PokerzinTwo players reach showdown with a pair of Kings. Who wins? And what if both have the same flush? The answer always comes from the same rule: the best combination of five cards counts, and ties are broken card by card. Knowing this avoids surprises at the end of a hand and explains why some hands look good and aren't.
Only five cards count
In Texas Hold'em you have seven cards available (your two and the five on the board), but your hand is made of the best five. You can use both hole cards, just one or none. The other two cards don't count for anything, not even to break a tie.
First the hand category is compared (pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight and so on, as in the poker hand rankings). If the category is the same, the cards that make the hand are compared and, finally, the leftover cards that complete the five.
The kicker
The kicker is the card that completes the hand and breaks the tie when the main part is equal. Here is a very common case:
Both have a pair of Kings. A's five cards are K K Q 7 4; B's are K K 9 7 4. The first different card is the Queen against the 9, so A wins with the kicker. That is why hands like K9 or A5 cause so much trouble: when they make their pair, they often lose to the same pair with a better kicker.
How each hand breaks ties
| Hand | What is compared, in order |
|---|---|
| High card | The highest card, then the second, down to the fifth |
| Pair | The pair, then the three kickers |
| Two pair | The higher pair, the lower pair and the kicker |
| Three of a kind | The three of a kind, then the two kickers |
| Straight | Only the highest card (A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest of all) |
| Flush | All five cards, from highest to lowest |
| Full house | The three of a kind, then the pair |
| Four of a kind | The four of a kind, then the kicker |
| Straight flush | The highest card |
Suits never break ties. A flush in hearts is not worth more than a flush in spades; if the five cards have the same values, it is a tie.
When the board plays
Sometimes the five board cards are the best possible hand for everyone. Then people say "the board plays", and the pot is split among everyone who reached showdown.
The board is already a straight from 9 to King. A's Ace makes A-K-Q-J-T, a higher straight, so A wins alone. If A had 4-2 instead of Ace-King, neither player would improve on the board's straight, and the pot would be split.
Another classic case is the kicker that doesn't play. Board A-A-K-K-Q: a player holding a Jack doesn't beat a player holding a Ten, because both have A A K K Q as their best five. The Queen on the board is already everyone's kicker.
How the pot is split
In a tie, the pot is divided equally among the winners. If it doesn't divide evenly, the leftover chip goes to the first winner to the left of the button. That is how it works on Pokerzin and in most casinos.
When someone is all-in there can be more than one pot, and each has its own winner (or its own ties). The guide on all-ins and side pots walks through that case step by step.
Summary: the best five cards count, the category comes first, then the cards that make the hand and finally the kickers. Suits don't break ties, and when the board is everyone's best hand, the pot is split.