One of the most common areas of confusion for new players when it comes to determining who has the winning hand is when both players have two-pair hands. In the above example, a player holding on that board would have a pair of aces with a queen kicker ( A-A-Q-10-7) - a relatively strong hand with which the player could be more confident than with ace-five. It is always favorable to have a high card as your kicker when you make a pair, as having a high kicker helps improve the value of your full five-card hand. That’s because on this board your non-ace card or “kicker” plays. In this hand if you put your opponent on a pair of aces as well, the likelihood your would be best is in fact very slim given that the only other hand you beat would be. That means your best five-card hand is A-A-10-7-5 - that is, the pair of aces plus the three highest other cards available, the ten, the seven, and the five.

Kicker problemsĪnother thing to bear in mind is that even with your one-pair hands - where most new players attention only to the pair they have - you need to be aware of the value of your total five-card hand.įor example, say you have and the board reads. In this case, you will chop the pot with your opponent when it comes to showdown unless of course the other player has or and makes a better straight. In hold’em you can use any five cards out of the seven to make your hand - in fact, you don’t even have to use the two hole cards which were dealt to you! This is called “playing the board,” and it happens if your best five-card poker hand is the one which is on the board in front of you.įor example, if you get dealt pocket aces and the board is, your best hand is the nine-high straight on the board in front of you - in other words, your aces don’t even play. The most important thing to remember is that when making your hand you use the best five cards available among the seven total cards - that is, your two hole cards plus the five cards on the board. The first thing players brand new to poker have to learn is how to read the board or five “community cards” in order to determine the winning hand in Texas hold’em. Will Shillibier How to Determine the Winning Hand in Texas Hold’em

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