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The kicker in hold'em
| Player 1 has:   Player 2 has:   |
However, player one is the favorite by 72%!
Why is this?
Let us forget all of the special flops (flush, straight, etc.) for the moment, and concentrate on more common scenarios:
Scenario n°1: the Flop brings neither king nor queen
Remember: The hand of a hold’em player is made up of the best possible 5 cards on the board and in his hand.
Player 1s best hand
Player 2s best hand
Player 1 therefore wins thanks to his king! Scenario n°2: the Flop brings a king and a queen
Remember: The hand of a hold’em player is made up of the best possible 5 cards on the board and in his hand
Player 1s best hand
Player 2s best hand
Player 1 wins with a two pair, Ace-King against two pair Ace-Queen !Player 2s only hope to take down the pot is a board that shows more queens than kings.
That is why Ace-King is so much more valuable than Ace-Queen, which is much more valuable than Ace-Jack, and so on.
Exercise 1
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1  Player 2  |
Answer : Each player has a pair, but they both have they also have a flush. We take the best possible combination for each of the players, and therefore their pairs will not be taken into account. Player 1 has a flush, queen high, whereas Player 2 has a flush ace high.
Player two will thus win the hand. Exercise 2
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1  Player 2 |
Answer : The board contains one suit, since five clubs are showing. Each player has a club that doesn’t count since the 8 of clubs is not among the five best cards to win the hand.
The victory is therefore shared. Exercise 3
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1 Player 2  |
Answer : This case is quite similar to the previous one since the board again shows only one suit. However, this time Player 1 has in his hand a card that is one of the five best.
In fact, Player 1’s hand, with the Jack of hearts, will win the round.
Player 2’s hand: the 6 of hearts doesn’t help make up the hand.
Player 1 therefore has the best hand. Exercise 4
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1 Player 2 |
Answer : If we look at Player 1s hand, we realize that he has three pairs with six cards. Unfortunately for him, we can only use the five best to form his hand. He therefore has two pairs, 4s and 6s, with a Jack as a kicker. As for player 2, even if he only uses one card in his hand, he also has two pairs Jacks- 2s. In the case of two pairs, the strongest wins the round, and so Player 2 with two Jacks beats player 1 with 6s.
Player 2 thus wins the pot. Exercise 5
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1 Player 2  |
Answer : Player 1 and Player 2 each have an ace in hand, which allows them to make a full house using only one card from their hands and four cards from the board. Their second card can only be taken into consideration in order to differentiate between the two hands since it is the 6th best card. (The full house is made up of only 5.)
The pot is therefore shared between the two players. Exercise 6
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1 Player 2 |
Answer : Both players have exactly the same starting hand as before and have each made two pair. But this time their combinations of five cards are different since Player 1’s hand is made up of two pair with a King kicker and Player 2 has two pair with a Queen kicker.
Player 1 wins the hand. Exercise 7
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1  Player 2   |
Answer : Both players have a set of 7s. Will Player 1’s kicker allow him to take down the pot? If we take the five best cards of each player (the board and the hand combined) we have :
For Player 1 :
For Player 2 :
The Jack in Player 1’s case does not give him a stronger hand than Player 2. The pot is therefore shared. Exercise 8
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1 Player 2 |
Answer : Both players have the same starting hand as in the previous exercise. But the board, if it once again shows a set of 7s, presents weaker cards. This time, the Jack is going to make the difference. In fact, let’s compare each player’s five best cards:
Pour le Player 1 :
Pour le Player 2 :
Player 2 takes the hand and the pot. Exercise 9
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1  Player 2 |
Answer : Both players have very strong hands since they both have the chance to make a straight. Therefore, there ought to be a tie. Let’s look at the five cards that make up the players’ hands:
Pour le Player 1 :
Pour le Player 2 :
Player 1 has a nine high straight and Player 2 has an eight high straight. Player 1 therefore takes the pot. Exercise 10
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1  Player 2 |
Answer : As in the case of the previous hand, both players have a straight, ten high for Player 1 and nine high for Player 2. Player 1 seems to take the pot again. But did you notice the three diamonds on the board? The players’ two hands are:
For Player 1 :
For Player 2 :
And so Player 2 takes the pot with his flush against player 1’s straight. Exercise 11
Who wins the hand?
| Player 1 Player 2 |
Answer : A situation that arises more often than you’d think. Actually, neither of the two players even has a pair in his hand. Both player have one high card, an ace. And yet it isn’t a tie. In fact:
Pour le Player 1 :
Pour le Player 2 :
Both players’ hands are distinguished by their third cards, where Player 1 shows a Queen and Player 2 shows a Jack.
Player 1 wins the hand. When comparing hands, don’t forget the golden rule :
A hand is made up of the best possible combination of five cards for each player, whether this combination uses none, one, or both of the cards in his hand.
