Lesson overview
Poker Kicker Rules: Ties and the Best Five Cards
Find the winning five cards, every time
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When does a kicker decide the winner?
A kicker is a side card that can separate otherwise matching hands. In Texas Hold’em, compare each player’s best five-card hand: first the hand category, then the ranks that make that category, then any remaining kickers from highest to lowest. Stop at the first difference. An unused sixth card cannot break a tie.
Worked example: ace-king beats ace-queen
You hold A♠ K♥ and your opponent holds A♦ Q♣. The board is A♣ 9♦ 7♠ 4♥ 2♣.
Both players have a pair of aces. Your best five ranks are A-A-K-9-7; your opponent’s are A-A-Q-9-7. The pairs match, so compare the highest kicker: king beats queen. You win. The 4 and 2 do not count in either five-card hand.
When does the board make a split pot?
Suppose you hold A♠ 2♦, your opponent holds A♦ 3♣, and the board is A♣ K♥ Q♠ J♦ 9♣. Both best hands are A-A-K-Q-J. Neither the 2 nor the 3 fits into the best five, so the pot splits.
If the board itself is A♠ K♦ Q♣ J♥ T♠, both players can use all five board cards for an ace-high straight. No hole-card kicker can improve that straight. Suits have equal showdown value.
Which poker hands use kickers?
One pair uses three kickers, three of a kind uses two, and two pair or four of a kind uses one. High-card hands compare all five ranks in descending order.
A straight compares its highest card. A flush compares its five cards in descending order. A full house compares the three-of-a-kind rank, then the pair. These hands have no spare slot for an extra kicker. An ace can be low in A-2-3-4-5, which loses to any six-high straight.
What you’ll learn
- Rank all standard high-poker hands
- Compare kickers, straights, flushes and full houses
- Recognize ties, playing the board and counterfeited pairs
Poker hands, strongest to weakest
- Royal flush: A–K–Q–J–10 in one suit. The highest possible straight flush.
- Straight flush: Five consecutive ranks, all in one suit.
- Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank, plus one kicker.
- Full house: Three of one rank and two of another: kings full of sevens.
- Flush: Five cards in one suit, without consecutive ranks.
- Straight: Five consecutive ranks. The suits can differ.
- Three of a kind: Three cards of one rank, plus two kickers.
- Two pair: Two cards of one rank and two of another, plus one kicker.
- One pair: Two cards of the same rank, plus three kickers.
- High card: No pair or stronger combination. Compare the highest card first.
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