Kicker
The highest card outside your pair, trips or two pair, which settles ties between equal hands.
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- What it means
- A hand always plays five cards. When two players make the same pair, the same trips or the same two pair, the cards left over, the kickers, decide who wins. If the kickers match too, the pot is split.
- How it is calculated
- Compare the made part first, then the kickers from highest down. Only five cards count, so a kicker that would be the sixth card does not play, and both players can end up playing the board.
- Worked example
- On K♠7♦2♣9♥4♠, A♥K♦ and K♣Q♥ both have a pair of kings. The kings tie, then the ace beats the queen, so A♥K♦ wins. On a board of A♠K♦Q♣J♥T♠ every player has the same straight and the pot is split.
- Why it matters
- Kicker trouble is where a lot of chips are lost: with top pair and a weak kicker you are often beaten by the same pair with a better card.
Try it: Poker hand rankings
Lessons that teach it: When kickers decide the winner · lessons other than the free one need an invite
See also: Hand rankings, The nuts, Equity, Dominated