What Beats 4 Of A Kind In Poker

Posted By admin On 23/03/22
What Beats 4 Of A Kind In Poker Rating: 4,4/5 9763 votes

Knowing what beats what in poker or Texas Hold’em is an important early step in learning the game. To help you out, I have provided for you an attractive printable or downloadable “cheat sheet” for both 5 card hand rankings as well as top 24 pre-flop starting hands.

Any 4 of a kind other than 4 x Aces will lose to the above hand. However, if you’re holding 4 x Queens, that hand can be beaten by 4 x Kings and 4 x Aces. Here are several other examples of Four of a Kind: 3 ♥ 3 ♠ 3 ♦ 3 ♣. 10 ♥ 10 ♠ 10 ♦ 10 ♣. K ♥ K ♠ K ♦ K ♣.

An ace high straight flush, such as Ad Kd Qd Jd 10d is called a royal flush, and is the highest ranked hand in standard poker, without wild cards. Also known as quads, four of a kind is a hand like 7h 7s 7c 7d 2s, that has four cards of the same rank, and one other card. Four of a kind means you hold four of the same card, such as 8-8-8-8 with maybe a random 5 or something else thrown in there for your fifth card. Not bad, not bad at all. If you're masterful at bluffing and you can get others to fold, this could easily bring home the pot. Straight Flush and Royal Flush are the hands that beat four of a kind.

Poker hands ranked from best to worst:

  1. Royal Flush
  2. Straight Flush
  3. Four of a Kind
  4. Full House
  5. Flush
  6. Straight
  7. Three of a Kind
  8. Two Pair
  9. One Pair
  10. High Card

To make things easier on you, I have included some handy charts that can be used to reference during play or even printed out.

Poker Hand Rankings Chart

Never forget what beats what again. Feel free to save this to your phone/tablet/computer or print the chart out.

Click below to download a high-quality PDF that includes a printable copy of both the showdown and pre-flop hand rankings.

The Top 24 Hold’Em Starting Hand Rankings

To help you out, I have also included the top 24 no-limit hold’em starting hands to give you a further idea of what beats what in poker. I based this list on both raw equities as well as post-flop playability.

I have used over 10 years of experience in both tournaments and cash games to compile this info. You get to benefit from my hard work!

How These Hands Were Determined

I took a look at a few of the pre-flop hand ranking charts out there and, while most appeared to get it right for the most part, there seemed to be something off.

The thing is, everyone always does pretty well on the top 5 or 6 hands. However, after that things get a bit murkier.

What Beats A Straight In Poker

So, what really matters when it comes to weighing hand strength? I decided to take a close look at the problem. Using the knowledge I’ve gained over the past few years, I tried to come up with a better way of codifying hand rankings.

Determining the Overall Playability of Each Hand

I decided to go about it from a logical standpoint. When deciding whether to play a hand or not, what are the factors a strong player considers before acting?

So, I decided that there are basically two main factors to consider in determining the strength of a particular pre-flop hand. And, since equity is the tool we use to rank the value of hands I just had to figure out what type of equities matter most and then apply it to each factor.

Once I was able to define which equities to consider, it just took a bit of math.

1. Pre-Flop Equity

The first equity I decided to factor in is a hand’s raw pre-flop equity. I mean, sometimes you need to get all-in before the flop, right?

Of course, some hands will get all-in more frequently than others but for the sake of simplicity, raw equity against a strong range will give us a decent enough metric to come up with a comparative ranking.

2. Post-Flop Equity

Secondly, we need to factor in how a hand does post-flop. There’s no doubt, that certain hands play much better after the flop than others.

To calculate how well a hand does after the flop I looked at what post-flop hands tend to get all-in most of the time in a post-flop scenario. This includes the strongest made hands, including top pair and better, as well as strong draws.

Once I was able to figure out what hands are likely to get all-in, I just had to figure out the equity of every hand versus that range on a random flop.

Compiling the Final List

Doing these kinds of calculations by hand would be extremely difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, there is a software program called Cardrunner’s EV that does the math for me.

After I figured out both the raw pre-flop equity and the likely flop equity of each hand, I just used excel to average them. That data was used to compile the rankings.

Poker

Here are the final equity percentages:

Which Poker Starting Hand Ranges Should I Use?

Knowing which hands to open raise is important to your success. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Free Basic Poker Strategy Charts

I have built charts that provide you profitable opening ranges from every position. As a bonus, the charts also include what to do at every decision point possible for playing a 20 to 40 big blind stack.

Just provide the following info, subscribe to my spam-free newsletter, and I will email you the charts along with the comprehensive 10-page strategy guide for free!

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The guide will give you an excellent starting point for playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em and will get you off on the right foot by allowing you to play fundamentally sound poker right now!

FAQ

What if my opponent and I have the same hand at showdown?

If more than one player has the same hand then you have to follow the tie-breaker rules to determine the winner.

If two or more players have a flush or straight

In the case where two players have a flush or straight, the person who has the highest card in their hand wins. For example, T9876 beats 76543.

If two or more players have a full house

In the case of multiple full houses, the player with the highest “trips” as part of their full house wins. For example, TTT22 beats 555AA.

What if two or more players have the same pair or two pair?

If multiple players have exactly the same two pair, the highest kicker is used to determine the winner. For example, JJ66Q beats JJ66T.

The same process is used for one-pair. The next highest kicker is used. If that is the same, you use the next highest kicker. So on and so forth until the tie is broken. For example, AAK85 beats AAK84.

Who wins if more than one person has the same high card?

Similarly to one pair and two-pair hands, you use the next highest kicker to determine the winner. You keep moving on to the next kicker until a winner is determined. For example, KT763 beats KT753.

Which is better, trips or two-pair?

Three of a kind beats two-pair. It also beats a pair and high card.

Which is better, a flush or a straight?

A flush beats a straight. It also beats three of a kind, two pair, a pair, and high card.

What is the worst hand in poker?

The worst hand against multiple players is 72 offsuit. The worst hand heads-up is 32o.

What are the odds of getting a Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em?

A royal flush is extremely rare. You can only expect to get a royal flush once every 650,000 hands. That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. Personally, I have played well over 5 million hands and have only had one royal using both cards.

Final Thoughts

I hope this article has helped you learn more about how hand rankings work in poker. If you want to learn about basic poker strategy, be sure to check out my detailed no-limit hold’em basic tutorial.

Poker Hand Rankings

While most of you will know the basics rules of poker, those new to the game may still be a little unsure of what hands are most valuable. In fact, even experienced players sometimes get confused when ranking a Full House and a Flush.

A poker hand will always consist of five cards, and they fall into one of several rankings to determine the strength of your hand, such as a royal flush, a straight or a two pair. The player holding the highest ranked cards will be the winner. Therefore, it is crucial to learn and understand the different poker hand rankings to ensure you don’t throw away a potential win.

What Beats A 4 Of A Kind In Poker

As such, we thought it might be advantageous to put together a reminder that you can bookmark and use for future reference when playing at our recommended online Poker brands Ignition and Ladbrokes.

Royal Flush Poker Hand

A Royal Flush is the highest ranking hand in poker and is known as the nuts or royal routine. A royal flush is a hand that has an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten, with each being the same suit. Your goal is to see opponents sacrifice as many chips as possible as this is an unbeatable hand. The probability of receiving a royal flush is 0.0001%.

Straight Flush Poker Hand

A Straight Flush is five same suit cards in sequence, and you would be unlucky if you are beaten holding a straight flush, as it’s ranked the second highest poker hand in the game. There is a total of forty possible straight flush combinations, and the probability of receiving a straight flush is 0.001%.

4 of a Kind Poker Hand

A 4 of a kind hand, known as Quads, consists of four same value cards. If two players have quads or 4 of a kind hand, the winner will be determined by the highest kicker card. The probability of receiving 5 of a kind is 0.02%.

Full House Poker Hand

What Beats 4 Of A Kind In Poker Player

A Full House also referred to as a Full Boat, consists of three same value cards along with two same value cards. There are 3,744 combinations of full house hands with the probability of receiving a full house being 0.14%.

Flush Poker Hand

A Flush consists of five same suit cards that are not consecutive. The winner is determined by the highest card in their hand. There are 5,148 flush combinations, and the probability of receiving a flush is 0.19%.

Straight Poker Hand

A Straight, also known as “Broadway” is any five consecutive cards. There are 10,240 different combinations that can result in a straight, and the probability of receiving a straight is 0.39%.

Three of a kind Poker Hand

3 of a kind, also referred to as a Set or Trips, is any three cards with the same value. There are 54,912 possible three of a kind combinations, with the probability of receiving three of a kind being 2.11%.

Two Pair Poker Hand

What beats 4 of a kind in poker

A two pair hand will consist of two same value cards along with an additional two same value cards in one hand. For example, two queens and two fives. There are 123,552 combinations that can result in a hand with two pair. The probability of receiving a two pair is 4.75%.

One Pair Poker Hand

A hand with a pair will consist of any two cards consisting of the same value. There are more than 1,000.00 combinations that can result in a pair, and the chances of receiving a pair are 42.25%.

What Beats What In Poker Printable

High Card Poker Hand

If the cards in your hand do not link with each other in any way, then the highest ranked card will become the value of your hand. If the highest card in your hand is a king, then your hand is considered a King High. There are more than 2,500,000 high card combinations. The probability of receiving a high card is 50.11%

What Beats 4 Of A Kind In Poker Tournament

If you want a handy reference whilst playing, bookmark our Poker Hand Rankings guide.