush?

No, a kicker does not matter in a straight or flush as the best 5-card hand is made up of the 5 flush or straight cards. In this case, you can resort to who has the highest straight or flush.

If you’re a beginning poker player and want to learn not only
which hands beat which hands, but how to read the board and
possible hands while playing Texas holdem, you’ve found the best
page available to help.

While it’s important to understand how each hand ranks in
comparison to others hands it’s equally important to understand
how to read the board of community cards, how to read possible
draws, and how to read what hands your opponents may be holding.
Each of these subjects is covered below.

New players should make sure to read each section in order
below. But if you already know how to play poker and are
familiar with the rank of poker hands you can skip to the
sections following the hand rankings section. But it’s never a
bad idea to refresh your knowledge and it only takes a couple
minutes to read the extra sections.

Texas Holdem Hand Rankings

The following list is ranked from highest five card hand to
lowest five card hand. Start reading from the top down and the
first hand you find that a player holds is the winning hand. See
how to break ties below the hand rankings.

Remember that you always make your best five card hand out of
the two hole cards and five community cards. You can use both of
your hole cards and three community cards, one hole card and
four community cards, or just the five community cards, but you
always use exactly five cards to make a hand.

• Royal Flush

  A royal flush consists of an ace, king,
  queen, jack, and ten of all the same suit. In other words,
  an ace high straight that’s also a flush is a royal flush.
  An example of a royal flush is the ace of clubs, king of
  clubs, queen of clubs, jack of clubs, and ten of clubs.

• Straight Flush

  A straight flush is a straight and a
  flush that isn’t ace high. Straight flushes can be anywhere
  from king high down to five high. Two examples of straight
  flushes are king of spades, queen of spades, jack of spades,
  ten of spades, and nine of spades or the five of hearts,
  four of hearts, three of hearts, two of hearts, and ace of
  hearts. In the case of the second example, the ace is
  counted as a one, or the lowest card in the deck. So if a
  straight using an ace as a one is in a tie the ace is always
  used as a low card for tie purposes, not high.

• Four of a Kind

  A four of a kind includes all four
  cards of the same rank in the deck. The fifth card doesn’t
  matter. An example of four of a kind is eight of spades,
  eight of hearts, eight of clubs, and eight of diamonds.

• Full House

  A full house consists of three of a kind
  and two of a kind. An example of a full house is the jack of
  clubs, jack of diamonds, jack of spades, seven of hearts,
  and seven of spades.

• Flush

  A flush has all five cards the same suit. The
  rank of the cards doesn’t matter as long as all five cards
  are the same suit. Any five hearts is a flush or any five
  clubs, etc.

• Straight

  A straight has five cards in sequential
  order. The suits don’t matter in a straight.

• Three of a Kind

  Three of a kind consists of three
  cards of the same rank. Example of three of a kind hands
  include a hand with three jacks or a hand with three sevens.
  Other names for three of a kind include trips or a set. When
  the word set is used it usually means a hand with a pocket
  pair and one matching card on the board making three of a
  kind.

• Two Pair

  Two pair consists of two different pairs of
  matching ranks. Two sixes and two eights is an example of a
  two pair hand.

• One Pair

  One pair is simply two cards of the same
  rank. Two nines or two aces are examples of a pair.

• High Card

  A high card hand is one that doesn’t have
  any of the hands listed above. The highest ranked card is
  designated as the high card for the hand. If the highest
  card you have is a king you have a king high hand.

How to Break Ties

When two or more hands are tied for the highest hand one of
two things must happen. The first thing is you must decide if
one hand is actually higher than the other / s based on a few
simple rules that we cover next.

Moving from the top of the hand rankings above down, in a
Texas holdem game it’s impossible for more than one player to
have a royal flush unless the royal flush has all five cards on
the board. If all five cards on the board are used in this way
by every player remaining in the hand, all of the players tie.

It’s possible for two players to have straight flushes. In
the case of two or more straight flushes, straights, or flushes,
the player with the highest card in her straight or flush has
the highest hand. If one player has a queen high straight and
another has a nine high straight, the player with the queen high
straight wins.

In the event of two or more players holding a full house, the
player with the highest three of a kind has the better hand. If
two or more players hold two pair hands, the player with the
highest pair wins. If each player has the same high pair the
player with the highest second pair wins.

When two or more players have the same high hand of a pair,
or three of a kind, or something similar, the rest of each
player’s hand is considered.

Two players each have a pair of aces for their high hand.
Player A has A A K J 5 and player B has A A J 7 4. Player A wins
the hand because her next highest card after the tied pair of
aces is a king and player B only has a jack. In the event the
third card is the same you then compare the fourth card.

If two or more hands have the exact same five card hand then
the pot is split between the winning hands. The suits all have
the same rank as far as value is concerned. Hearts is not worth
more or less than spades, etc.

How to Read the Board

When you start playing Texas holdem it’s important to learn
how to read the board not only to determine what you hold but
also what your opponent could possibly have. This is important
because you don’t want to be caught by surprise when you think
you have the best hand and commit a large amount of money to the
pot when another player actually has a better hand.

You start the hand with the ace of clubs and the jack of
clubs and the flop has the queen of clubs, nine of clubs, and
ace of diamonds. This looks like a good flop for you because you
have a pair of aces and a chance to hit an ace high flush. The
turn is the two of clubs, completing the best possible flush.
The river is the queen of hearts.

While you still have the best possible flush, when the board
paired on the river it means you no longer have the best
possible hand. Whenever the board pairs it means there’s a
possibility that one of your opponents may have a full house.

In the example we just used a player starting the hand with
an ace and queen would have hit the full house on the river. The
same is true for a player starting with pocket nines.

Most of the time in Texas holdem you’ll still have the best
hand with a flush in these situations, but you always need to
know what the best possible hand is before deciding how much to
risk in the pot.

Other hands to watch out for include possible straights and
boards that have a high likelihood of having two pair.

Good starting hands often have two high cards, so any flop
that holds two or three high cards has a chance to create pairs
or straight possibilities for your opponents who hold high card
starting hands.

Even flops with middle and smaller cards may offer straight
possibilities, especially in unraised pots. In an unraised pot
the blinds get to see the flop for free or a half bet, so even
on a flop with lower cards they may have hit two pair or a
straight draw.

One of the best ways to practice reading the board is by
dealing out hands at home and figuring out every possible hand.
Then start dealing pocket cards for multiple players and play
each one independently in your mind. This way you see many
different pocket cards in combination with the board cards.

If you’re still struggling to see all of the possibilities
and hands ask a more experienced player to work with you as you
practice to point out things you may be missing.

How to Read Draws

Reading draws kind of goes hand in hand with the last section
about reading the board, but you also need to learn how to
factor in the chances of hitting your draws.

If you have four cards to a straight after the turn there’s
only a few cards left in the deck that can complete your
straight. If your straight draw is open ended, meaning you can
hit a card on either end to complete it, you have eight cards
left in the deck that can help you.

A hand of seven, eight, nine, ten will complete with any six
or jack. You’ve seen your two hole cards and four board cards,
so the deck still has 46 unseen cards. Eight of these cards
complete your straight and 38 of them don’t. So the odds of you
completing your straight are 38 to 8. This reduces to 4.75 to 1.

In more simple terms this means that on average if you played
the exact same situation 46 times you’d complete your straight
eight times and miss it 38 times.

Of course the actual deck of remaining cards doesn’t have 46
cards because the other players have cards, but you haven’t seen
them so you have to include them as unseen cards in the deck for
your calculations.

You use the odds in combination with your possible draws to
determine if it’s profitable to bet, raise, check, or fold.

This can become somewhat complicated when you have multiple
ways to make a hand. Usually each possible draw has a different
chance of winning if you hit it. In the example above you stand
a good chance of winning the hand when you hit your straight,
but if you miss your straight but pair one of your cards on the
river you’ll have a pair, but the odds of it being good are
slim.

Learn how to read all of your possible draws and how to
determine the odds of each draw being successful and winning if
you hit it. This will help you win more often playing Texas
holdem.

Reading Your Opponents Possible Hands

Continuing the discussion from the last two sections, once
you learn all there is to know about your possible hands and
draws and the odds you can start using the same things to
determine what hands your opponents can possibly hold and their
chance of completing hands that may be able to beat your hand.

You’ll need to learn what hands your opponents like to play
and which ones they don’t play if you want to get the best
possible reads, but even if you don’t know anything about your
opponents you can still make educated guesses based on the
board, what you hold, and the betting action throughout the
hand.

Remember in an earlier section we mentioned that many good
starting hands have high cards. Other popular starting hands
include pocket pairs and suited hands including an ace. As the
level of competition improves the starting hand possibilities
tend to change. Staring hands with an ace and suited small card
are more likely at the lower levels than at the higher levels of
competition.

Look at the list of good starting hands included in the next
section and then compare them with the current board. Which
hands fit with the way your opponent is playing the hand? Don’t
forget that not every player will follow the guidelines listed
below.

Some players, especially at the lower levels, play any ace or
any hand with an ace and any card the same suit as the ace.

At lower levels you’ll often see hands where a player with an
ace and a small off card hit two pair and beat a hand with a
pair of aces and a large second hole card that doesn’t pair up.
This may seem like playing better starting hands doesn’t pay
off, but in the long run the player starting with ace queen is
going to win more hands than the player starting with ace three.

It’s also important to always consider the players in the
blinds. If they get in for free or half a bet they could have
any two cards. Even for a small raise many players won’t fold
anything from the blinds because they’re already invested in the
pot.

You need to consider a wide range of things when trying to
guess what your opponents hold, but with practice you can start
narrowing down their possible hands quickly. As you gain more
experience you can get to the point where you’ll often have a
good idea where your opponents stand in a hand. You’ll still be
surprised sometimes because players do all kinds of crazy things
at the holdem table, but the more you know the better you’ll be
in the long run.

Another big part of reading your opponent’s possible hands is
watching them play, even when you aren’t in the hand, and
remembering everything they do. If they have a big pocket pair
do they always raise before the flop? Do they ever bet into a
draw or do they always check and call? Thinking about these
questions and learning the answers to them and others will make
your play more profitable over time.

Best Starting Hands

What Are The Odds Of 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem

Here’s a list of the best starting hands in Texas holdem. The
list is roughly listed from best to worst, but hand values
change somewhat based on the level of competition, the makeup of
the game, and your ability to play well after the flop.

Not all of these hands can be played from every position or
in every game. But if a hand isn’t listed here you should avoid
playing it in any Texas holdem game.

Two card hands followed by a small “s” means suited. For
example, K Q s means a king and queen of the same suit.

Is There 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem Card Game

As you become a long term profitable Texas Holdem player
you’ll find situations where you may be able to play a few hands
profitably that aren’t on the list. You may be able to play 10 9
s or 4 4 from late position profitably in a few games, but don’t
even think about trying it until you’re already a profitable
player.

On the other hand you’ll find many games where hands like K J
and below on the list can’t be played profitably. As a rule of
thumb, while you’re learning how to be a better player, it’s
always better to be tight than loose. So only play the best
hands while learning how to play.

You also need to understand how position relative to the
dealer button changes the value of starting hands and what you
can and can’t play for a profit. We have an entire page
dedicated to position so you should study it to make sure you
completely understand how to use it.

Conclusion

Even experienced Texas holdem players make mistakes when it
comes to reading the board of community cards and trying to
determine what their opponents hold. Once you learn what beats
what, you still have a great deal to learn if you want to be a
winning player.

Start by making sure you know the ranking of all of the
possible hands, and then learn how to read the board. Use your
hole cards with the board to determine not only the best hand
you can form, but also the best hand your opponents could
possibly have.

Is There 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem Tournaments

The next step is learning the odds of you hitting your hands
and using this information to determine the best way to play the
rest of the hand. Finally, you can start using all of the things
you’ve learned to start making educated guesses about what your
opponents have and are drawing to.

Winning Texas holdem players use all of these things and more
on every hand to give themselves the best chance to win. But
don’t panic if this seems like a lot to take in at once. You
don’t have to learn it all in one sitting. Bookmark or print out
this page and go over it often while you’re learning to be a
better player.

What Are The Odds Of Flopping 4 Of A Kind In Texas Holdem