When two players appear to have the same hand in poker, deciding who is the winner is not always easy. I've played for over 10 years and will show you how to determine whether there is a winner or if there it is a tie.
What happens if you have the same hand in poker? If two or more players have the same hand the high card determines the winner. For straights or flushes, the highest top card is declared the winner. For one pair and two pair hands, the highest kicker wins. If players have the same 5-card hand, it is a tie and the pot is split equally.
Sometimes the basics are not enough and further explanation is needed. Let's go through all the possible hands and show how a tiebreaker is handled for each and every possible situation in poker.
A straight flush is a better hand and wins against any other non-straight flush and against all lower straight flushes (if both players have a straight flush, then the one with higher straight flush wins). You will hit a straight flush once roughly every 72,000 hands. When on the other hand, you will hit a flush once every 508 hands. What is Tie in Poker? Tie in poker means that two (or more) hands are identical at showdown (including kickers). When hands are tied it means they split the pot equally at showdown (known as a ‘split pot'). December 11 2018. Should the poker hands remain tied (i.e. A pair of kings vs. A pair of kings), the highest ranked card, not held in common (the 'kicker'), determines the hand's winner. In the event of exact ties in poker hand ranking, between two or more active players, the pot (the accumulated amount of chips in the centre of the table, being contested. Poker Hand Rankings Quiz. Put your knowledge of poker hands to the test with the quiz below. This is a discussion on Question about a tied hand within the online poker forums, in the Learning Poker section; Hi everyone, I played a hand earlier and we both tied with QTo. I went all in with.
Poker Tiebreaker Rules
Having a tie in poker is actually a fairly rare thing. For the purposes of this article we will focus on ties in Texas Hold'em. However, the methodology works for any form of poker.
Who Wins If No One Has a Pair? High Card Tiebreaker Rules
The easy way to determine who wins if no one has even a pair is for everyone to put their hands in order from high to low. Then, simply start at the top and work your way down until the tie is broken. The highest non-tie card wins.
High-Card Tiebreaker Examples:
- AJT85 beats AJT82
- T8542 Beats T7653
- 85432 Beats 76542
- K6542 Beats K6532
What Happens If Two Players Have the Same One-pair Hand?
If two or more players have the same pair, you use the same methodology as you do for high-card hands. The next highest non-tie card determines the winner.
One-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:
- KKT75 beats KK942
- 88652 Beats 88642
- AAK83 Beats AAK82
Who Wins in Poker If Both Players Have 2 Pair? Two-Pair Tiebreaker Rules
Two pair winners are really easy to determine, the player with the higher pair wins. For example, JJ22 beats TT99.
If both players have the same two pair, it is also easy to figure out the winner since there is only one kicker. Whichever kicker is higher wins.
Two-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:
- 7733A beats 55442
- JJTT8 beats JJTT5
- 8822A beats 8822K
Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Rules
The person with the highest three of a kind wins. If two players have the same three of a kind, then the kickers are used to determine the tiebreaker.
Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Examples:Which Hand Is Best in High-Low Poker?
- TTT92 beats 77743
- QQQT2 beats QQQ76
What Happens If Two Players Have a Straight or Flush?
If two or more players have a straight or flush, whoever has the top card wins.
Straight & Flush Tiebreaker Examples:
- 76543 beats 5432A (Ace is a one in this case)
- J♠ 9♠ 5♠ 3♠ 2♠ beats T♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 4♠
What If Two Players Have a Full House?
To break a tie with a full house, whoever has the highest 'trips' parts of their hand wins. The 'pair' part of the hand does not matter except as a tiebreaker. If the pairs are the same as well, then the hand is a tie and the pot is split.
Full House Tiebreaker Examples:
- TTT22 beats 777AA
- 555JJ beats 444KK
- QQQ33 beats QQQ22
Four of a Kind, Straight Flushes, and Royal Flushes
Unless the hand is on the board, it is extremely rare for there to be two players with the same ultra-premium hand like four of a kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. However, it is easy to decide who is the winner.
- Four of a kind – The highest four of a kind hand wins
- Straight flush– Usually when this happens, one player will have the top of the straight flush and the other the bottom. The top wins.
- Royal flush– The only time it is possible for two players to have a royal flush is if it is on the board. Even if it was possible, two royal flushes is always a tie. Contrary to what some people believe, one suit does not beat another suit unless a specific local rule dictates it.
What Happens If Players Have the Same Hand Even After a Tiebreaker?
Can there be a tie in poker? In poker, if no winner can be determined with a tiebreaker, then the hand is declared a tie and the tied players split the pot. The most frequent time there is a tie in poker is where the board is paired twice and two or more players each have the same high card.
Examples of tied hands:
- One player has AK and the other has AQ and the board is J2255. Each player has A2255 and for a tie.
- One player has A8 and another has A6. The final board is AQJJ9. Both players have a pair of Aces with kickers of QJJ9. They would split the pot.
- One player has 98 and the other has 92. The final board is AKQT5. Both players have the high card hand AKQT9. The pot is once again split between them.
What If the Best Hand Is on the Board?
If no part of anyone's hand can break the tie, then the pot is split equally among the players with live cards. This commonly happens when there is a straight or a flush on the board. This is known as 'playing the board.'
How Do We Split up the Pot?
The easiest method to split up a pot in poker is to start with the highest chip color and work your way down. If there is an uneven number of a color, you pull in enough from the next lowest amount to even it up. Then start the process again with the next highest color available.
What If There Is an Uneven Amount in the Pot?
If there is an extra chip left over after the pot has been split, then the first player seated clockwise from the dealer gets it. In heads-up, the player who was the Big Blind gets the extra chip.
Which Hand Is Best in High-Lo Poker?
There are a few variations of poker, namely Omaha Hi-Lo where the low hand wins half of the pot. In this case, whoever can make the lowest possible hand that isn't a straight wins. 5-4-3-2-A is known as the 'nut low.' and is a really strong hand in Hi-Lo games.
In order to qualify for a low hand, the highest card has to be 8 or lower. 86532 qualifies but 95432 does not.
What Are Common Tie-Breaker Mistakes?
In pub poker or home games, I see people scoop a pot quite frequently when it was supposed to be a tie. The most common time this happens is when someone is dominated and then their kicker is counterfeited at some point during the hand.
Here are some examples:
AQ vs. A2– Board runs out A588K, which means they both are holding two pair Aces and eights with a King kicker. I have witnessed the pot be pushed to the AQ guy and the next hand be about to start before anyone notices.
66 vs. 44– Board runs out KTT7K, which means they both are playing the board with two-pair, Kings over Tens with a seve kicker. I swear, I wish the guy with 66 would notice the counterfeiting just one time. I've seen supposedly 'experienced' players not even understand that 66 and 44 are tied here.
AA vs. AK– Board runs out 97568, with a straight on the board it's a split pot. Yet you'd be surprised how often the guy with AA will try to drag in the entire pot.
Remind Me, What Is the Hand Ranking Order Again?
Ranked from best hand to worst:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two-Pair
- One-Pair
- High Card
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to break any possible tie in poker if two players seem to have the same hand. If you want to learn the basics of poker strategy, you might want to check out my complete poker tutorial. Best online poker sites california. Thanks for reading!
Related Questions
Can you have two hands in poker? You are required to always play your highest hand possible in Texas hold'em or other poker games. However, if you verbally announce a weaker version of your hand then you actually have, the dealer may actually force you to play the weaker hand.
Which is higher straight or flush? According to the hand ranking rules of poker, a flush always beats a straight.
Is JQKA2 a straight? AThis is know as an around-the-corner straight and is only used as a special rule in some home games. In games that follow the exact rules of poker, JQKA2 is not considered a straight and is just an Ace-high high-card hand.
- Two-card Guts - Players, Cards and Limits - Deal and Declaration - Showdown - Payments
- Variations - Simultaneous Declare - Single Loser, Ante on All Deals - Kitty or Ghost - Three-card Guts
- Games with a second deal: Two Plus One - Four-Two-Two - Four-Two-Three
- Three stage games: Three Five Seven - Napalm
Introduction
Guts is often played as an option in dealer's choice poker games, although it is not strictly speaking a poker game. It is normally played with hands of fewer than five cards, and it has a different betting mechanism from normal poker - match pot betting. If the players are somewhat reckless the size of the pot can escalate very rapidly, and the name presumably refers to the bravery required to contest one of these large pots and risk losing an equally large amount.
Two-card Guts
Players, Cards and Limits
This is the basic game. A standard 52-card pack without jokers is used. In theory as many as 26 people could play, but the game probably works best for around 5 to 10 players.
The players need to agree in advance on the ante that all will pay at the beginning to start the pot, and it is wise also to agree on a maximum amount that can be won from or lost to the pot in a single deal. This might for example be set at 100 times the ante.
Deal and Declaration
If the pot is empty all players pay the agreed ante to the pot. The cards are shuffled and cut and the dealer deals the cards one at a time face down until every player has two cards. The players look at their cards.
Starting with the player to dealer's left and continuing clockwise around the table, ending with the dealer, each player in turn says either 'in' or 'out'.
Players who say 'out' cannot win the pot, but do not lose any extra money.
Showdown
If more than one player says 'in', all those who are 'in' show their cards, and the player with the best cards wins the pot. When comparing hands, aces are high and
- any pair of equal cards beats any two unequal cards,
- a higher pair beats a lower pair,
- between two non-pair hands, the hand with the highest card wins,
- if two hands have equal highest cards, the hand whose other card is higher wins.
Therefore the highest hand is A-A, then K-K, Q-Q, etc. down to 2-2, then A-K, A-Q, A-J, .. , A-2, K-Q, K-J, .. ,K-2, Q-J, .. down to the lowest hand 3-2.
Payments
Players who said 'in' but do not have the highest hand must each pay an amount equal to the whole pot, and these payments form the pot for the next deal.
If two or more players tie for best hand, they share the pot equally.
If just one player says 'in' and all the others say 'out', the player who is 'in' simply takes the whole pot and does not need to show any cards. The pot will also be emptied if there is a tie between all the players who stay in. This may end the game, if it is being played as an option in dealer's choice. If the game is to continue, the players will need to place a new ante.
Note that if all the players other than the dealer say 'out', the dealer will automatically say 'in' and collect the pot, irrespective of how good or bad his or her cards may be.
If after the losers have paid, the amount in the pot exceeds the agreed limit, the excess chips are set aside in a reserve. The pot to be played for in subsequent deals will be equal to the limit, and if it is won, chips are brought out of the reserve to form a new pot. Example: there is 80 in the pot and the limit is 100. Four people stay in. The winner takes the 80, the three losers each pay 80, and there is now 100 in the pot and 140 in reserve. If this pot is won without a contest there will be 100 in the pot and 40 in reserve. If this too is won without a contest there will be 40 in the pot and no reserve.
Variations
Simultaneous Declare
Some play a version in which all players declare simultaneously whether they are in or out. This is sometimes done by the players holding their cards face down over the table, and the dealer calling '1 - 2 - 3 - DROP'. On the word 'DROP' all those who want to be out must drop their cards, and the others are in.
One-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:
- KKT75 beats KK942
- 88652 Beats 88642
- AAK83 Beats AAK82
Who Wins in Poker If Both Players Have 2 Pair? Two-Pair Tiebreaker Rules
Two pair winners are really easy to determine, the player with the higher pair wins. For example, JJ22 beats TT99.
If both players have the same two pair, it is also easy to figure out the winner since there is only one kicker. Whichever kicker is higher wins.
Two-Pair Tiebreaker Examples:
- 7733A beats 55442
- JJTT8 beats JJTT5
- 8822A beats 8822K
Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Rules
The person with the highest three of a kind wins. If two players have the same three of a kind, then the kickers are used to determine the tiebreaker.
Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Examples:Which Hand Is Best in High-Low Poker?
- TTT92 beats 77743
- QQQT2 beats QQQ76
What Happens If Two Players Have a Straight or Flush?
If two or more players have a straight or flush, whoever has the top card wins.
Straight & Flush Tiebreaker Examples:
- 76543 beats 5432A (Ace is a one in this case)
- J♠ 9♠ 5♠ 3♠ 2♠ beats T♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 4♠
What If Two Players Have a Full House?
To break a tie with a full house, whoever has the highest 'trips' parts of their hand wins. The 'pair' part of the hand does not matter except as a tiebreaker. If the pairs are the same as well, then the hand is a tie and the pot is split.
Full House Tiebreaker Examples:
- TTT22 beats 777AA
- 555JJ beats 444KK
- QQQ33 beats QQQ22
Four of a Kind, Straight Flushes, and Royal Flushes
Unless the hand is on the board, it is extremely rare for there to be two players with the same ultra-premium hand like four of a kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. However, it is easy to decide who is the winner.
- Four of a kind – The highest four of a kind hand wins
- Straight flush– Usually when this happens, one player will have the top of the straight flush and the other the bottom. The top wins.
- Royal flush– The only time it is possible for two players to have a royal flush is if it is on the board. Even if it was possible, two royal flushes is always a tie. Contrary to what some people believe, one suit does not beat another suit unless a specific local rule dictates it.
What Happens If Players Have the Same Hand Even After a Tiebreaker?
Can there be a tie in poker? In poker, if no winner can be determined with a tiebreaker, then the hand is declared a tie and the tied players split the pot. The most frequent time there is a tie in poker is where the board is paired twice and two or more players each have the same high card.
Examples of tied hands:
- One player has AK and the other has AQ and the board is J2255. Each player has A2255 and for a tie.
- One player has A8 and another has A6. The final board is AQJJ9. Both players have a pair of Aces with kickers of QJJ9. They would split the pot.
- One player has 98 and the other has 92. The final board is AKQT5. Both players have the high card hand AKQT9. The pot is once again split between them.
What If the Best Hand Is on the Board?
If no part of anyone's hand can break the tie, then the pot is split equally among the players with live cards. This commonly happens when there is a straight or a flush on the board. This is known as 'playing the board.'
How Do We Split up the Pot?
The easiest method to split up a pot in poker is to start with the highest chip color and work your way down. If there is an uneven number of a color, you pull in enough from the next lowest amount to even it up. Then start the process again with the next highest color available.
What If There Is an Uneven Amount in the Pot?
If there is an extra chip left over after the pot has been split, then the first player seated clockwise from the dealer gets it. In heads-up, the player who was the Big Blind gets the extra chip.
Which Hand Is Best in High-Lo Poker?
There are a few variations of poker, namely Omaha Hi-Lo where the low hand wins half of the pot. In this case, whoever can make the lowest possible hand that isn't a straight wins. 5-4-3-2-A is known as the 'nut low.' and is a really strong hand in Hi-Lo games.
In order to qualify for a low hand, the highest card has to be 8 or lower. 86532 qualifies but 95432 does not.
What Are Common Tie-Breaker Mistakes?
In pub poker or home games, I see people scoop a pot quite frequently when it was supposed to be a tie. The most common time this happens is when someone is dominated and then their kicker is counterfeited at some point during the hand.
Here are some examples:
AQ vs. A2– Board runs out A588K, which means they both are holding two pair Aces and eights with a King kicker. I have witnessed the pot be pushed to the AQ guy and the next hand be about to start before anyone notices.
66 vs. 44– Board runs out KTT7K, which means they both are playing the board with two-pair, Kings over Tens with a seve kicker. I swear, I wish the guy with 66 would notice the counterfeiting just one time. I've seen supposedly 'experienced' players not even understand that 66 and 44 are tied here.
AA vs. AK– Board runs out 97568, with a straight on the board it's a split pot. Yet you'd be surprised how often the guy with AA will try to drag in the entire pot.
Remind Me, What Is the Hand Ranking Order Again?
Ranked from best hand to worst:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two-Pair
- One-Pair
- High Card
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to break any possible tie in poker if two players seem to have the same hand. If you want to learn the basics of poker strategy, you might want to check out my complete poker tutorial. Best online poker sites california. Thanks for reading!
Related Questions
Can you have two hands in poker? You are required to always play your highest hand possible in Texas hold'em or other poker games. However, if you verbally announce a weaker version of your hand then you actually have, the dealer may actually force you to play the weaker hand.
Which is higher straight or flush? According to the hand ranking rules of poker, a flush always beats a straight.
Is JQKA2 a straight? AThis is know as an around-the-corner straight and is only used as a special rule in some home games. In games that follow the exact rules of poker, JQKA2 is not considered a straight and is just an Ace-high high-card hand.
- Two-card Guts - Players, Cards and Limits - Deal and Declaration - Showdown - Payments
- Variations - Simultaneous Declare - Single Loser, Ante on All Deals - Kitty or Ghost - Three-card Guts
- Games with a second deal: Two Plus One - Four-Two-Two - Four-Two-Three
- Three stage games: Three Five Seven - Napalm
Introduction
Guts is often played as an option in dealer's choice poker games, although it is not strictly speaking a poker game. It is normally played with hands of fewer than five cards, and it has a different betting mechanism from normal poker - match pot betting. If the players are somewhat reckless the size of the pot can escalate very rapidly, and the name presumably refers to the bravery required to contest one of these large pots and risk losing an equally large amount.
Two-card Guts
Players, Cards and Limits
This is the basic game. A standard 52-card pack without jokers is used. In theory as many as 26 people could play, but the game probably works best for around 5 to 10 players.
The players need to agree in advance on the ante that all will pay at the beginning to start the pot, and it is wise also to agree on a maximum amount that can be won from or lost to the pot in a single deal. This might for example be set at 100 times the ante.
Deal and Declaration
If the pot is empty all players pay the agreed ante to the pot. The cards are shuffled and cut and the dealer deals the cards one at a time face down until every player has two cards. The players look at their cards.
Starting with the player to dealer's left and continuing clockwise around the table, ending with the dealer, each player in turn says either 'in' or 'out'.
Players who say 'out' cannot win the pot, but do not lose any extra money.
Showdown
If more than one player says 'in', all those who are 'in' show their cards, and the player with the best cards wins the pot. When comparing hands, aces are high and
- any pair of equal cards beats any two unequal cards,
- a higher pair beats a lower pair,
- between two non-pair hands, the hand with the highest card wins,
- if two hands have equal highest cards, the hand whose other card is higher wins.
Therefore the highest hand is A-A, then K-K, Q-Q, etc. down to 2-2, then A-K, A-Q, A-J, .. , A-2, K-Q, K-J, .. ,K-2, Q-J, .. down to the lowest hand 3-2.
Payments
Players who said 'in' but do not have the highest hand must each pay an amount equal to the whole pot, and these payments form the pot for the next deal.
If two or more players tie for best hand, they share the pot equally.
If just one player says 'in' and all the others say 'out', the player who is 'in' simply takes the whole pot and does not need to show any cards. The pot will also be emptied if there is a tie between all the players who stay in. This may end the game, if it is being played as an option in dealer's choice. If the game is to continue, the players will need to place a new ante.
Note that if all the players other than the dealer say 'out', the dealer will automatically say 'in' and collect the pot, irrespective of how good or bad his or her cards may be.
If after the losers have paid, the amount in the pot exceeds the agreed limit, the excess chips are set aside in a reserve. The pot to be played for in subsequent deals will be equal to the limit, and if it is won, chips are brought out of the reserve to form a new pot. Example: there is 80 in the pot and the limit is 100. Four people stay in. The winner takes the 80, the three losers each pay 80, and there is now 100 in the pot and 140 in reserve. If this pot is won without a contest there will be 100 in the pot and 40 in reserve. If this too is won without a contest there will be 40 in the pot and no reserve.
Variations
Simultaneous Declare
Some play a version in which all players declare simultaneously whether they are in or out. This is sometimes done by the players holding their cards face down over the table, and the dealer calling '1 - 2 - 3 - DROP'. On the word 'DROP' all those who want to be out must drop their cards, and the others are in.
The dropping method has the disadvantage that some players might be tempted to try to delay for a split second to see what the others will do. Therefore it is probably better to declare using chips. Each player holds out a closed fist, when all are ready, everyone opens their fist, and those holding a chip are in while those with empty hands are out.
If everyone is out, the pot stays for the next hand and some play that all players must contribute another ante to it. Some play the wimp rule that in this case the cards are shown and the player with the best hand must ante on behalf of all players.
The game with simultaneous declare has less tactical scope than the game declared in sequence. There is no point in bluffing - players simply stay in if their cards are good and drop otherwise.
Single Loser, Ante on all Deals
Some play that if more than one person stays in, only the player with the worst hand must match the pot. If two or more players tie for worst they must both or all match it. In this version, players ante on every deal, adding their ante to the pot. Only a player who had to match the pot is excused from placing an ante on the following deal.
Kitty or Ghost
Some players find it unsatisfactory that when only one player stays in, that player simply takes the pot without a contest. They play a version in which an extra hand known as the kitty or ghost is dealt. This hand belongs to no one, but is exposed in the final showdown. To win the pot you have to beat the ghost as well as the other players. If the ghost wins, everyone who stayed in must match the pot. In this version, sometimes everyone drops out, in which case all must add an ante to the pot for the next deal.
There is another version in which the ghost only plays when just one person stays in. If two or more players stay in, they play only against each other. Vive casino.
The presence of a ghost hand that always plays makes it unprofitable to bluff, so players will stay in only with a better than average hand, which makes the game tactically less interesting than the version with no ghost.
Three-Card Guts
Each player is dealt three cards rather than two. The betting procedure is the same as in two-card guts, but with three cards most people play that 3-card straights and 3-card flushes count. The ranking of hands from high to low is usually:
Poker: Omaha (Pot Limit) Login / Join. By Masque Publishing. Omaha Hold Em: Pot Limit has structured betting where the maximum bet is the pot size. Play two of your four face down cards and three.
- three of a kind; straight flush; straight; flush; pair; nothing
but some groups may rank a straight flush above three of a kind or a flush above a straight so this should be checked and agreed before playing.
Some play that after the deal and before the declaration, all players pass one card face down to the left. Players must decide what card to pass before seeing what they have received.
Games with a second deal after the declare
Two plus One
Each player is dealt two cards, players declare in or out, and those who are in receive a third card. Hands rank as in Three-card Guts.
Some require those who stay in for a third card to pay an extra ante and take part in a second round of declaring in or out when they have three cards. So players who stay in for a third card but drop out when they have seen it lose this extra ante but do not risk having to match the pot.
Four-Two-Two
Brian Johnson describes a variant in which players are initially dealt 4 cards face-down. Twos are wild. Players declare simultaneously by holding a coin in their closed fist if they are playing. Players who are in receive 2 more cards face up, so that each player has 6 cards, and whoever can make the best 5-card poker hand wins. All players who stay in and lose match the pot. Usually a maximum loss per deal is agreed, say $5.00, and if the pot contains more than this, losers only pay the maximum.
The game ends when one person stays in by themselves, winning the whole pot.
Four-Two-Three
In this variant of 4-2-2,also contributed by Brian Johnson, after the declaration, instead of dealing two cards face up to each player, the dealer deals three common cards face up, and players form their best 5-cvard poker hand from the 7 available cards - the 4 that were dealt to them and the 3 on the table.
What Happens When You Tie A Hand In Poker
Variants of 4-2-2 or 4-2-3
- Players who dropped out must pay a new ante while losers who stayed in match the pot.
- If no one 'plays' (no coin in hand), the holder of the best hand of all non-players matches the pot, as do all non-players who held a 2 (twos being wild).
- If one person stays by themselves, their 4 cards play against the deck's top 4 cards. If the player wins, the game is over: if the deck wins, the player matches the pot,
Three-Stage Games
In these games the deal is in three stages. At each stage players declare in or out, but players who declare out keep their cards and may still compete in subsequent stages.
Three Five Seven
This game is played in three stages, with three-card, five-card and seven-card hands. At each stage, if more than one player stays in the highest of them wins from the others, but if only one player stays in, the player scores a point (sometimes known as a leg, and represented by a token of some sort) towards winning the pot. The game continues until someone collects three legs and wins the pot.
Stage One. All players ante and three cards are dealt face down to each player. Players then declare whether they are in or out. Declarations can be in sequence or simultaneous, as agreed in advance by the players - or in dealer's choice as specified in advance by the dealer.
- If no one stays in, nothing happens and the game proceeds to stage two.
- If just one player stays in that player scores a point (takes a token) and play proceeds to the stage two.
- If two or more players stay in, those players look at each other's cards - passing them to each other face down without showing them to the players who are out - and determine who has the best hand. Triplets beat pairs, which beat unmatched cards; there are no straights or flushes; threes are wild. Players who stayed in but did not have the best hand must pay an amount equal to what is in the pot to the winner. If several hands tie for best, then losers must pay this amount to all winners. No chips are added to or paid out of the pot.
Stage Two. Now all players, including those who didn't stay in in the first stage, are dealt two more cards face down. Everyone declares again. As before if no one stayed in nothing happens, and if one player stayed in that player gets a token. If two or more stayed in, the best five-card poker hand wins, using normal poker ranking and with fives wild instead of threes. Players who stayed in look privately at each others hand and the loser(s) pay the winner(s) as before.
Stage Three. All the players are dealt two more cards face down, and there is a third round of declarations. If no one stays in all cards are thrown and there is a new ante and deal. If just one player stays in that player gets a token before the cards are thrown in. If two or more stay in, they show their hands and the winner is the holder of the best five-card poker hand (using any five cards of the seven), with sevens as the only wild cards. The winner is paid by the losers who stayed in as before.
If no one has three tokens yet, everyone keeps the tokens they have, all cards are thrown in, everyone adds another ante to the pot, and the cards are shuffled and dealt by the next dealer, beginning with three cards as before.
As soon as any player collects a third token, whether on a three-card, a five-card or a seven-card hand, that player collects the whole pot and the game is over.
What Happens When You Tie In Poker
Napalm
A similar game, know as Napalm or Whipsaw, in which the stages are two cards played for high, five cards played for low, and seven cards played for high, is described on a separate page.
