Three of a kind in poker is when a player has three of the same card. If you’ve got two pair, you better be pretty sure that your opponents only have a pair before you make a bet. Two pair might feel like a pretty strong hand, but it’s still low on the list. So if a player’s kicker is an Ace, and while the other player’s kicker is a King, than the player with the Ace kicker will win the hand. Essentially, it’s the “high card” that’s left over after the two pairs are counted. The kicker is the highest ranking card out of the three remaining cards in the player’s hand.
If players reveal their hands and a couple players have the same pair (for instance, if two players show their cards and they both have a pair of 3s), then the winner will be determined by which player has the highest kicker. The ranking of a pair is the same as when it comes to high card, except now it’s just who has the highest pair of the same card. For example, when a player has two Kings, two Aces, two fives, etc. One pair in poker is when a player has two of the same card. It’s unlikely that you’re going home with any money on that pot. If you end up with a high-card hand, you should probably fold. In most cases, a high card hand ends up losing-almost invariably, someone has something in their hand that’s higher than just high card-even if it’s just a pair. The ranking of each card in order starts with an Ace (an Ace can sometimes be the highest or lowest card), followed by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King. So when you’re playing poker and each player reveals their cards, and nobody has one of the qualifying hands below in this list, it’ll come down to who has the highest cards-we call this the “high card.” Here are the seven hands that you’re going to need to understand when playing poker. Poker is a fun game that can take up hours of your Saturday night with a group of friends, or can take you through the night and into the morning at the casino. Before you go play poker, you’ll still want to learn the basics of the game in further detail, but I’ll go through each hand in detail so that you’ll at least have that knowledge. The rank of each hand is determined by particular patterns within the cards that the player’s holding. The hands are all revealed in what’s called the “showdown,” and based on which hand has the higher rank, this will determine who takes the pot. Each hand has a different rank and is compared to the ranks of the other hands at the table. These figures are based on having five available cards – your two hole cards and three community cards.In poker, when you hear the word “hand,” this is referring to a set of 5 playing cards that each player will be dealt and maintain for the duration of the game. We calculated the poker hand odds and probability of getting Three of a Kind while playing Texas Hold'em. Be careful though! Three of a Kind Probabilities If it becomes clear that the other players in the hand have very little, then you have some room to maneuver where you can exercise a little bit of bullying. An early raise will ensure you do your best to eliminate any low value cards that could form a stronger combination later in the hand.įor example, if you have unsuited hole cards that are 10 or higher, then it’s worth wading in big.Īs the hand reaches the flop, turn, and river you’ll want to bear in mind that your opponents could hit a number of stronger hands so reign the aggression in if there are potential stronger combinations out there. This is the perfect instance where you will want to start a hand on the front foot. How should you play Three of a Kind in Hold’em? If the player only uses one hole card and two community cards, the hand is known as "trips". If the combination is made with a pocket pair and one community card, it is called a "set". There are some definitions involving Three of a Kind in Texas Hold'em. Three Aces represent the strongest Three of a Kind poker hand. The hand can also be ranked based on the denomination of the three matching cards in case two or more players have Three of a Kind in the same round. It is under a Straight and above Two Pairs. Three of a Kind is in the bottom half of all poker hands rankings.
You can find several depictions right here: The name should be more than enough to give players an idea of what the hand looks like. How should you play Three of a Kind in Texas Hold’em?.The denomination of the cards also determines the rank of the combination. Three of a Kind consists of three cards that have the same rank and an extra two cards that don’t form a pair. What is a Three of a Kind in Poker? Three of a Kind Poker Hand Rankings (Highest to Lowest).