Module 2 · Lesson 8 of 39 · Free

Kickers and the best five cards

Course by Hernan Alejandro Gajardo Morales

Only five of your seven cards play. Hold A♠ K♣ against A♦ Q♥ with an ace on the board, and you both have a pair of aces: the pot goes to the better of the other three cards, compared one by one, and your king beats his queen. A card that plays beside your pair is a kicker, and it counts only if it is among your best five.

The hand

The river: A♥ 8♣ 7♦ 3♠ 2♥. You hold A♠ K♣, the Tight-aggressive player shows A♦ Q♥, and there are 30 bb in the pot.

Predict first

Which five cards make your hand?

1. A♠ A♥ K♣: the pair and your kicker, nothing more
2. All seven: A♠ A♥ K♣ 8♣ 7♦ 3♠ 2♥
3. A♠ A♥ K♣ 8♣ 7♦: the pair and the three highest cards left

Working it out

Build every hand the same way: first the cards that make the hand, then the highest cards left until there are five. Yours is A♠ A♥, then K♣ 8♣ 7♦. His is A♦ A♥, then Q♥ 8♣ 7♦. Line the two fives up and compare them place by place from the left: the aces tie, then your king meets his queen, and the first place that differs decides the pot. The 8♣ and the 7♦ are in both hands, so they could matter only if the king and the queen were equal. Had he held A♦ K♥, all five places would match, A A K 8 7 against A A K 8 7, and the pot would be split as in the showdown lesson: 30 ÷ 2 = 15 bb each.

Every rank is compared the same way, from the top. Two pair is compared by the higher pair, then the lower pair, then a single kicker; three of a kind has two kickers and four of a kind one. A full house is compared by its three cards, then its pair, and a flush card by card from the highest. A straight is ranked by its top card alone, and high card by all five cards in order. Only when all five places match is the pot split.

Formula

Same rank: compare place by place, the cards that make the hand first, then the kickers from the highest. A A K 8 7 beats A A Q 8 7 at the third card

Check your understanding

1. The board is Q♥ 9♣ 6♦ 4♠ 2♣. You hold Q♠ J♦ and he holds Q♣ T♥. Who wins the pot?

   1. You do
   2. He does
   3. Nobody alone: the pot is split
   Show the answer

   Answer: You do

   Your best five is Q♠ Q♥ J♦ 9♣ 6♦ and his is Q♣ Q♥ T♥ 9♣ 6♦. The queens tie, and at the next place your jack beats his ten.

2. The board is K♠ K♦ 7♣ 7♥ 3♠. You hold Q♠ J♣ and he holds A♥ 2♦. Who wins the pot?

   1. You do: your queen and jack are both higher than his 2
   2. He does: his ace is the kicker
   3. Nobody alone: you both have kings and sevens
   Show the answer

   Answer: He does: his ace is the kicker

   Both hands are two pair, kings and sevens, from the board, so the fifth card decides: his A♥ beats your Q♠. Two pair leaves room for one kicker only, so your jack and his 2 do not play.

3. The board is 8♠ 8♦ A♥ K♣ Q♠. You hold J♥ 5♣ and he holds T♦ 6♠. Who wins the pot?

   1. You do: your jack beats his ten
   2. He does: his six beats your five
   3. Nobody alone: the pot is split
   Show the answer

   Answer: Nobody alone: the pot is split

   Both best fives are 8 8 A K Q, all from the board: the pair of eights with the ace, the king and the queen. Your jack and his ten are lower than all three, so neither plays and the pot is split.