Who Wins In Poker If Both Have A Pair
- Who Wins In Poker If Both Have A Paired
- Who Wins In Poker If Both Have 2 Pair
- Who Wins In Poker If Both Have One Pair
- Who Wins In Poker If Both Have A Pair At A
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A player with the highest rank of straight wins. If both players have the straight of the same rank, then the pot is split. This holds true, of course, if none of them has a higher ranking hand than a straight. You will hit a straight only 0.4% of the time. 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. If you have the same trips or two pair then you still have 2 or 1 card to complete a hand of five.
When I was just starting in poker, I was sure I know all the rules. It came as a small shock to me when I realized I have been wrong about so many rules. Knowing who wins in poker can be easy if one player has a weak hand, and the other one has a strong hand. But confusion may arise when both players have what seems to be the same hand. Such scenarios that happen quite often is when two players both show the same pair at showdown.
So, who wins if two players have a pair in poker? A person with a higher pair wins the hand. If they both have the same pair, then the winner is the one who has a better five hand card combination. One pair takes two cards, and the rest are the three highest cards possible, also known as kickers or side cards.
- Both players have an ace, but Player 1 wins, because he has a king as his second highest card (kicker). His opponent only has a queen. If you can form a hand containing two cards of the same value, you have one pair or “a pair”. The hand above contains a pair of aces.
- If two or more players have the same pair, then the highest of the three remaining cards (known as kickers) determine the winner. Two Pair: Two pair beats a pair. If two or more players have two pair, then the highest pair determines the winner. For example, a pair of.
Players at the table don’t often check all three kickers. Instead, they look at the highest kicker first, and if someone has a higher kicker there, he is the winner. If the highest kicker is the same for both, then 2nd highest kicker comes into play, then the third. In the case that both players have the same pair and all of the three kickers are of the same rank, then the pot would get split.
Having a better kicker more often in poker is the difference in winrate.
It is what differentiates winners from losing players. Therefore you must stick to playing bigger cards. This is not the case just for when you hit one pair. It also holds for when you hit a straight or a flush or any other hand in poker.
Even in the case when you hit a flush, it matters how high flush you hit. Having higher cards is also helpful in getting bigger straights. You will hit the nuts more often and will win more money.
Let me explain a bit further in what I mean when I say bigger cards are better.
Table of Contents
The importance of playing higher cards
Three things that matter in poker the most are position, suitedness, and high cards. Correctly combining all three will give you the best chance to beat your competition. While having a suited hand is essential as it increases the likelihood to hit a flush, the real money is won in small pots, which happens far more often. You will hit a flush only 0.2% of the time by the river. On the other hand, you will get one pair 42% of the time.
It is a common scenario when you are value betting, and an opponent calls your bet, and he holds the same pair as you.
Playing big cards gives you the chance to be on the winning side of those small pots more often.
Which cards are good and qualify as big cards?
It depends a lot on your position and the position of the opponent to be really sure which high cards are good enough.
For the sake of simplicity, all the broadway cards will do a lot better versus opponents who play many hands.
From the image, you can tell that there are many worse Ax, Kx, Qx, Jx, and Tx type of cards, that are worse than our broadway hands. You might think this is all good, but you are maybe still unsure who wins if both you and the opponent have just a pair.
Possible scenarios when both players have exactly one pair
Several different scenarios can happen. I will show you many various examples that are possible, so your doubt will be gone forever. I will be mostly looking at situations where both players have top pair, but of course, the same rules apply for any other pair.
Who Wins In Poker If Both Have A Paired
- One person has a higher pair
- Both players have the same pair, but one has a higher first kicker
- Both players have the same pair and the equal highest kicker, but one has a higher 2nd kicker
- Both players have the same pair and the same highest and 2nd highest kicker, but one person has higher 3rd kicker
- Both players have exactly the same pair, and all three kickers are the same rank – pot gets split.
1. Someone has a higher pair
Okay, so we start with a simple one. The person with the higher pair wins, given that nobody else showed a better hand at showdown, of course. In this case, kickers don’t even matter, as higher pair always wins.
2. The same pair but someone has higher highest kicker
This is a widespread scenario in poker. Both players have top pair, and on a dry board, nobody will be willing to fold their top pair. If we hold KQ on 89K23 board, then we win against KJ. Our first kicker is better than the opponent’s first kicker. Our hand is a pair of kings with a Q98 sidecards, while the opponent has a top pair of kings with J98 side cards.
3. The same pair and first kicker, but 2nd kicker is different
Many players would get scared to bet in this situation. But experienced players know that we have a top pair with a very good kicker. The only top pair that is better than our KJ is AK. All other top pair hands are either the same as our hand or worse. In this situation, we hold top pair of kings and have QJ7 side cards. Our opponent holding KT has a pair of kings with QT7 side cards. Therefore our 2nd kicker is higher than his, and we win the pot.
4. The same pair and the same first two kickers, but the 3rd kicker is different
This doesn’t happen as often as the first 3 examples, but it is still common. The board needs to have 2 cards that are higher than our hole card that is not used to form a pair. Let me illustrate it to you. A player with K9 on this board has a pair of kings with QT9 side cards. While opponent holding K7 has a pair of kings with QT7 kickers.
5. The same pair and all kickers are the same
There are 2 most common ways that this will happen:
- Our hole cards are of the same rank as our opponent’s
- The board has many high cards, and therefore our card not used to form a pair has no value (is not part of the best five-card combination). A good example of this is A7 on the AKQ98 board, where our opponent has A2. Both of us have a pair of aces with Q98 sidecards
Who wins if there is a pair on the table
Again the player with the best 5 card combination will win. If one player holds A7 and the other player has KQ, then a pair of twos with AJT kickers wins as it is better than a pair of twos with KQJ kickers. The player that has A7 in his hand has the higher first kicker.
If player one would have A7 and player two has A6, then the pot would get split as player one has pair of twos with AJT kickers, and player two has also pair of twos with AJT kickers. That is the best 5 card combination that any of the two players can have. One pair and all the kickers are the same, so the pot gets split.
If you enjoyed this article, then you might also like
- AK vs. AJ, see how much of a difference in winrate does a better kicker make
- Who wins if both players have a flush
- Who wins if both players have a straight a straight
Conclusion
I showed you many possible examples of a very common scenario, where the best hand on the table is one pair. It is also very common that 2 players will have the same pair at showdown, and now you know exactly in which way all the chips will go. Until next time, good luck at the tables.
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A full house is a very powerful hand. It beats all the straights and also all the flushes. You can expect to print money whenever you have a full house at showdown. But here and there, it will happen that not only will you have one at showdown, but also your opponent. At first, I know it can be confusing who wins, but after reading this article, you will know exactly which way the chips are going.
Who wins if two players have a full house? The person with the highest full house wins if both players have a full house. If a full house is of the same rank for both players, then the pot will get split. Other times there, it will be a clear winner despite both players having a full house.
I will show you many possible scenarios, and next time you will know exactly who wins the pot.
How often will both players have a full house
To both players hit a full house, is quite a rare scenario. This is not something it will happen all the time. Statistically, you are more likely to see both players hitting a flush or even a straight from both players. And even those two are both great hands at showdown.
A player has an 0.4% (once ever 255 hands) chance to hit a straight and 0.2% (once every 509 hands) chance to hit a flush. While the odds to have a full house at showdown is even lower at 0.15%.
You will hit full house once for roughly every 695 hands.
Now imagine how little chance there is that someone else also has precisely a full house. Especially if you play live, don’t expect to see a full house vs. full house at every one of your sessions. But it is important that you know that if both players have a full house, the pot doesn’t necessarily get split. There are a few possible scenarios.
Remember, the best 5 card combination in poker wins. It doesn’t matter if you use all 5 cards on the board or just 3. But it is precisely 5 cards that count and best combination wins.
We will assume that only two players are involved at showdown. This way, nobody of the other players has a better hand than the full house, as we are only interested in this scenario.
Full house on the board
When the full house is on the board, it doesn’t automatically mean someone can’t have a higher full house. We still need to look for the best possible 5 cards combination each player can have.
For example, player one has A7, and player two has A9. Board is 66769 (suits, in this case, don’t matter since the full house is worth more). This gives player one a full house sixes, over sevens. And player two has sixes over nines. It means that player two has a higher full house.
Both players use 5 boards cards for a full house and don’t have a pair
A good example of this is on 66767 board.
- We have A2, and the opponent has 89. This is a scenario where the pot gets split between both of us. We both have sixes over sevens full house.
Someone has a pocket pair in their hole cards
If the pocket pair in players hole cards is bigger than the pair on board, then a player automatically has a higher full house that is present on the board. Check the following example:
Who Wins In Poker If Both Have 2 Pair
- the board is once again 66767. This time player one has a pair of eights in his hand, and player two still has 89. Now player one wins because he has full house sixes over eights.
One player uses 4 board cards and one of his hole cards
On 66767 board, player one has A7, while the other player holds JJ. Such scenarios might trick newer play into who actually wins. But don’t worry, I know precisely, on what kind of boards I had the trouble determining who wins when I just started.
Player one with A7 has a full house, sevens, over sixes. His best 5 card combination is 77766. And player two has a full house, sixes over jacks (666JJ). This makes the player one win the pot. The rue for the full house is that the first three 3 cards that form a set in 5 cards combination are always worth more than the last two that make a pair. Simply put, because in the full house of player one 777 is higher than 666 in the full house for a player two, the player one wins the pot.
In a full house, the ‘trips’ part in the 5 card combination is worth more than the ‘pair’ part of the full house. (77766 wins against 666JJ because 777 is bigger).
One more example, to make it very clear who wins. On 22323 board. A player with 34wins against a player who holds AA. Because full house, threes over twos (33322) is better than a full house, twos over aces (222AA),
Both players have exactly the same full house
When both players have exactly the same full house at showdown, then the situation is very straightforward. A pot will get split. A few examples:
- We have AJ, and the opponent has KJ, the board runs out as 44J42. We both have a full house, fours, over jacks (444JJ). The pot is split.
- We have 89, and the opponent has A8. Board is 88522. The pot will get split here also. We both have a full house, eights over twos (88822).
- We both have 44 in our hands. Board is 8854A. Here also, the pot gets split. We both have a full house, fours over eights (44488). This one is easy, as we have the same hand preflop :).
A full house is of different value for each player
If the full house is of different value for each of the players, then a player with a higher full house will win. Similarly to when the full house is present on board, the player with a higher ‘trips’ value wins, if ‘trips’ value is the same, then the ‘pair’ counts. Don’t worry if it sounds confusing, I will show you two examples, and you will understand from now on :).
Who Wins In Poker If Both Have One Pair
- We hold 88, and the opponent has 44. Board is 4T8T2. We win in this case because our ‘trip value is 888 to opponent’s 444. We have a full house, eights over tens (888TT). And our opponent has fours over tens (444TT).
- This time we have AQ against the opponent AT. Board is KKKTQ. We win because our ‘pair’ in the full house hand rank is higher after our ‘trips’ are the same (our KKKQQ vs. his KKKTT).
- Our 23 against A2 on board of 22A33. We win here with 23. Our hand at showdown is a full house, threes, over twos (33322). And the opponent’s hand is also a full house, but twos over aces (222AA).
Conclusion
I have shown you 11 examples of different full houses. I know that at first, it can be confusing, but after looking at these examples, you will have a much better idea who the winner is next time :). After playing for a while, you won’t even need to think what a winning hand is anymore, it all becomes automatic.
Related Links
Who Wins In Poker If Both Have A Pair At A
- Who wins if both players have a pair?
- Who wins if two players have a straight?