How Do Full Houses Work in Poker?

A full house is a poker hand consisting of three cards of the same rank, two cards of the same rank, and one card of a different rank. For example, if you have two aces and three kings in your hand, this is a full house. The highest-ranking full house is A-A-A-K-K, also called “trips or trip aces”; the Lowest is 2-2-2-3-3.

Full houses are ranked first by the rank of their triplet, and then by the rank of their pair. So, for example, 9-9-9-5-5 beats 8-8-8-A-A.

PRO TIP:In poker, a full house consists of three cards of the same rank, and two cards of another rank. For example, JJJ99 is a full house. The higher ranking three of a kind always beats the lower ranking three of a kind, so JJJ99 beats 777KK. In the event that two players have the same three of a kind, then the two remaining cards are used to determine the winner. The player with the higher ranked pair wins.

If two players have full houses, the player with the higher triplet wins. If the triplets are equal, the player with the higher pair wins.

The only time a full house does not win is when someone has a straight flush or better. A straight flush is five cards in sequence all of the same suit; for example, 5-6-7-8-9 all of hearts.

A straight flush beats a full house.