Here's a sample final showdown:
Board
4♣ K♠ 4♥ 8♠ 7♠ |
Alice
5♦ 6♦ |
Bob
A♣ 4♦ |
Carol
A♠ 9♠ |
Ted
K♥ K♦ |
Alice's best five-card hand is 8♠ 7♠ 6♦ 5♦ 4♥,
making an 8-high straight. The best hand Bob can play is 4♣ 4♥
4♦ A♣ K♠, for three 4s with A and K kickers. Carol can play A♠ K♠ 9♠ 8♠
7♠ for an A-high flush. Finally, Ted can play K♠ K♥ K♦
4♣ 4♥, for a full house, which wins.
Here's a sample deal. The players' individual hands will not be revealed
until showdown, to give a better sense of what happens during play. Bob, to the
dealer's left, posts a blind of $1, and Carol blinds $2. Alice deals two cards
face down to each player, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Ted must
act first because he is the first player after the big blind. He cannot check,
since the $2 blinds plays as a bet, so he folds. Alice calls the $2. Bob puts an
additional $1 with his $1 small blind to call the $2 total. Carol's blind is
"live" (see blind), so she has the right to raise here, but she checks her
option instead, ending the first betting round.
Alice now burns a card and deals the "flop" of three face-up community cards,
9♣ K♣ 3♥. On this round as on all subsequent, Bob
begins the betting. He checks, Carol opens for $2, and Alice raises another $2,
making the total bet now facing Bob $4. He calls. Carol calls, putting in an
additional $2. Alice now burns and deals the "turn" card face up. It is the 5♠.
Bob checks, Carol checks, and Alice checks, ending the round. After burning,
Alice deals the final "river" card of the 9♦, making
the final board 9♣ K♣ 3♥ 5♠ 9♦.
Bob bets $4, Carol calls, and Alice folds (Alice's holding was A♣ 7♣; she was
hoping the river card would be a club to make her a flush). Bob shows his hand
of Q♠ 9♥, so the best five-card hand he can make is 9♣
9♦ 9♥ K♣ Q♠, for three 9s, K and Q kickers. Carol shows
her cards of K♠ J♥, making her final hand K♣ K♠ 9♣
9♦ J♥ for two pair, Ks and 9s, with a J kicker. Bob
wins the pot.
Here's another situation that illustrates the importance of breaking ties
with kickers and card ranks, and use of the five-card rule. After the first
three rounds, the board and players' hands look like this (though the players
don't actually know the other players' cards):
Board (after three rounds)
8♠ Q♣ 8♥ 4♣ |
Alice
T♣ 9♣ (T = 10) |
Bob
K♥ Q♠ |
Carol
Q♥ 10♦ |
Ted
J♣ 2♣ |
At the moment, Bob is in the lead with a hand of Q♠ Q♣ 8♠
8♥ K♥, making two pair, Qs and 8s, with a K kicker. This just beats
Carol's hand of Q♥ Q♣ 8♠ 8♥ T♦
by virtue of his kicker. Both Alice and Ted are hoping the final card is a club,
which will make them both a flush, but Ted would have the higher flush and win
if that happens. For example, if the final card was the 7♣, Ted's flush would be
Q-J-7-4-2, while Alice's would be Q-T-9-7-4. Alice could still win, though, if
the final card were the J♦, as that would give her a
Q-high straight. On this deal, however, the final card was the A♠, which didn't
help either of them. Bob and Carol still each have two pair, but notice what
happened: both of them are now entitled to play the final A as their fifth card,
making their hands both two pair, Qs and 8s, with an A kicker. Bob's K no longer
plays, because the A on the board plays as the fifth card in both hands, and
they can't play six cards. They therefore split the pot.
