How To Break A Tie In Texas Holdem

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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.

  1. When a player makes a hand that ties with another player’s hand and each player has a two, three, or four car hand. The next highest card is used to break the tie and this card is called the kicker. Two kickers can be used if players hold a three card hand such as a three of a kind.
  2. – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Straight Flush which is ranked the same in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Straight Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players provided no player holds a Royal Flush (meaning the Straight Flush is the strongest hand on the table).
  3. In Texas Hold em the winning hand is the highest five card hand. It can be made from any combination of the two personal cards held by the players and the five community cards. In some cases the highest five card hand is made by using the five community cards as in our example above. A sixth or seventh card is never used to break a tie.
  4. 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.

How Do You Break A Tie In Texas Holdem, gala casino christmas menu, one deck blackjack strategy, irving poker room. January 29, 2018.

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

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.

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.

How To Break A Tie In Texas Holdem

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

How To Break A Tie In Texas Holdem Game

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?

How To Break A Tie In Texas Holdem Rules

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.

OBJECTIVE: To become a winner you should make up the highest possible poker hand of five cards, using the two initially dealt cards and the five community cards.

How To Break A Tie In Texas Holdem Tournaments

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-10 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 52- deck cards

RANK OF CARDS: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2

THE DEAL: Every player is dealt two cards face down which is commonly called ‘hole cards’.

TYPE OF GAME: Casino

AUDIENCE: Adults

Introduction to Texas Hold ‘Em

No Limit Texas Hold’em. Sometimes called the cadillac of Poker, Texas Hold ‘em is a fairly easy game to learn but can take years to master.

How to Play

To begin every player gets two pocket cards. A deck of cards is placed in the middle of the table and these are known as community deck and these are the cards that the flop will be dealt from.
Once all players have been dealt their initial two cards players will be asked to place their first bid. Once all players have placed their first bid a second round of bidding occurs.
Once all players have placed their final bids, the dealer will deal the flop. The dealer will flip over the first 3 cards, known as the “flop”, from the community deck. The goal is to make the best 5 card had you can with the three cards from the community deck and the two in your hand.
Once the first three cards have been flipped over, player will have the option to bid again or fold. After all players have had a chance to bid or fold, the dealer will flip over a fourth card known as a “turn” card.
The players still remaining will have the option to once again fold or bid. Now the dealer will flip the 5th and final card over, known as the “river”card.
Once all five cards have been flipped by the dealer, players will have one last chance to raise the bid or fold. Once all bids and count bids have been made it’s time for the players to reveal their hands and determine a winner.

First Round Betting: The Pre-Flop

When playing Texas hold ‘em a round flat chip or “disk” is used to represent the position of the dealer. This disk is placed in front of the dealer to indicate their status. The person sitting to dealer left is known as the small blind and the person sitting to the left of the small blind is known as the big blind.
When betting, both blinds are required to post a bet before receiving any cards. The big blind is required to post the equivalent or higher of the bet placed by the small blind. Once both blinds have posted their bids two cards are dealt to each player and remaining players can choose to fold, call, or raise. After the end of the game the dealer button is moved to the left so that every player takes on the blind position at some point to maintain the fairness of the game.
Fold – The action of surrendering your cards to the dealer and sitting out the hand. If one folds their cards in the first round of betting, they lose no money.
Call – The action of matching the table bet, which is the most recent bet that has been placed on the table.
Raise – The action of doubling the amount of the most recent bet.
The small and the big blind have the option to fold, call, or raise before the first round of betting ends. If either of them choose to fold, they will lose the blind bet that they initially placed.

Second Round Betting: The Flop

After the first round of betting ends the dealer will proceed to deal the flop. Once the flop has been dealt, players will access the strength of their hands. Again, the player to the left of the dealer is the first to act.
Since there is no compulsory bet on the table, the first player has the option to to take the three previous options discussed, call, fold, raise, as well as the option to check. To check, a player taps his hand twice on the table, this allows the player to pass the option to make the first bet on to the player to his left. All players have the option to check until a bet has been placed on the table. Once a bet has been placed, players must choose to either fold, call, or raise.

How To Break A Tie In Texas Holdem Card Game

Third & Fourth Round Betting: The Turn & The River

After the second round of betting closes, the dealer will deal the fourth card of the flop, known as the turn card. The player to dealer left has the option to check or place a bet. The player that opens the bet closes the bet, after all other players have chosen to fold, raise, or call.
The dealer will then add the bets to the existing pot and deal a fifth card known as “The River”. Once this card has been dealt, the remaining players have the option to check,fold, call, or raise. Lets say all players decide to check. If that is the case it is time for all remaining players to reveal there cards and determine the winner. The player with the highest ranking hand is the winner. They receive the full pot and a new game begins.

Ties

In the chance of a tie between hands the following tie-breakers are used:

Pairs– if two players are tied for highest pairs a “kicker” or the next highest-ranking card is used to determine the winner. You continue until one player has a higher-ranking card or both are determined to have the same exact hand, in which case the pot is split.

Two pairs– in this tie, the higher ranked pair wins, if top pairs are equal in rank you move to the next pair, then move to kickers if necessary.

Three of a kind – higher ranking card takes the pot.

Straights – the straight with the highest-ranking card wins; if both straights are the same the pot is split.

Flush – The flush with the highest-ranking card wins, if the same you move to the next card till a winner is found or hands are the same. If hands are the same split the pot.

Full house – the hand with the higher ranking three cards wins.

Four of a kind – the higher ranking set of four wins.

Straight flush – ties are broken the same as a regular straight.

Royal Flush – split the pot.

Hand Ranking

2. Pair – Two of the same the same card (9,9,6,4,7)
3. Two pair – Two pairs of the same card (K,K,9,9,J)
4. Three of a kind – Three cards of the same ( 7,7,7,10,2)
6. Flush – Five cards of the same suit
7. Full House – Three card of a kind and a pair (A,A,A,5,5)
9. Straight Flush – Five cards in order all of the same suit (4,5,6,7,8 – same suit)
10. Royal Flush – Five cards in order of the same suit 10- A (10,J,Q,K,A)