Tie Breaking in Poker
If two or more hands are equal, tie breaking rules come into play. These are:
Straight Flush
The highest ranking card wins. For example a hand of the J of Spades, 10 of Spades, 9 of Spades, 8 of Spades, and the 7 of Spades is better than a hand of the 10 of Hearts, 9 of Hearts, 8 of Hearts, 7 of Hearts, and the 6 of Hearts.
Four of a Kind
The player with the higher ranking set of four cards wins. For example the hand of the 8 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 8 of Clubs, 8 of Spades, and A of Spades is better than the hand of the 7 of Diamonds, 7 of Hearts, 7 of Clubs, 7 of Spades, and A of Spades. Depending on the type of poker game being played it is possible to have identical hands of four cards, in this eventuality the kicker is used as a tie breaker, and the highest ranked kicker wins the pot. If the kickers are equal the pot is split.
Full House
The player with the higher set of three identically ranking cards wins.
For example the hand of the 9 of Hearts, 9 of Clubs, 9 of Spades, 3 of Hearts, and the 3 of Spades is better than the hand of the 6 of Hearts, 6 of Clubs, 6 of Spades, A of Hearts, and the A of Spades. In a case where two or more hands have the same ranked three cards the hand with the higher value pair wins. If there are hands that are identical the pot is split between them.
Flush
When both players have a flush, the player with the highest ranking cards wins.
For example the hand containing the Q of Clubs, 10 of Clubs, 9 of Clubs, 4 of Clubs, and the 2 of Clubs is better than the hand containing the 10 of Diamonds, 9 of Diamonds, 6 of Diamonds, 4 of Diamonds, and the 2 of Diamonds.
The highest ranking cards are compared first, if they are the same the next highest cards are compared and if they are the same you continue until one hand has a higher value card and then it is declared the winner. If both hands are found to be identical the pot is split between the players.
Straight
The player with the highest ranking card wins. For example a hand consisting of the K of Hearts, Q of Diamonds, J of Clubs, 10 of Hearts, and the 9 of Spades is better than a hand consisting of the 9 of Hearts, 8 of Diamonds, 7 of Clubs, 6 of Hearts, and the 5 of Spades. In the event that the cards in both hands are of identical rank, the pot is split.
Three of a Kind
The player with the higher ranking set of three cards wins. For example the hand containing the 5 of Hearts, 5 of Diamonds, 5 of Clubs, K of Hearts, and the 3 of Spades is better than the hand containing the 4 of Hearts, 4 of Diamonds, 4 of Clubs, A of Hearts, and the 8 of Spades. In a case where two or more hands have the same ranked three cards the hand with the higher value kicker wins. If both hands are found to be identical the pot is split between the players.
Two Pair
The player with the higher ranking pair of cards wins. For example the hand consisting of the 8 of Clubs, 8 of Spades, 2 of Hearts, 2 of Diamonds, and the K of Hearts is better than the hand consisting of the 7 of Clubs, 7 of Spades, 2 of Hearts, 2 of Diamonds, and the K of Hearts. If the higher ranking pairs are the same the lower ranking pairs from each hand are compared. For example the hand consisting of the 10 of Clubs, 10 of Spades, 5 of Hearts, 5 of Diamonds, and the K of Hearts is better than a hand consisting of the 10 of Clubs, 10 of Spades, 2 of Hearts, 2 of Diamonds, and the K of Hearts. In the event both pairs are identical the remaining card (the kicker) in each hand is compared and if the kickers are identical, the hands are tied and the pot is split.
One Pair
The player with the higher pair wins. For example the hand consisting of the 8 of Clubs, 8 of Spades, 6 of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds, and the K of Hearts is better than the hand consisting of the 7 of Clubs, 7 of Spades, 3 of Hearts, 6 of Diamonds, and the K of Hearts. If the pairs are the same the next highest cards in each hand are compared and the highest value card wins, if they are the same the process continues with the next highest card until one hand is determined the winner. If both hands are found to be equivalent the pot is split.
High Card
The highest ranking card in each hand is compared, if both cards are the same the next highest cards are compared if they are identical the next highest cards are compared. This will continue until one hand has a higher ranking card or the hands are found to be equivalent. If both hands are found to be equivalent the pot is split.
Note: The suit of the cards is generally not used to break ties. The only time I see suits being used for tie breaking is when high-carding for button before a tournament starts. In this case reverse alphabetical order of the suits is used (highest to lowest you get Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and then Clubs).
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