Breaking Ties in Poker

Tiebreakers occur when two or more hand ranks are equal between different players. The rules are listed below.

Straight Flush
In this case, the straight flush with the highest valued cards will win the pot. For example if the community cards were the three, four, five, and six of hearts and you have the two of hearts, your hand would lose if an opponent had the seven of hearts.

Four of a Kind
This is another obvious rule but the player with the higher four of a kind will win the hand. A set of four Kings will beat a set of four threes. In the rare case that two players both have the same four of a kind, you would have to be playing with multiple decks pretty much, the player with the highest fifth card would win the hand. For example Four Kings and One Ace would beat Four Kings and a Queen. If both players hold the same hand, the pot is split.

Full House
The full house tie breaker is a little more complicated then the ones listed above. Since a full house consists of a three of a kind AND another pair, it may be confusing as to which one to use. If two players have two DIFFERENT full houses, then the higher three of a kind will win the hand. For example the full house 9,9,9,6,6 will beat 8,8,8,A,A. If two players have the same three of a kind, then the pair is used as the tiebreaker. The player with the higher pair would win the hand. So in the example above, if the second player had had three nines instead of eights he would have won the hand. If both the three of a kind and the pair are equal, then the pot is split into two.

Flush
Flush tiebreakers are a little more complicated as well. In the event that two players have a flush, the player with the highest card in his hand will win the hand. If two players have the same highest cards, then the next highest will be used. And so on. If all five cards are exactly the same, suits don’t matter as long as both players have five of the same suit, then the pot is split in half like almost every other hand.

Straight
Like almost every other poker hand, if two players both have straights the tiebreaker is simple. The player with the highest card in his sequence takes the pot. If both players hold the same straight, the pot is split in half.

Three of a Kind
Three of a kind tiebreakers are much the same as four of a kind ones. The hand with the highest three of a kind will win the pot. So three Aces will beat any other lower three of a kind. If the two players hold the same three of a kind, the next tiebreaker is the highest kicker. If both of the highest kickers are the same as well, then the second kicker is used. As usual, if the two players have the same hands, the pot is split.

Two Pair
In the event that two players have two pairs, the player with the highest pair wins the hand. An example of this would be two Kings and two Jacks will beat two Queens and two Tens. If both of the players share one pair, the other pairs value is used to determine the winner. If two players have the same exact two pair, then the fifth card, the kicker, is used to determine a winner. If the players have all five cards the same in value, then the pot is split in half.

One Pair
Much like any other tiebreaker between pairs, one pair winners are the ones with the highest pair. A pair of Aces will win against a pair of Tens. If two players hold the same pair, the next tie breaker is the highest kicker in their hand. If the first kickers are the same, then the tiebreaker moves on to the second, and then the third. As always, if the hands are the same after all five cards, the pot is split and the hand is a tie.

High Card
This is pretty much the same as any other hand in poker. The highest card wins the hand. If I have a Ace, Ten, Six, Four, Three then I will beat a King, Queen, Jack, Nine, Eight. If the first card is the same, then the second highest card is used. If the second highest is the same then the third highest is used. And so on. If all cards are the same in value, then the pot is split in half as normally done.

Something you may have noticed is that suits don’t matter at all in any of these tiebreakers. It doesn’t matter if you have more spades then an opponent. When choosing a dealer, suits may be used as a tiebreaker in case two of the same high card appear. Otherwise they are virtually useless in determining who wins in a tie!