Texas Holdem Do You Have To Use Both Cards In Your Hand Rating: 6,2/10 2597 reviews
  1. Texas Holdem Do You Have To Use Both Cards In Your Hand
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  • In Texas Hold 'Em players make the best 5 card they can from the 7 they have available. When those best 5 are the 5 community cards this is known as 'Playing the board'. If multiple players best hand is 'the board' and this is the winning hand then it is a split. The 2 cards they have in there hand take no part in determine the winner.
  • Texas Hold’em Rules: Texas Hold’em Poker is a community card game that can be played anywhere from 2-10 players. One player acts as dealer. This position is called the button and it rotates clockwise after every hand. The two players to the left of the dealer are called the small blind and the big blind, respectively.

First of all you need to reduce the deck down to 46 cards because you have two cards and there are four cards on the board. There are 13 cards of each suit, but you have two cards in your poker hand and there are two more cards on the board. That means there are nine diamond cards in the deck that will make your flush and win the poker hand. The game rules are the same as Texas Hold'Em with the only exception that a player MUST use 2 cards from his hole cards. In Omaha you get 4 cards to play with, you can only use 2 of them to make.


Texas Holdem and Omaha do not use other than the five card rule. There is no condition in a five card hand where you can win the pot based on your sixth or seventh card. There are no tie breakers unless your best five cards are better than your opponents best five cards. What If Two Players Have a Full House? To break a tie with a full house, whoever has the highest “trips” parts of their hand wins. The “pair” part of the hand does not matter except as a tiebreaker. If the pairs are the same as well, then the hand is a tie and the pot is split. Texas Hold'em Example: This means the players' final five card poker hands are: Both players have a pair of kings, but the winner of the pot is Player B because he has Player A 'out-kicked'. In a high card or one pair hand tie-breaker, both players can sometimes have the same kicker. A Straight Flush and 4 of a Kind are stronger than a Full House, and a Full House is rarely beaten on the river in a game of Texas Hold’em poker. There are at least 5 different poker hand combinations that rank lower than a Full House, and the next one on our list is a Flush. The only tricky part of a tie breaker with four of a kind is when the four falls on the table in a game of Texas Holdem and is therefore shared between two (or more) players. A kicker can be used, however, if the fifth community card is higher than any card held by any player still in the hand, then the hand is considered a tie and the pot is.

When two players appear to have the same hand in poker, deciding who is the winner is not always easy. I’ve played for over 10 years and will show you how to determine whether there is a winner or if there it is a tie.

What happens if you have the same hand in poker? If two or more players have the same hand the high card determines the winner. For straights or flushes, the highest top card is declared the winner. For one pair and two pair hands, the highest kicker wins. If players have the same 5-card hand, it is a tie and the pot is split equally.

Sometimes the basics are not enough and further explanation is needed. Let’s go through all the possible hands and show how a tiebreaker is handled for each and every possible situation in poker.

Poker Tiebreaker Rules

Having a tie in poker is actually a fairly rare thing. For the purposes of this article we will focus on ties in Texas Hold’em. However, the methodology works for any form of poker.

Who Wins If No One Has a Pair? High Card Tiebreaker Rules

The easy way to determine who wins if no one has even a pair is for everyone to put their hands in order from high to low. Then, simply start at the top and work your way down until the tie is broken. The highest non-tie card wins.

High-Card Tiebreaker Examples:

  • AJT85 beats AJT82
  • T8542 Beats T7653
  • 85432 Beats 76542
  • K6542 Beats K6532

What Happens If Two Players Have the Same One-pair Hand?

If two or more players have the same pair, you use the same methodology as you do for high-card hands. The next highest non-tie card determines the winner.

One-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:

  • KKT75 beats KK942
  • 88652 Beats 88642
  • AAK83 Beats AAK82

Who Wins in Poker If Both Players Have 2 Pair? Two-Pair Tiebreaker Rules

Two pair winners are really easy to determine, the player with the higher pair wins. For example, JJ22 beats TT99.

If both players have the same two pair, it is also easy to figure out the winner since there is only one kicker. Whichever kicker is higher wins.

Two-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:

  • 7733A beats 55442
  • JJTT8 beats JJTT5
  • 8822A beats 8822K
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Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Rules

The person with the highest three of a kind wins. If two players have the same three of a kind, then the kickers are used to determine the tiebreaker.

Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Examples:Which Hand Is Best in High-Low Poker?

  • TTT92 beats 77743
  • QQQT2 beats QQQ76

What Happens If Two Players Have a Straight or Flush?

If two or more players have a straight or flush, whoever has the top card wins.

Straight & Flush Tiebreaker Examples:

  • 76543 beats 5432A (Ace is a one in this case)
  • J♠ 9♠ 5♠ 3♠ 2♠ beats T♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 4♠

What If Two Players Have a Full House?

To break a tie with a full house, whoever has the highest “trips” parts of their hand wins. The “pair” part of the hand does not matter except as a tiebreaker. If the pairs are the same as well, then the hand is a tie and the pot is split.

Full House Tiebreaker Examples:

  • TTT22 beats 777AA
  • 555JJ beats 444KK
  • QQQ33 beats QQQ22

Four of a Kind, Straight Flushes, and Royal Flushes

Unless the hand is on the board, it is extremely rare for there to be two players with the same ultra-premium hand like four of a kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. However, it is easy to decide who is the winner.

  • Four of a kind – The highest four of a kind hand wins
  • Straight flush– Usually when this happens, one player will have the top of the straight flush and the other the bottom. The top wins.
  • Royal flush– The only time it is possible for two players to have a royal flush is if it is on the board. Even if it was possible, two royal flushes is always a tie. Contrary to what some people believe, one suit does not beat another suit unless a specific local rule dictates it.

Texas Holdem Full House Tie Breaker Set

What Happens If Players Have the Same Hand Even After a Tiebreaker?

Can there be a tie in poker? In poker, if no winner can be determined with a tiebreaker, then the hand is declared a tie and the tied players split the pot. The most frequent time there is a tie in poker is where the board is paired twice and two or more players each have the same high card.

Examples of tied hands:

  • One player has AK and the other has AQ and the board is J2255. Each player has A2255 and for a tie.
  • One player has A8 and another has A6. The final board is AQJJ9. Both players have a pair of Aces with kickers of QJJ9. They would split the pot.
  • One player has 98 and the other has 92. The final board is AKQT5. Both players have the high card hand AKQT9. The pot is once again split between them.

What If the Best Hand Is on the Board?

If no part of anyone’s hand can break the tie, then the pot is split equally among the players with live cards. This commonly happens when there is a straight or a flush on the board. This is known as “playing the board.”

How Do We Split up the Pot?

The easiest method to split up a pot in poker is to start with the highest chip color and work your way down. If there is an uneven number of a color, you pull in enough from the next lowest amount to even it up. Then start the process again with the next highest color available.

What If There Is an Uneven Amount in the Pot?

If there is an extra chip left over after the pot has been split, then the first player seated clockwise from the dealer gets it. In heads-up, the player who was the Big Blind gets the extra chip.

Which Hand Is Best in High-Lo Poker?

There are a few variations of poker, namely Omaha Hi-Lo where the low hand wins half of the pot. In this case, whoever can make the lowest possible hand that isn’t a straight wins. 5-4-3-2-A is known as the “nut low.” and is a really strong hand in Hi-Lo games.

In order to qualify for a low hand, the highest card has to be 8 or lower. 86532 qualifies but 95432 does not.

What Are Common Tie-Breaker Mistakes?

In pub poker or home games, I see people scoop a pot quite frequently when it was supposed to be a tie. The most common time this happens is when someone is dominated and then their kicker is counterfeited at some point during the hand.

Here are some examples:

AQ vs. A2– Board runs out A588K, which means they both are holding two pair Aces and eights with a King kicker. I have witnessed the pot be pushed to the AQ guy and the next hand be about to start before anyone notices.

66 vs. 44– Board runs out KTT7K, which means they both are playing the board with two-pair, Kings over Tens with a seve kicker. I swear, I wish the guy with 66 would notice the counterfeiting just one time. I’ve seen supposedly “experienced” players not even understand that 66 and 44 are tied here.

AA vs. AK– Board runs out 97568, with a straight on the board it’s a split pot. Yet you’d be surprised how often the guy with AA will try to drag in the entire pot.

Remind Me, What Is the Hand Ranking Order Again?

Ranked from best hand to worst:

  • Royal Flush
  • Straight Flush
  • Four of a Kind
  • Full House
  • Flush
  • Straight
  • Three of a Kind
  • Two-Pair
  • One-Pair
  • High Card

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to break any possible tie in poker if two players seem to have the same hand. If you want to learn the basics of poker strategy, you might want to check out my complete poker tutorial. Thanks for reading!

Related Questions

Can you have two hands in poker? You are required to always play your highest hand possible in Texas hold’em or other poker games. However, if you verbally announce a weaker version of your hand then you actually have, the dealer may actually force you to play the weaker hand.

Which is higher straight or flush? According to the hand ranking rules of poker, a flush always beats a straight.

Is JQKA2 a straight? AThis is know as an around-the-corner straight and is only used as a special rule in some home games. In games that follow the exact rules of poker, JQKA2 is not considered a straight and is just an Ace-high high-card hand.

When two players appear to have the same hand in poker, deciding who is the winner is not always easy. I’ve played for over 10 years and will show you how to determine whether there is a winner or if there it is a tie.

What happens if you have the same hand in poker? If two or more players have the same hand the high card determines the winner. For straights or flushes, the highest top card is declared the winner. For one pair and two pair hands, the highest kicker wins. If players have the same 5-card hand, it is a tie and the pot is split equally.

Sometimes the basics are not enough and further explanation is needed. Let’s go through all the possible hands and show how a tiebreaker is handled for each and every possible situation in poker.

Poker Tiebreaker Rules

Having a tie in poker is actually a fairly rare thing. For the purposes of this article we will focus on ties in Texas Hold’em. However, the methodology works for any form of poker.

Who Wins If No One Has a Pair? High Card Tiebreaker Rules

The easy way to determine who wins if no one has even a pair is for everyone to put their hands in order from high to low. Then, simply start at the top and work your way down until the tie is broken. The highest non-tie card wins.

High-Card Tiebreaker Examples:

  • AJT85 beats AJT82
  • T8542 Beats T7653
  • 85432 Beats 76542
  • K6542 Beats K6532

What Happens If Two Players Have the Same One-pair Hand?

Holdem

If two or more players have the same pair, you use the same methodology as you do for high-card hands. The next highest non-tie card determines the winner.

One-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:

  • KKT75 beats KK942
  • 88652 Beats 88642
  • AAK83 Beats AAK82

Who Wins in Poker If Both Players Have 2 Pair? Two-Pair Tiebreaker Rules

Two pair winners are really easy to determine, the player with the higher pair wins. For example, JJ22 beats TT99.

Texas Holdem Full House Tie Breaker Rules

If both players have the same two pair, it is also easy to figure out the winner since there is only one kicker. Whichever kicker is higher wins.

Two-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:

Texas Holdem Full House Tie Breakers

  • 7733A beats 55442
  • JJTT8 beats JJTT5
  • 8822A beats 8822K

Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Rules

The person with the highest three of a kind wins. If two players have the same three of a kind, then the kickers are used to determine the tiebreaker.

Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Examples:Which Hand Is Best in High-Low Poker?

  • TTT92 beats 77743
  • QQQT2 beats QQQ76

What Happens If Two Players Have a Straight or Flush?

If two or more players have a straight or flush, whoever has the top card wins.

Straight & Flush Tiebreaker Examples:

  • 76543 beats 5432A (Ace is a one in this case)
  • J♠ 9♠ 5♠ 3♠ 2♠ beats T♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 4♠

What If Two Players Have a Full House?

To break a tie with a full house, whoever has the highest “trips” parts of their hand wins. The “pair” part of the hand does not matter except as a tiebreaker. If the pairs are the same as well, then the hand is a tie and the pot is split.

Full House Tiebreaker Examples:

  • TTT22 beats 777AA
  • 555JJ beats 444KK
  • QQQ33 beats QQQ22

Four of a Kind, Straight Flushes, and Royal Flushes

Unless the hand is on the board, it is extremely rare for there to be two players with the same ultra-premium hand like four of a kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. However, it is easy to decide who is the winner.

  • Four of a kind – The highest four of a kind hand wins
  • Straight flush– Usually when this happens, one player will have the top of the straight flush and the other the bottom. The top wins.
  • Royal flush– The only time it is possible for two players to have a royal flush is if it is on the board. Even if it was possible, two royal flushes is always a tie. Contrary to what some people believe, one suit does not beat another suit unless a specific local rule dictates it.

What Happens If Players Have the Same Hand Even After a Tiebreaker?

Can there be a tie in poker? In poker, if no winner can be determined with a tiebreaker, then the hand is declared a tie and the tied players split the pot. The most frequent time there is a tie in poker is where the board is paired twice and two or more players each have the same high card.

Examples of tied hands:

  • One player has AK and the other has AQ and the board is J2255. Each player has A2255 and for a tie.
  • One player has A8 and another has A6. The final board is AQJJ9. Both players have a pair of Aces with kickers of QJJ9. They would split the pot.
  • One player has 98 and the other has 92. The final board is AKQT5. Both players have the high card hand AKQT9. The pot is once again split between them.

Texas Holdem Do You Have To Use Both Cards In Your Hand

What If the Best Hand Is on the Board?

If no part of anyone’s hand can break the tie, then the pot is split equally among the players with live cards. This commonly happens when there is a straight or a flush on the board. This is known as “playing the board.”

How Do We Split up the Pot?

The easiest method to split up a pot in poker is to start with the highest chip color and work your way down. If there is an uneven number of a color, you pull in enough from the next lowest amount to even it up. Then start the process again with the next highest color available.

What If There Is an Uneven Amount in the Pot?

If there is an extra chip left over after the pot has been split, then the first player seated clockwise from the dealer gets it. In heads-up, the player who was the Big Blind gets the extra chip.

Which Hand Is Best in High-Lo Poker?

There are a few variations of poker, namely Omaha Hi-Lo where the low hand wins half of the pot. In this case, whoever can make the lowest possible hand that isn’t a straight wins. 5-4-3-2-A is known as the “nut low.” and is a really strong hand in Hi-Lo games.

In order to qualify for a low hand, the highest card has to be 8 or lower. 86532 qualifies but 95432 does not.

What Are Common Tie-Breaker Mistakes?

In pub poker or home games, I see people scoop a pot quite frequently when it was supposed to be a tie. The most common time this happens is when someone is dominated and then their kicker is counterfeited at some point during the hand.

Here are some examples:

AQ vs. A2– Board runs out A588K, which means they both are holding two pair Aces and eights with a King kicker. I have witnessed the pot be pushed to the AQ guy and the next hand be about to start before anyone notices.

66 vs. 44– Board runs out KTT7K, which means they both are playing the board with two-pair, Kings over Tens with a seve kicker. I swear, I wish the guy with 66 would notice the counterfeiting just one time. I’ve seen supposedly “experienced” players not even understand that 66 and 44 are tied here.

AA vs. AK– Board runs out 97568, with a straight on the board it’s a split pot. Yet you’d be surprised how often the guy with AA will try to drag in the entire pot.

Texas Holdem Do You Have To Use Both Cards In Your Hand Painted

Remind Me, What Is the Hand Ranking Order Again?

Ranked from best hand to worst:

  • Royal Flush
  • Straight Flush
  • Four of a Kind
  • Full House
  • Flush
  • Straight
  • Three of a Kind
  • Two-Pair
  • One-Pair
  • High Card

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to break any possible tie in poker if two players seem to have the same hand. If you want to learn the basics of poker strategy, you might want to check out my complete poker tutorial. Thanks for reading!

Related Questions

Can you have two hands in poker? You are required to always play your highest hand possible in Texas hold’em or other poker games. However, if you verbally announce a weaker version of your hand then you actually have, the dealer may actually force you to play the weaker hand.

Texas Holdem Full House Tie Breaker Poker

Which is higher straight or flush? According to the hand ranking rules of poker, a flush always beats a straight.

Is JQKA2 a straight? AThis is know as an around-the-corner straight and is only used as a special rule in some home games. In games that follow the exact rules of poker, JQKA2 is not considered a straight and is just an Ace-high high-card hand.


Comments are closed.Play the Board - In a Hold’em game, using all five community cards to make your best hand.

Texas Holdem Do You Have To Use Both Cards In Your Hands

In a Hold’em game, players receive two hole cards and five community cards. Players must use five of the seven cards, in any combination, in order to make their best five card poker hand. The two hole cards are delivered face down at the start of the hand, and are not seen by the other players at the table. The five community cards are delivered face up, in the center of the table. First there is a three card flop, followed by a turn card, and finally a river card. This is called “the board.” The board consists of the “community cards,” so named because these cards are shared by all players in the game, so that only the hole cards differentiate the player’s hands.

Texas Holdem Do You Have To Use Both Cards In Your Hand Sanitizer


Usually, when a player considers his best five cards, he will use one or both of his hole cards to complete his hand. Occasionally, a player will not be able to use either one of his hole cards when forming his best five card hand. When this occurs, that player must instead use only the five community cards from the board, and therefore must “play the board.” Playing the board is usually a bad thing, because it means that you were unable to improve upon the five card poker hand that all players automatically share as community cards. This means that if you play the board, you can do no better than tie the other players in the game, and even that can be unlikely. To achieve this tie, every other player must not be able to play either of their hole cards, and must play the board as well. Any player who is able to improve upon the hand represented by the board, by playing either or both of their hole cards, will make a better five card poker hand than anyone who is forced to play the board. On rare occasions, playing the board can be a good thing, and give you a piece of the pot when otherwise you would have lost. This happens when your opponent loses his lead over you on the river and must also play the board.
Sometimes, when a player plays the board, it is because their hole cards are trash. This happens frequently if your hole cards are of small denomination, and do not form a pair, straight, or flush when combined with the cards from the board. Of course, in order to play the board, a player must make it to showdown, and this type of hand is often mucked before that occurs. When you do make it to showdown with trash, and are required to play the board, it is often because you did not face a bet during the course of the hand.
Other times, playing the board will not be a result of you holding trash, but will result from the board consisting of a strong five card hand. This happens frequently when a straight, flush, or full house appears on the board. It can also happen when two pair with a high kicker appears on the board, and the existing players are unpaired or have pocket pairs smaller than those on the board. This situation, where the board is strong, is much more likely to result in a tie among existing players than when you play the board because you hold trash. In extreme cases, it is even possible for the board to be the nuts, in which case all players with live hands must chop the pot. There are only three situations where the board can contain the nut hand. One is when there is a royal flush displayed on the board. The second is when the board contains four of a kind with an ace kicker, or in the case of four aces, a king kicker. The third is when an ace high straight (or “Broadway”), without the possibility of a flush, appears on the board.
Most of the time, when you play the board, you will lose the hand. Even when the board contains a flush or a straight, another player will often be able to play one of his hole cards to make a bigger flush or bigger straight. When playing the board, some players will muck their hands prior to showing down, because they have missed their draw and assume that they have lost. This can be a bad assumption to make. If it turns out that the other players are playing the board also, you will not be eligible for your share of the pot if you do not show your hand. Sometimes, when you least expect it, you will win a piece of the pot by playing the board. Even if you have missed a flush draw or straight draw, and you hold trash, your opponent may have also missed a similar non playing draw. When you are not facing a bet, it is always better to hold onto your hand until you see the hand that beats you, rather than to muck your hand out of frustration when you miss.
Usage: Played The Board, Board Plays
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