If you’ve participated in a few online poker tournaments, there’s a good chance you have seen a kicker in action. Sometimes, the biggest rounds are decided by this one card. From a neutral point of view, a showdown between players produces some of the most exciting and tense moments in online poker. This blog will discuss what a kicker is and when it is used.
What Is a Kicker Card in Poker?
In a game of poker, a kicker is the deciding factor that determines who wins and who loses in a stalemate scenario. These moments occur when two or more players are tied with the same hand ranking. The kicker card would be the highest in your hand that’s not part of a made hand.
The idea of a kicker card in poker can seem confusing at first glance, but once you take the time to wrap your head around it, the concept is fairly easy to understand. So, how do kickers work in poker? Well, in Texas hold’em, for example, if the community cards are a 10, ace, 2, 5, and 7, and player one holds an ace-king combination while player two has an ace-jack, player one would win. Even though both players carried a double ace, player one had a better kicker card. In this scenario, the king and the jack would be the two kickers, so player one would have the highest-ranking kicker card (the king). This is referred to as a king-high kicker.
Staying with Texas hold’em, a vital piece of information for beginners to understand is that a winner is declared on the five strongest cards. If you want to up your game, understanding rules and principles like these are proven ways to improve your poker skills. A kicker doesn’t dictate the outcome for a royal flush or four-of-kind; however, it becomes relevant with hands such as three-of-a-kind, double pair, and a pair.
When a player’s hand doesn’t use all five cards on the table, there’s room for a kicker to come into play. For example, if the community cards are a jack, 8, queen, 6, and 3, while one player holds a jack-7 and the other a jack-king, player two would win with a king-high kicker. This is because their best five cards are king, jack, jack, queen, and 8, compared to player one’s queen, jack, jack, 8, and 7.
What Happens if Both Players Have the Same Kicker?
In most standard poker games, if two or more players have the same ranked hand and the same kicker in their hand, the tiebreaker is determined by the next highest card in each player’s hand.
If two players have exactly the same hand, with the exact same kickers, the pot is usually split.
How To Use a Kicker in Different Hands
The importance of kickers varies from low- to high-ranking hands. For example, a high kicker is crucial to win with a pair, whereas four of a kind or royal flush can win without the help of a poker kicker. The list below demonstrates how to use a kicker in poker using each hand.
High Card
A player winning on a high card occurs when neither player has a pair or better. This means a strong kicker is vital in order to be successful in these low-scoring rounds. So, combining your hand and the five community cards dealt by the dealer, you drop the two weakest cards to make up the five strongest.
An example of where a high card kicker comes into play is when the community cards are an ace, jack, 9, 8, and 7, while two players have a queen-4 and 5-4. The player holding the queen kicker would be the victor.
Pair
A one pair is when a player’s card matches one of the community cards, such as an ace-ace. A kicker would be the card not in use. For example, if both players are holding a double king, one has an ace kicker and the other an 8, the ace would win because it’s the highest-ranking card.
Two Pair
A kicker only comes into effect during a two-pair scenario when you don’t make two pairs with both your hole cards — for instance, if the community cards contain a pair and one of your hole card pairs with the other, such as holding a queen-king and the community cards are 10, 10, queen, 7, and 5.
Three-of-a-Kind
Using a kicker, the winner is declared in the same way as a pair would be. This means the winner is decided on who has the highest-ranking kicker, even though kickers are sometimes not strong enough to make the top five cards. If this occurs to both players, the pot is split.
Straight, Flush, and Full House
Because all five cards are used to make up these hands, it’s not possible for a kicker to influence the outcome of the round.
Four of a Kind
A kicker is only relevant if four of a kind appear on the board. If this happens, everyone is entitled to the hand, and the winner is decided by who has the strongest kicker. The same applies to every hand.
Straight Flush and Royal Flush
Because all five cards are being used to achieve these hands, it’s not possible for a kicker to influence the outcome of the round.
Do Suits Matter When Counting Kickers?
The only instance when a winning kicker depends on the suit is if a flush has appeared. Apart from that, it holds no weight in deciding the result. It’s crucial to know these rules when playing. Otherwise, you risk losing big pots to unknown laws, which can be super frustrating. Furthermore, utilizing resources for upping your poker game is a marvelous way to ensure you’re always improving.
Test Your Skills on Borgata Online
After getting to grips with understanding what a kicker is, it’s time to start playing. Borgata Online is regarded as one of the best online poker sites and boasts a range of poker games — from Texas hold’em to Omaha and seven-card stud. Register today and test your skills.
And when you’re ready to discover more, we have endless casino games to choose from, such as blackjack, online slots, roulette, and more.