Which Poker Hand Wins?
Free showdown checker for Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo and Big O. Pick each player's cards and the full five-card board: you get the winner, the five cards that won it, and who takes the low half, with the tie-breaker spelled out in plain English.
| A | K | Q | J | T | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ♥ | |||||||||||||
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| ♣ |
Give every player 2 cards and fill all 5 board cards. The winner appears instantly.
Still needed: Player 1 needs 2 cards · Player 2 needs 2 cards · board needs 5 more cards
Exact, not simulated
With all cards known there's nothing to estimate. Hold'em hands are the best five of seven; Omaha hands must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards, and the hi-lo games also find the best 8-or-better low (the ace plays low, and a pair kills a low). Same evaluator as our odds calculator, with kickers, wheels, quartered lows and split pots included.
How poker showdowns are read
Most home-game arguments come from misreading one of three things: how the best five cards are chosen, when kickers play, and when the pot splits. Here are the rules a dealer actually applies.
Best five of seven: the only rule that matters
At showdown in Texas Hold'em, each player has seven cards available: their two hole cards plus the five community cards. Their hand is the single best five-card combination from those seven. Everything else follows from this:
- → You can use both, one, or none of your hole cards. Using none is called "playing the board": if the board is a ten-high straight and neither hole card extends it, that straight IS your hand.
- → The sixth and seventh cards never count. There is no "my leftover card was higher" tiebreak. If two players' best five cards match rank-for-rank, the pot splits, full stop.
- → Cards speak. In every properly run game, the hand is read from the cards on the table, not from what a player announces. Mis-calling your hand doesn't forfeit it; tabling the winner wins even if you didn't realize it.
- → Categories rank first, tiebreaks second. A flush beats any straight, no matter how high the straight is. Only when both hands are in the same category do the individual card ranks get compared. See our hand rankings chart for the full order with tie-breakers.
Kicker rules (when the side card decides)
A kicker is any card in your best five that isn't part of the made hand. With A♥K♣ on a board of A♦Q♣J♠7♥3♦, your hand is a pair of aces with K-Q-J behind it. An opponent with A♣9♠ also has a pair of aces, but their best five is A-A-Q-J-9. The first difference is your king vs their queen, so you win. That's the entire kicker rule: compare the five cards in order, highest first; the first difference decides.
Two consequences trip people up:
- → Kickers can be counterfeited. If the board runs out high cards, your kicker may not make the top five at all. Holding A-2 on an A-K-Q-J board, your 2 never plays: anyone else with an ace chops (or beats you with a ten).
- → Full-category hands have no kicker. Straights, flushes, and full houses already use five cards, so there's nothing left to kick. Two identical straights always chop. A side ace changes nothing.
The disputes that come up every home game
Two pair vs two pair
Compare the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the kicker. Aces and threes beats kings and queens: the biggest pair wins even though kings-queens "sounds" stronger. And watch for the counterfeit: if you hold a small pocket pair as your second pair and the board double-pairs above it, your two pair can dissolve into "board plays" territory.
Flush vs flush
The highest flush card wins; if those match, compare the second, and so on through all five. Suits never break the tie: there is no "spades beat hearts" at showdown. With four suited cards on the board, whoever holds the single highest card of that suit takes it, which is why the bare ace of the flush suit is such a powerful card.
Straight vs straight
Higher top card wins. The wheel (A-2-3-4-5) is the lowest straight: the ace plays low, so it loses to 2-3-4-5-6. When the straight is entirely on the board, everyone still in the hand chops unless someone's hole card extends it to a higher straight.
Split pots
The pot splits whenever the best five cards are identical in rank across players. If the chips don't divide evenly, the odd chip conventionally goes to the first player left of the button. Splitting gets genuinely tricky once side pots are involved. Our side pot calculator handles the multi-way all-in math.
Still arguing after the cards are face up? Enter the exact hands in the checker above: it applies these rules mechanically and shows which one decided the pot. For the before-the-river version of the question ("who was ahead?"), use the odds calculator to get win percentages instead of a verdict.
Frequently asked questions
Who wins an Omaha hi-lo hand?
Two players can win the same pot: the best high hand takes half, and the best qualifying low takes the other half. A low needs five different ranks of eight or lower and, like the high hand, must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards. If nobody makes a qualifying low, the high hand takes the whole pot. Switch this tool to Omaha Hi-Lo or Big O and it shows both halves and the cards used for each.
Can you use one hole card, or three, in Omaha?
No. Every Omaha hand (four, five or six cards, high or hi-lo) uses exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards. You cannot play the board, and you cannot play one card for a low. You may use different pairs of hole cards for the high and the low halves of the same hand.
Who wins if two players have the same pair?
Kickers decide. Both players build their best five cards, and the highest card outside the pair is compared first, then the next, then the next. A pair of kings with an ace kicker beats a pair of kings with a queen kicker. If all five cards match in rank, the pot is split: a sixth or seventh card never plays.
Do suits break ties in poker?
No. In standard Texas Hold'em there is no suit ranking at showdown: a king-high flush in hearts and a king-high flush in spades with the same five ranks split the pot. Suit order (spades > hearts, etc.) only appears in a few side procedures like assigning the dealer button or an odd chip, never in deciding who wins the pot.
What is a kicker in poker?
A kicker is a card in your best five that isn't part of the made hand (the pair, trips, etc.) but fills out the hand and breaks ties. With A-K against A-Q on an ace-high board, both players have a pair of aces, and the king vs the queen is the kicker battle. Kickers only matter within the same hand category and only if they're among the best five cards.
When is the pot split in Texas Hold'em?
Whenever two or more players' best five cards are identical in rank. Common cases: the board itself is the best hand for everyone ('playing the board'), both players make the same straight, or the board pairs in a way that counterfeits a kicker. Suits never break the tie: identical ranks always mean a chop.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. The full order from strongest to weakest: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. A flush beats a straight because five cards of one suit is rarer than five in sequence.
Do you have to use your hole cards at showdown?
No. In Texas Hold'em your final hand is the best five cards out of the seven available (two hole + five board). You can use both hole cards, one, or none (using none is called 'playing the board'). This is different from Omaha, where you must use exactly two hole cards and three board cards.
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