Four-of-a-Kind is second on the list of standard poker hand rankings and consists of four cards of the same rank.
Definition of Four of a Kind (also known as Quads) – We hold four cards of equal rank. Example – AdAhAsAcKh. Four of a Kind Aces is the strongest Four of a Kind hand in poker and is also referred to as “Quad Aces”. Odds of Making a Four of a Kind (Quads) on the Flop. Making Four of a Kind on the flop is an extremely rare occurrence. A hand comprised of four cards with the same value, or rank, and different suits. In Texas Hold’em, for example, you would have four-of-a-kind if you held 2♠2♣ and the board came 2♥5♣2♦J♦T♥. Definition of four of a kind.: four cards of the same rank in one hand — see poker illustration.
The best 4-of-a-Kind hand is made up of four Aces:
A♥A♠A♦A♣
In this hand ranking, it’s the rank or the denomination that’s most important. For instance, J♥J♠J♦J♣ is a Four-of-a-Kind hand that beats any of the lower ranked hands, like 4-of-a-Kind Tens, Nines, and so on.
Four Of A Kind Poker
Here are a few more examples of this type of hand:
2♥2♠2♦2♣
K♥K♠K♦K♣
Q♥Q♠Q♦Q♣
Can you work out which hand(s) would beat the 4-of-a-Kind Jacks? Keep in mind that the suits are irrelevant – only the ranks matter.
How Does a 4-of-a-Kind Hand Rank?
In a 52-card deck, there are 624 possible 4-of-a-Kind hand combinations and 156 distinct ranks of 4-of-a-Kind. As poker hands are made up of 5 cards, the kicker does come into play here.
For example, hand 5♥5♠5♦5♣10♦ would rank higher than 5♥5♠5♦5♣7♦.
However, hand K♥K♠K♦K♣2♦ ranks higher than Q♥Q♠Q♦Q♣A♦ even though the Quad Queens has an ace kicker and the Quad Kings has a two kicker.
In this hand ranking, you need to keep in mind that it’s the rank/denomination that is the most important. Four-of-a-Kind Aces will always bear 4-of-a-Kind Kings, and Quad Kings will always beat Quad Queens, and so forth.
Ultimate Four Of A Kind Poker
How Does a 4-of-a-Kind Hand Match Up?
Four-of-a-Kind is the second best possible hand in the poker hand ranking system. Only a Straight Flush ranks above it. Therefore, this is a very strong hand in Hold’em and is rarely beat on the river.
That said, there are still many hands that rank under it. The next best hand on the list is called a Full House.
The best Full House is the Aces full of Kings. With all the suits considered equal, in Full Houses, the ranks determine which one is best.
4-of-a-Kind Poker Probabilities
Now, we’ll look at the pre-flop, flop, turn and river probabilities of making 4-of-a-Kind in both Hold’em and Omaha.
| Hold'em Probabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-flop: | 0.02% | (based on 5 cards randomly drawn from a full 52-card deck) |
| Flop: | 0.25% | (when holding a pair) |
| Turn: | 2.12% | (from a flop with 1 ranked card) |
| River: | 2.17% | (on a board with 1 ranked card) |
| Omaha Probabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-flop: | 0.02% | (based on 5 cards randomly drawn from a full 52-card deck) |
| Flop: | 0.28% | (when holding a pair) |
| Flop: | 0.53% | (when holding 2 pair) |
| Turn: | 2.22% | (from a flop with 1 ranked card) |
| River: | 2.27% | (on a board with 1 ranked card) |
Visit our Four of a Kind Odds article for more information.
Now that you’ve got Four-of-Kind down pat, we’ll move on to the next hand on the list. It’s called the Straight Flush.
Four of a Kind Poker Hand Rankings
Four of a kind, also known as quads, is a hand that contains four cards of one rank and one card of another rank (the kicker), such as 8♣ 8♠ 8♦ 8♥ J♥ ('four of a kind, Eights'). It ranks below a straight flush and above a full house. Yes, Four of a kind (four cards of the same rank) beats a full house. If two or more players share the same four of a kind, then the fifth card kicker determines who is the winner.
Each four of a kind is ranked first by the rank of its quadruplet, and then by the rank of its kicker. For example, Q♠ Q♥ Q♣ Q♦ 3♥ranks higher than 8♥ 8♦ 8♠ 8♣ Q♥, which ranks higher than 8♥ 8♦ 8♠ 8♣ 10♠. Four of a kind hands that differ by suit alone, such as 6♣ 6♠ 6♦ 6♥ 9♣ and 6♣ 6♠ 6♦ 6♥ 9♦, are of equal rank
How Does a Four of a Kind Hand Rank?
In a 52-card deck, there are 624 possible 4-of-a-Kind hand combinations and 156 distinct ranks of 4-of-a-Kind. As poker hands are made up of 5 cards, the kicker does come into play here.
For example, hand 5♥5♠5♦5♣10♦ would rank higher than 5♥5♠5♦5♣7♦.
However, hand K♥K♠K♦K♣2♦ ranks higher than Q♥Q♠Q♦Q♣A♦ even though the Quad Queens has an ace kicker and the Quad Kings has a two kicker.
When you play poker, In this hand ranking, you need to keep in mind that it’s the rank/denomination that is the most important. Four-of-a-Kind Aces will always beat 4-of-a-Kind Kings, and Quad Kings will always beat Quad Queens, and so forth.
Four of a Kind Probabilities
This hand consists of four cards of one value, and a fifth card of a different value. There are 13 x 1 = 13 ways to choose the value for the quadruple. Then, among the of this value, there are 4 x 4 = 1 ways to choose the quadruple.
After this, there are 12 x 1 = 12 ways to choose a value for the single from the remaining values, and 4 x 1 = 4 ways to choose the single from the four cards of this value, for a grand total of (13/1) x (4/4) x (12/1) x (4/1) = 13 x 1 x 12 x 4 = 624.