The Kicker  

What happens if there is more than one player holding the same rank of poker hand during the final betting round or showdown? How do we decide on the winner? Can we have a draw in poker? 

When two or more players have the same hand strength at the end of a hand, the winner will then be decided with “the kicker”. A kicker is a key card that decides the winner if two or more players are tied with the same hand rank, and it is the highest card in a poker hand that’s not part of a made hand. 

For instance, in the game of Texas Holdem, a player with AK can outkick another player’s AQ on an AJ945. Both players have a pair but AK has the better 5-card hand of AAKJ9 vs AAQJ9 where the K/Q, J, and 9 count as kickers.  

What if the players have the same kicker? 

Well, if there are two or more players holding the same strength and the same kicker of a poker hand. The next highest card will then be the kicker. If after all of the following kickers are still the same and can’t decide on the winner, the pot is split between the players.  

However, you need to know that the kicker is not counted in every poker hand. Here’s a list of when kickers do and don’t count in poker: 

• Ace high ✔️ Yes 
• One pair ✔️ Yes 

• Two pair ✔️ Yes 
• Three of a Kind ✔️ Yes 
• Straight ❌ No 
• Flush ❌ No 
• Full House ❌ No 

• Four of a kind ✔️ Yes 
• Straight Flush ❌ No 
• Royal Flush ❌ No 

Poker Hands Probability  

Are you interested in knowing more about how likely you are to get the poker hand you want? What is the probability that you can get a royal flush? How often you can form a straight flush? Have you ever wondered about the poker hands probability? 

In a standard poker game, the standard deck of 52 cards is used and it can form 2,598,960 possible combinations. Hence, from there we can calculate the probability of poker hands. Simply divide the number of possible ways to combine certain poker hands by the total number of poker hands and you will find the probability of each hand.  

For example, we can find the odds of a royal flush like this:  

4/2,598,960 = 0.000,001,539 

As you can see, the odds of getting a royal flush are extremely low compared to One Pair with the odds of 0,422.569.03. 

Here’s a complete list of the probability of poker hands: 

• Royal Flush — 0.000,001,539 
• Straight Flush — 0.000,015,39 
• Four-of-a-Kind — 0.000,240,1 
• Full House — 0.001,440,58 
• Flush — 0.001,965,4 

• Straight — 0.003,924,65 
• Three-of-a-Kind — 0.021,128,45 
• Two Pairs — 0,047,539,02 
• One Pair — 0,422.569.03 

Absolute Value and Relative Value of Poker Hands 

In most poker games, there are many situations where a good hand can become less valuable and a poor hand becomes more valuable. In other words, this means that there is a difference between the absolute and relative value of poker hands. absolute value means the value reflected in the list of poker hands ranking; relative value means the value situated in the actual game.  

For example, if you have two pair in a game of Texas Holdem, it would appear that you are holding a good hand. However, if you notice that your opponent keeps raising the bet and challenging you, there is a possibility that he is holding a greater poker hand than yours. He could be holding a flush or straight, making your two pair less valuable.  

However, if your opponent keeps checking instead of calling or raising the bet, you might be holding the strongest poker hand and you should be bold with your hand. Hence, your hand’s “relative” value can be quite high even though its “absolute” value might not be. 

It is also worth noting that the general poker hand rankings are not applicable in some poker variations like Razza, deuce-to-seven triple draw, Badugi, and others. These hand rankings apply to “high-card” or regular games only; “lowball” games have other hand rankings. 

Low Poker Hand Rankings  

As mentioned, there are some “lowball” poker variations where they will be using a different hand ranking structures. They are ranked in accordance with the low-hand winning in lowball, high-low, and other poker games. The highest-ranking card in a low hand without a combination is used to identify it. A hand with the values 10-6-5-3-2, for instance, is referred to as “10-down” or “10-low.” 

Ace to Five 

This is the most common system for ranking low hands. Straights and flushes don’t count, and aces are always low cards. The best hand in Ace-to-Five is 5-4-3-2-A. As in traditional poker, the high card is used to compare hands. Therefore, 6-4-3-2-A defeats both 7-4-3-2-A and 6-5-3-2-A. This is because 4 < 5 and 6 < 7. 

The best hand with a pair is A-A-4-3-2, also known as California Lowball. A condition known as “eight or better” is frequently used in high-low poker games to qualify players to win a portion of the pot. To be taken into account, their hand must have an 8 or lower. The worst possible hand in this scenario is 8-7-6-5-4. 

Deuce to Seven 

The hands’ rankings in this system are very similar to those in traditional poker. Straights and flushes are included; the lowest hand wins. However, aces are always regarded as high cards in this system (A-2-3-4-5 is not a straight.) The best hand in this system is 7-5-4-3-2 (in mixed suits), which is a nod to the system’s name. The highest card is usually compared first. The worst hand with high cards in deuce-to-seven is A-K-Q-J-9, yet the greatest hand with a pair is 2-2-5-4-3. It’s also known as “Kansas City Lowball” in some circles. 

Ace to Six  

Straights and flushes count, while aces are low cards under this system, which is frequently employed in home poker games. 5-4-3-2-A is a poor hand under Ace-to-Six because it is straight. 6-4-3-2-A is the finest low hand. A-K-Q-J-10 is not straight because aces are low, hence it is referred to as king-down (or king-low). K-Q-J-10-A is lower than K-Q-J-10-2 because the ace is a low card. Additionally, two aces triumph over two twos. 

Players can opt not to use their highest-value cards in games with more than five cards in order to create the lowest hand possible. 

Hand Ranking with Wild Cards 

Any card a player could require to construct a specific hand can be replaced by a wild card. Jokers are frequently added to the deck and utilized as wild cards (making the game played with 54 as opposed to 52 cards). 1+ cards may be chosen at the beginning as wild cards if players opt to continue with a normal deck. For instance, the “one-eyed jacks” or all the twos in the deck (deuces wild) (the jacks of hearts and spades). In general, wild cards can be used to replace any card not in a player’s hand or make a special hand — five of a kind. 

Five of a Kind 

With wild cards, the best hand of all is a Five of a Kind, which defeats a Royal Flush. The higher value of five cards wins when comparing five of a kind. The highest card is an ace. 

The Bug 

Some poker games, most notably in five card draw, are played with the bug. The bug is an added joker which functions as a limited wild card. It may only be used as an ace or a card needed to complete a straight or a flush. Under this system, the highest hand is a five-of-a-kind of aces, but no other five-of-a-kind is legal. On a hand, with any other four of a kind, the joker counts as an ace kicker. 

Wild Cards – Low Poker 

A “fitter,” or card used to finish a hand that has the lowest value according to the low hand rating system in use, is the wild card in a low poker game. 6-5-3-2-joker would be regarded as 6-6-5-3-2 in traditional poker. The wild card in ace-to-five would be an ace, whereas in deuce-to-seven it would be a 7. 

Lowest Card Wild 

The player’s lowest card, or the lowest concealed card, may be used as a wild card in home poker games. During the showdown, this is applicable to the card with the lowest value. Under this variation, two are seen as low and aces as high. 

Double Ace Flush 

In this variation, the wild card may be ANY card, including one that a player already has in their possession. This makes it possible to get a double ace flush. 

Natural Hand v. Wild Hand 

According to a house rule, a “natural hand” triumphs over a hand that is equal to it but contains wild cards. More “wild” hands might be regarded as being better than less “wild” hands with fewer wild cards. This condition must be established prior to the transaction. 

Conclusion  

Different variations of poker use different sets of poker hand rankings and therefore different strategies of poker are required to play different kinds of poker games. Hence, poker hand ranking is one of the most crucial aspects that you should learn when playing poker. Identifying which hands are stronger and weakest can put you in a better position to win the game.