Atlassino Academy · Poker in the room · Lesson 5
The showdown: kickers and split pots
At the showdown the cards decide: the highest five of seven, the kicker when combinations match, a split when everything matches, and a side pot when one player runs out of chips.
The last card is out, and two players turn their cards face up. Both have a pair of queens. Who takes the pot?
The short answer
The player whose highest card outside the pair of queens is higher. At the showdown, the moment the players still in the hand show their cards, each hand is read as its highest five cards out of seven: the two cards in the hand and the five shared cards face up on the table, called the board. When two hands hold the same combination, the cards outside the combination are compared one by one, highest first, and the first one that differs decides; that card is called the kicker. When all five cards match, the pot is split equally.
The board
Player Apair of queens
In the hand
The five cards that play
Kicker: the J♣
Player Bpair of queens
In the hand
The five cards that play
Kicker: the 10♥
The pair of queens and the last two cards of the five are the same in both hands; only the first card outside the pair differs, and that card decides. The amounts on this page are examples, not a suggested stake. Amounts are in betting units, not pesos: a unit can stand for any amount, and the arithmetic is the same at any scale.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
I dealt hold’em for years, and the showdown was the part of the hand I read slowest. Players turn their cards over in a hurry, somebody says a word, and the pot wants to go somewhere before anyone has looked properly.
So I laid every hand out the same way: the five cards that play face up, the two that do not pulled back. Lay a hand out like that, and you can see exactly which card decided it.
Both cards up, and the cards speak
When the last round of betting is over and more than one player is still in the hand, the players still in show their cards. In Chile, each of them then plays the highest five cards out of seven: the two cards of their own and the five shared cards.
The seven cards Player A can use. Face up: Q♠ Q♥ J♣ 9♦ 6♣. Pulled down: 4♥ 2♠.
Player A from the picture above, with the five cards that make the hand face up and the two that do not play pulled down.
The cards decide what a hand is, not what a player thinks of it: even a hand its own player has given up as lost takes the pot when it is handed in face up and turns out to be the higher hand. When you are not sure, wait for the dealer, then turn both cards face up and let the dealer read them.
- When a bet is calledOnce the last round of betting is over, the dealer asks the player whose bet was called to show that hand.
- Cards given in face downA player who gives up the hand as lost and hands the cards in face down loses the hand, and nobody can make that player show them.
- Cards given in face upIf a player who takes the hand for lost hands the cards in face up at the end, the dealer lays them out and checks them, and if the hand turns out to be the higher one, that player takes the pot.
All three rules are the national catalogue of games’ rules for hold’em.
When the combinations are equal, the kicker decides
Two hands can hold the same combination, such as the same pair of eights made with a pair on the board. Then the cards outside the combination are compared, highest first, and the first one that differs decides. That deciding card is called the kicker.
| What is compared | Player A | Player B | The comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| The pair | 8♦ 8♣ | 8♦ 8♣ | the same rank |
| First card outside the pair | A♠ | A♠ | the same rank |
| Second card outside the pair | K♣ | K♥ | the same rank |
| Third card outside the pair | 7♦ | 6♠ | Player A’s is higher: this card decides |
The pair is the same, and so are the first two cards outside the pair; the third card outside the pair, the 7♦ against the 6♠, decides for Player A.
How many cards outside the combination can decide depends on the kind of hand. A straight, a flush, a full house and a straight flush leave nothing outside the combination, because all five cards belong to the hand itself. The order of the kinds of hand, from a royal flush down to no pair, is lesson 7.1.
| The kind of hand | Compared first | Then, outside the combination |
|---|---|---|
| No pair | the highest card | the next four cards, one by one |
| A pair | the pair | up to three cards, one by one |
| Two pair | the higher pair, then the lower pair | one card |
| Three of a kind | the three cards | up to two cards, one by one |
| Four of a kind | the four cards | one card |
| A straight, a flush, a full house or a straight flush | the five cards themselves | none: all five cards are the hand |
A card outside the five never counts, however high: the comparison stops at five cards.
When the board plays, and when the pot is split
Each player makes the highest five-card hand out of seven cards, in any mix: both cards from the hand with three from the board, one card with four, or neither card and all five board cards. When neither card in a hand improves the five on the board, the board plays: that player’s hand is the board itself.
The board
Player Astraight to the nine
In the hand
The five cards that play
The board plays
Player Bstraight to the nine
In the hand
The five cards that play
The board plays
Player Cstraight to the ten
In the hand
The five cards that play
The 10♥ plays
Player A and Player B both play the board, straight to the nine. Player C’s 10♥ makes straight to the ten, and Player C takes the pot; without Player C, Player A and Player B would hold the same five cards and split the pot.
Equal five-card hands share the pot evenly. No suit ranks above another, so suits never break a tie.
The board
Player Apair of kings
In the hand
The five cards that play
The A♣ plays; the 3♦ does not
Player Bpair of kings
In the hand
The five cards that play
The A♥ plays; the 2♣ does not
Both players play A♣ K♠ K♦ Q♣ J♥: the ace in each hand plays, and the low card beside the ace never does.
Short of chips: the main pot and the side pot
In Chile, a player who runs out of chips during a hand cannot buy more chips until that hand is over. A player who does not have the chips to call a bet may fold, or put in every chip left in front of them, and that player is then all in, with every chip on the table in the pot.
| Player | Put in | Into the main pot | Into the side pot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player A, all in | 30 units | 30 units | nothing |
| Player B | 90 units | 30 units | 60 units |
| Player C | 90 units | 30 units | 60 units |
| Player D | 90 units | 30 units | 60 units |
| The pots | 300 units | 120 units | 180 units |
Every player still in puts Player A’s 30 units into the main pot; what Player B, Player C and Player D put in beyond that makes the side pot.
In Chile, when a player goes all in for less than the bet, the main pot is made of every player’s bets up to the amount that player could put in, and what the others put in beyond that amount goes into a side pot. The player who went all in takes part only in the main pot; the same happens again each time another player cannot cover a bet, so a hand can have more than one side pot, and each side pot goes to the highest hand among the players in it.
The main pot: 120 units
Goes to the highest hand among Player A, Player B, Player C and Player D
The side pot: 180 units
Goes to the highest hand among Player B, Player C and Player D
If Player A holds the highest hand at the table, Player A takes the main pot, and the highest hand of the other three takes the side pot. If one of the other three holds the highest hand, that player takes both pots.
Poker in a room is played against the other players, not against the house: the room deals, and takes a fee from the pots called the rake. Both pots here are shown before that fee. Counted together, the players at a table pay every fee the room takes out of the pots.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
A pot pushed the other way is not a verdict on your play. Over a handful of hands the cards decide far more than anyone at the table does, and a hand you read perfectly can still go to somebody else.
The chips in front of you when a hand begins are the most that hand can cost you, which makes the money you bring to the table the one amount you choose. Choose it at home, and treat the evening the way the table treats a hand: once those chips are gone, nothing more comes out of your pocket.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being fun, the SCJ self-exclusion applies in every casino in the country. Minimum entry age: 18 (age of majority under Law 19.221; Law 19.995 bars minors from gaming rooms). The casino may ask for an official ID. More on responsible gaming.
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Practice: read the showdown
Every showdown in the practice run is a board and two to four hands, face up. Level 1 is two hands where one is plainly higher; level 2 is the same combination in two hands, decided by a kicker; level 3 is equal hands and the board playing; level 4 is four hands with one player all in, and two pots to share out. On levels 1 and 2, each answer names the player and the five cards that player plays; on levels 3 and 4, it names who takes each pot.
Nothing is bet here. The pots are example amounts.
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Level 2 · Kickers
The board
Player A
Player B
The pot: 60 units, an example pot
The cards are face up. Who takes the pot, and which five cards does that hand play?
- Player B takes the pot, playing K♦ Q♠ Q♥ 9♦ 6♥ Player B holds the same pair as well, but the first card outside the combination is the K♦, against the A♥.
- The pot is split between Player A and Player B The same combination is not yet a split: the cards outside the combination are compared one by one, and the pot is split only when all five cards match. Here the first card outside the combination differs.
- Player A takes the pot, playing A♥ Q♠ Q♥ 9♦ 8♠ Both hands hold the same pair, so the cards outside the combination are compared, highest first: the first of them is Player A’s A♥ against Player B’s K♦. That card is the kicker, and Player A plays A♥ Q♠ Q♥ 9♦ 8♠.
Each hand is read as its highest five cards out of seven. Player A: A♥ Q♠ Q♥ 9♦ 8♠, pair of queens. Player B: K♦ Q♠ Q♥ 9♦ 6♥, pair of queens. A card outside the five never counts.
Every showdown in the practice run is read the same way: each hand as its highest five cards out of seven, compared card by card, and every pot goes to the highest hand among the players who put chips into it.
How the practice run works
Where the showdowns come from. Every showdown is dealt from a shuffled deck with a fixed seed and kept only when it shows the point of its level. The answer is worked out when the page is built: each hand is read as its highest five cards out of seven, the hands are compared card by card, and each pot goes to the highest hand among the players who put chips into it. The wrong answers are named mistakes, such as the lower hand, a kicker missed, the board read as playing when it does not, a card outside the five, a suit, the whole of both pots to the player who is all in, or a side pot shared out in equal parts.
One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one showdown of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself, with no button in between. Practising a showdown you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.
Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Three quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
Back to the question we opened with. When both players hold a pair of queens, the player whose highest card outside the pair is higher takes the pot; when every card of the five matches, the pot is split evenly.
Poker rooms and further reading
18+ across Chile · Play responsibly · self-exclusion and the regulator are further up this page
Further reading
- Catálogo de Juegos (Poker: Texas Hold’em) · Superintendencia de Casinos de JuegoThe regulator’s rules for Texas Hold’em in the room: signing up, the buy-in, blinds and button, the betting rounds, the showdown and the casino’s commission.
How it’s worked out
Rules, numbers, sources and hosts
Where this happens. Every hand on this page is hold’em at a table in a poker room you can walk into. Each rule is the one the national catalogue of games prints for hold’em, with and without limits. The catalogue leaves some things to each casino, such as the buy-in, and the dealer or the floor can tell you how your room runs the game.
Numbers. Every hand is read by our hold’em engine, which builds each hand’s highest five cards out of seven and compares hands card by card; the pots are worked out from what each player put in. The practice deals come from a seeded shuffle. Every amount is an example. Every figure carries a machine-readable key and is recomputed by the same engine on every build.
What is deliberately absent. The order of the hands and how rare each one is are lesson 7.1. How the betting goes is lesson 7.2. The room, the waiting list and the buy-in are lesson 7.3. How far ahead a hand is before the flop is lesson 7.6. The strongest hand a board allows is lesson 7.9. Who gets a chip that cannot be split, and which pot the fee comes out of when there are side pots, the catalogue of games does not say, so neither is worked out here: every split pot on this page divides into equal whole amounts.
Words. The rules we read compare the cards outside the combination without giving the deciding card a name; kicker is the word players use, and the word this page uses.
Sources. Every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.
Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.
No promise. Poker in a room is played against the other players, and the room takes its fee from the pots. Reading a showdown correctly tells you who takes a pot; nothing on this page is a way to earn money at poker, and nothing here says how an evening at a table would end.
When the combinations are equal
Cuando ambos tienen la misma Carta más Alta, gana aquel que tiene la carta de mayor valor entre las restantes cartas que forman la mano.Free translation: When both have the same High Card, the winner is the one who has the highest-value card among the remaining cards that make up the hand.
Cuando ambos tienen Un Par, gana aquel que tiene el par de mayor valor, si éste coincide, se pasa a la carta de mayor valor de las restantes cartas que forman la mano.Free translation: When both have One Pair, the winner is the one who has the higher-value pair; if these match, the comparison moves to the highest-value card among the remaining cards that make up the hand.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Side pots
En el caso de que un jugador no tenga las fichas necesarias para pagar la apuesta o resubida (Reraise), además de retirarse (Fold) puede apostar todas las fichas que le queden o su resto (All In).Free translation: If a player does not have the chips needed to pay the bet or raise (Reraise), in addition to withdrawing (Fold) he may bet all the chips he has left, or his remainder (All In).
Si toma la segunda opción, se crea un Pozo Adicional al Pozo Principal, de tal forma que el Pozo Principal se compone de las apuestas de los jugadores hasta el monto que pudo apostar este jugador, y en el Pozo Adicional se reúnen los aportes por sobre el monto apostado por dicho jugador.Free translation: If he takes the second option, an Additional Pot is created alongside the Main Pot, so that the Main Pot is made up of the players' bets up to the amount this player was able to bet, and the Additional Pot collects the contributions above the amount bet by that player.
El jugador que hizo la apuesta All In o resto, sólo participa del Pozo Principal, el resto de los jugadores que correspondan participan en el Pozo Principal y en este Pozo Adicional.Free translation: The player who made the All In bet or remainder takes part only in the Main Pot; the other players concerned take part in the Main Pot and in this Additional Pot.
Este mecanismo se vuelve a utilizar en todas las rondas de apuestas, cada vez que un jugador no alcance a cubrir la apuesta anterior, pudiéndose generar más de un Pozo Adicional.Free translation: This mechanism is used again in every betting round, each time a player cannot cover the previous bet, so that more than one Additional Pot may be created.
De igual forma, el o los Pozos Adicionales son ganados por el jugador que obtenga la mejor mano de poker entre los participantes del Pozo respectivoFree translation: Likewise, the Additional Pot or Pots are won by the player who has the best poker hand among the participants in the respective Pot
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Cards speak
si al final del juego, el jugador que considerando su mano perdida, entregase sus cartas descubiertas, el croupier procede a ordenarlas y verifica si es una mano perdedora, pero si demuestra lo contrario, el jugador es el ganador.Free translation: if at the end of the game a player who considers his hand lost hands over his cards face up, the dealer proceeds to arrange them and checks whether it is a losing hand, but if he shows otherwise, the player is the winner.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
The showdown
Si dos o más jugadores continúan después de la última ronda de apuestas, se muestran las cartas.Free translation: If two or more players remain after the last betting round, the cards are shown.
En la muestra cada jugador utiliza las cinco mejores cartas posibles de entre las siete que forman sus dos cartas privadas (pocket cards) y las cinco cartas comunitarias.Free translation: In the showdown, each player uses the best five possible cards from among the seven formed by their two private cards (pocket cards) and the five community cards.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Cards handed in face up
si al final del juego, el jugador que considerando su mano perdida, entregase sus cartas descubiertas, el croupier procede a ordenarlas y verifica si es una mano perdedora, pero si demuestra lo contrario, el jugador es el ganador.Free translation: if at the end of the game a player who considers his hand lost hands over his cards face up, the dealer proceeds to arrange them and checks whether it is a losing hand, but if he shows otherwise, the player is the winner.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Who shows first
el croupier indica al jugador que le pagaron por ver que descubra su juego.Free translation: the dealer tells the player who was paid to see to reveal his hand.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Cards handed in face down
El jugador que, considerando su mano perdida, entregase sus cartas cubiertas pierde automáticamente la mano y nadie puede obligarlo a descubrir o mostrar sus cartas.Free translation: A player who, considering his hand lost, hands over his cards face down automatically loses the hand, and nobody can force him to reveal or show his cards.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
When the combinations are equal
Cuando ambos tienen la misma Carta más Alta, gana aquel que tiene la carta de mayor valor entre las restantes cartas que forman la mano.Free translation: When both have the same High Card, the winner is the one who has the highest-value card among the remaining cards that make up the hand.
Cuando ambos tienen Un Par, gana aquel que tiene el par de mayor valor, si éste coincide, se pasa a la carta de mayor valor de las restantes cartas que forman la mano.Free translation: When both have One Pair, the winner is the one who has the higher-value pair; if these match, the comparison moves to the highest-value card among the remaining cards that make up the hand.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
The highest five of seven
En la muestra cada jugador utiliza las cinco mejores cartas posibles de entre las siete que forman sus dos cartas privadas (pocket cards) y las cinco cartas comunitarias.Free translation: In the showdown, each player uses the best five possible cards from among the seven formed by their two private cards (pocket cards) and the five community cards.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Equal hands split the pot
Sin embargo, en el caso de que los jugadores tengan además exactamente las mismas 5 cartas, en cuanto al valor de cada una, se produce un empate.Free translation: However, if the players also have exactly the same 5 cards, in terms of the value of each one, the result is a tie.
Si dos jugadores o más comparten la mejor mano, entonces el Pozo o Bote se divide por igual entre los jugadores.Free translation: If two or more players share the best hand, then the Pot is divided equally among the players.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Ranks and suits
El valor de las jugadas se detalla a continuación, de menor a mayor valor, considerando que cada carta tiene su valor, donde el As tiene el valor máximo, seguido por el Rey (K), la Reina (Q), la Jota (J), el 10, 9 y así sucesivamente hasta el 2, en que ninguna pinta se valora más que otra:Free translation: The value of the hands is detailed below, from lowest to highest value, considering that each card has its own value, where the Ace has the highest value, followed by the King (K), the Queen (Q), the Jack (J), the 10, 9 and so on down to the 2, and no suit is valued more than another:
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
No chips bought mid-hand
Cuando un jugador quede sin fichas en alguna ronda de apuestas, no puede comprar fichas durante el transcurso de este pase, debiendo esperar hasta que culmine el mismo.Free translation: When a player runs out of chips in any betting round, he may not buy chips during the course of this hand and must wait until it ends.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
All in
Resto o Banca (All In): Es la postura, en la cual el jugador apuesta toda su banca, entiéndase como resto o saldo de fichas a la vista.Free translation: All In: The action in which the player bets his or her entire stack, understood as the remainder or balance of chips in view.
El Pozo Principal será obtenido por el jugador que tenga la mejor mano de poker, entre todos aquellos jugadores que terminaron el pase.Free translation: The Main Pot shall be won by the player who has the best poker hand among all the players who finished the hand.
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos
Side pots
En el caso de que un jugador no tenga las fichas necesarias para pagar la apuesta o resubida (Reraise), además de retirarse (Fold) puede apostar todas las fichas que le queden o su resto (All In).Free translation: If a player does not have the chips needed to pay the bet or raise (Reraise), in addition to withdrawing (Fold) he may bet all the chips he has left, or his remainder (All In).
Si toma la segunda opción, se crea un Pozo Adicional al Pozo Principal, de tal forma que el Pozo Principal se compone de las apuestas de los jugadores hasta el monto que pudo apostar este jugador, y en el Pozo Adicional se reúnen los aportes por sobre el monto apostado por dicho jugador.Free translation: If he takes the second option, an Additional Pot is created alongside the Main Pot, so that the Main Pot is made up of the players' bets up to the amount this player was able to bet, and the Additional Pot collects the contributions above the amount bet by that player.
El jugador que hizo la apuesta All In o resto, sólo participa del Pozo Principal, el resto de los jugadores que correspondan participan en el Pozo Principal y en este Pozo Adicional.Free translation: The player who made the All In bet or remainder takes part only in the Main Pot; the other players concerned take part in the Main Pot and in this Additional Pot.
Este mecanismo se vuelve a utilizar en todas las rondas de apuestas, cada vez que un jugador no alcance a cubrir la apuesta anterior, pudiéndose generar más de un Pozo Adicional.Free translation: This mechanism is used again in every betting round, each time a player cannot cover the previous bet, so that more than one Additional Pot may be created.
De igual forma, el o los Pozos Adicionales son ganados por el jugador que obtenga la mejor mano de poker entre los participantes del Pozo respectivoFree translation: Likewise, the Additional Pot or Pots are won by the player who has the best poker hand among the participants in the respective Pot
Section III.3 Poker, 3.5.7 Texas Hold’em Poker (con y sin límites); 3.6.3 Prohibiciones al jugador; I.6 Resolución de conflictos