Texas Holdem and Omaha do not use other than the five card rule. There is no condition in a five card hand where you can win the pot based on your sixth or seventh card. There are no tie breakers unless your best five cards are better than your opponents best five cards. If no one has any of the above winning hands, the tie is determined by the highest value card in the hand. If the highest cards are a tie then the tie is broken by the second highest card. Suits are not used to break ties. Once you know the rules of the game, and the hand-ranks, you’re ready to dive into real money online poker! When both players have the same hand, for example both are holding the same pocket pair, then the pot is split 50/50. If both players have say a 3, and there are a pair of 3's on the board, then the player with the highest other card wins. For example if one player has A,3 and the othe player has 9,3 then the player with the Ace wins. – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Royal Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players.

How To Break Ties In Texas Holdem Game

A tie goes to the runner in baseball, but a tie in poker results in a split of the pot. Just what constitutes a tie can be confusing. Before you join a Sit-n-Go or play live poker you should brush up on what constitutes a tie, so let's look at some examples.

Is this a Tie at Texas Hold'em?

Suppose there are two players left in a pot. The five community cards showing on the board are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, two clubs, two hearts and a diamond. Player 'A' turns over their starting hand and shows a 3 and 4. He had two pair before the river, but now the board is a straight.

Player 'B' turns over their cards and shows a King and a Queen of clubs. They had four clubs and missed the flush on the river. So, who wins?

In Texas Hold'em, the highest combination of five cards wins the pot. So, regardless of the fact that player 'A' had two pair or that player 'B' had higher cards, the best five cards are the straight of 2-3-4-5-6, and since the game includes five community cards available to every player still in the pot, both players will use all five cards on the board to make the same hand, a 6-high straight. Thus, this hand becomes a split pot.

Of course one of the players may bluff at the pot, trying to convince the other that they hold a 7 or even a 7-8 and a higher straight. That's just advanced play and not much you can do about it.

Another Tie Example

Suppose three players call pre-flop, which shows 6-6-8. Player 'A' has pocket aces and bets, called by player 'B' who holds Ace-King suited and a four-flush, and player 'C' who flopped four to a straight. The betting is heavy. On the turn, another 6 hits the board. Now player 'A' has sixes full of aces, player be still has a 4-flush, and player 'C' folds.

The river is another 6, leaving a board of 6-6-8-6-6. Now the best hand is quad 6's with an ace, and both players remaining split the pot. Bummer for player 'A' who's full-house dominated on the turn, but turned into a split on the river!

When Kickers Play

In the last example, both players used their Ace-kicker to claim a split of the pot. Other times kickers can be even more confusing. Suppose the final board is all spades: Ace-K-6-5-4

Player 'A' has two spades in their hand, Jack and 6. Player 'B' has a pair of queens, one of which is a spade. In this case, player 'B' wins because their final hand of Ace-K-Q-6-5-4 spades is higher than player 'A's' hand of Ace-K-J-9-8 spades.

How To Break Ties In Texas Holdem Card Game

If the players had each held just a single spade in their hand, player 'A' the 2 and player 'B' the 3, this would be a split pot, as the final community cards of Ace-K-6-5-4 would be the highest hand. You'll start to understand these concepts quickly as you learn more advanced strategies.

How To Break Ties In Texas Holdem Rules

One Last Example

Now suppose there is an all-in wager preflop and two players call. Player 'A' holds pocket Jacks and player 'B' hold's pocket Tens. The board comes Ace-King-Queen. Player 'A' leads and both have a straight draw. The turn is an Ace and the river is another King, for a final board of:

Ace-King-Queen-Ace-King

How To Break Ties In Texas Holdem Tournaments

Looks like player 'B' caught-up! Now it's a tie because the board plays and those pocket jacks and tens aren't going to be used! It's simply two-pair (Aces and Kings) with a queen kicker!