Which hand wins?

How to read a showdown

1. Find each player's best five cards. Use both hole cards, one of them or none. Only five of the seven cards ever count.
2. Compare the categories. A higher category always wins, however high the cards in the lower one. Three small cards of a kind beat two pair with Aces.
3. Same category? Compare the cards that make the hand. A pair of Kings beats a pair of Queens. For a full house, the three of a kind is compared first.
4. Still level? Look at the side cards. The highest side card, called the kicker, decides. If all five cards match in rank, it is a split pot. Suits never break a tie.

The most common trap: the board pairs, and both players hold the same pair with it. Then the fifth card of the hand, often a card on the board, decides the pot. When the board's own cards are better than both kickers, nobody's kicker plays and the pot is split.

Questions

How do you know which poker hand wins?

Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards. The higher category wins: a flush beats a straight, a straight beats three of a kind, and so on down to high card. If both players have the same category, compare the cards that make the hand first, then the side cards, called kickers.

Do suits break ties in Texas Hold'em?

No. All four suits are equal. If both players make exactly the same five-card hand, they split the pot.

Will I see the same hand twice?

No. Every hand is dealt at random from a full, shuffled deck, and there are about 1.4 trillion different heads-up deals. Your browser also remembers the last 2,000 hands it showed you and skips them.

Is this a gambling game?

No. There are no bets, no money and no prizes. It is a free practice tool for reading the showdown, the moment the cards are turned over and the best hand wins.