{"id":2533499,"date":"2024-07-09T14:21:14","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T14:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?page_id=2533499"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:38:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:38:47","slug":"four-of-a-kind","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/four-of-a-kind\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Four of a Kind in Poker?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A four-of-a-kind is a poker hand consisting of four cards of the same ranking and one additional kicker card of a different ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is one of the strongest <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\" title=\"Poker Hand Rankings &amp; The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Hands\">poker hands<\/a>. In addition to being called four of a kind, this particular combination is often referred to as \u201cquads\u201d by poker players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Poker Hand<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Explanation<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Example<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#1. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/royal-flush\/\" title=\"What Is a Royal Flush in Poker?\">Royal Flush<\/a><\/td><td>Five highest cards of the same suit<\/td><td>AcKcQcJcTc<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#2. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/straight-flush\/\" title=\"What is a Straight Flush in Poker?\">Straight Flush<\/a><\/td><td>Any five consecutive cards of the same suit<\/td><td>JcTc9c8c7c<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">#3. Four of a Kind<\/mark><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">Four cards of the same rank<\/mark><\/strong><\/td><td><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\"><strong>4c4s4d4hJc<\/strong><\/mark><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#4. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/full-house\/\" title=\"What Is a Full House in Poker?\">Full House<\/a><\/td><td>Three cards of one rank + two cards of another rank<\/td><td>3c3s3d7h7c<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#5. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/flush\/\" title=\"What Is a Flush in Poker?\">Flush<\/a><\/td><td>Five cards of the same suit<\/td><td>KdJd7d5d3d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#6. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/straight\/\" title=\"What Is a Straight in Poker?\">Straight<\/a><\/td><td>Five consecutive cards in different suits<\/td><td>6s5s4d3d2h<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#7. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/three-of-a-kind\/\" title=\"What Is Three of a Kind in Poker?\">Three of a Kind<\/a><\/td><td>Three cards of the same rank<\/td><td>7c7h7d2hJ2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#8. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/two-pairs\/\" title=\"What Are Two Pairs in Poker?\">Two Pairs<\/a><\/td><td>Two cards of one rank + two cards of another rank<\/td><td>QcQs2c2hJs<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#9. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/one-pair\/\" title=\"What Is One Pair in Poker?\">One Pair<\/a><\/td><td>Two cards of the same rank<\/td><td>8h8sAcKs5d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#10. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/high-card\/\" title=\"What is a High Card in Poker?\">High Card<\/a><\/td><td>Any other hand<\/td><td>AcQdJs4h3c<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples of a Four of a Kind Poker Hand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Any hand containing four cards of the same ranking constitutes a four of a kind. Here are a few examples of this powerful poker hand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As Ah Ad Ac Js \u2013 four of a kind, Aces<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Qs Qh Qd Qc 5d \u2013 four of a kind, Queens<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>9s 9h 9d 9c 6s \u2013 four of a kind, Nines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5s 5h 5c 5d Ah \u2013 four of a kind, Fives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In a rare situation where two players have a different four of a kind hand at a showdown, the winner is the player holding the combination of four higher-ranking cards. Deuces are the lowest, and aces are the highest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When two players have the same four-of-a-kind combination, the kicker card is used to determine the winner according to <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/\" title=\"How to Play Poker: Winning Strategy for Beginners\">poker rules<\/a>. The player with the higher kicker wins. For example, if one player has four of a kind, Sevens with a Queen kicker, and the other has four of a kind, Sevens with a Nine kicker, the player with the Queen kicker wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Beats Four of a Kind in Poker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A four of a kind beats almost all other poker hands. When you have this combination, you are certain to beat any full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, four of a kind is only the third-strongest hand in poker, which means it still loses to a couple of made hands, namely a straight flush and a Royal Flush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A four of a kind can also lose to another four of a kind, as explained earlier. This happens when another player has a stronger four of a kind or if they have the same hand but with a higher kicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Four of a Kind Probabilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a reason why four of a kind is so high in poker hand rankings. This is a pretty rare hand that doesn\u2019t come around very often. The odds of getting a four of a kind from five cards randomly dealt from a standard deck are 0.024%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The table below shows odds of flopping four of a kind in <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/texas-holdem-rules\/\" title=\"How To Play Texas Hold\u2019em \u2013 Poker Rules &amp; Basics\">Texas Hold\u2019em<\/a> with different starting hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Hand<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Odds<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Any pocket pair<\/td><td>0.24%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Random unpaired hand<\/td><td>0.03%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AKo<\/td><td>0.01%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few more interesting facts and stats about a four of a kind hand in poker:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Overall, you\u2019ll flop four of a kind once in 3,333 poker hands on average (accounting for hands that you fold before the flop as well)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When you flop three of a kind, your odds of improving to quads on the turn are 2.2%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You have the same chance of flopping four of a kind with a pair of Aces as you do with a pair of Deuces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Play Four of a Kind in Poker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In almost all scenarios, four of a kind is the <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-terms\/nuts\/\" title=\"Nuts Definition \u2013 Learn What Nuts Is In Poker\">nuts<\/a>, and you should almost never fold this hand. The only exception to this rule may be if there are four cards to the straight flush on the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, when you do have quads, your main <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-strategy-tips\/\" title=\"Poker Strategy 101 \u2013 How to Win in Poker More Often\">strategy<\/a> is to let your opponents catch up and not push them out of the pot. Since this hand is virtually invulnerable, you can afford to let them see all five cards if you believe this will help incentivize them to put more money into the pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best time to have a four of a kind hand is when the board is double paired, and you hold the lower of the two pairs. In this case, your opponents will make the top full house with just one card matching the bigger pair, which will usually be enough for them to put a lot of money into the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq uagb-faq__outer-wrap uagb-block-3cab6bae uagb-faq-icon-row uagb-faq-layout-accordion uagb-faq-expand-first-false uagb-faq-inactive-other-true uagb-faq__wrap uagb-buttons-layout-wrap uagb-faq-equal-height     \" data-faqtoggle=\"true\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-ca858dce \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What is a four-of-a-kind hand in poker?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>A four-of-a-kind is a poker hand consisting of four cards of the same ranking plus one additional card of a different ranking (the kicker). For example, Ks Kh Kd Kc 5s is four of a kind, Kings.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-cb1b684d \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What beats four of a kind?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>Not many hands can beat four of a kind. There are only two hands that are higher in the ranking system, and these are a straight flush and a Royal Flush.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-23a6af6a \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What does four-of-a-kind beat?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>A four-of-a-kind hand beats a full house and all hands that come below it in hand rankings, specifically flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, two-pairs, one-pair, and high card.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-3e598755 \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>How often will you make four of a kind?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>The odds of making four of a kind with five random cards are 0.024%. In Texas Hold\u2019em, you\u2019ll flop quads once in about every 3,333 hands.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-6abaf4c4 \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>Who wins if two players have four of a kind?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p><em>If two players have the same four-of-a-kind hand, the player with the higher additional card (kicker) will win the pot. Deuces are the lowest, and aces are the highest.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A four-of-a-kind is a poker hand consisting of four cards of the same ranking and one additional kicker card of a different ranking. This is one of the strongest poker hands. In addition to being [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":0,"parent":2532176,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"right-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2533499","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"author_image":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tadas Peckaitis","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/tadas-peckaitisgmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A four-of-a-kind is a poker hand consisting of four cards of the same ranking and one additional kicker card of a different ranking. This is one of the strongest poker hands. In addition to being [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2533499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2533499"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2533499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2544695,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2533499\/revisions\/2544695"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2532176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2533499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}