FREE TOOL · TEXAS HOLD'EM · PRACTICE ONLY
Poker showdown trainer
Type in the hands, see who wins and exactly why, then practise spotting kickers, split pots and the wheel with a quick quiz. Nothing is saved and no money is involved.
At showdown every player makes the best five cards from their two hole cards and the five board cards. Compare the hand types first (a flush beats a straight, and so on). If two players have the same type, compare the cards in order, highest group first, then the kickers. If all five cards match, the pot is split. Suits never break a tie in Hold'em.
Who wins? Showdown checker
Enter 2 hole cards for each player and all 5 board cards. Write a rank and a suit, for example As for the ace of spades, 10h or Th for the ten of hearts. Suits: c clubs, d diamonds, h hearts, s spades (the ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ symbols also work).
Players
Board
Flop, turn and river together, for example Qh 7d 2c Js 9h.
| Rank | Player | Hole cards | Best five cards | Hand |
|---|
Exact rules, no simulation: the checker tries all 21 ways to choose five of the seven cards for each player and keeps the best. Odd chips in a split pot depend on house rules and are not shown here.
Showdown quiz
Random deals, two players. Pick the winner or call a split pot. Deals are chosen so that you see all three situations: different hand types, the same hand type decided by cards, and exact ties. Practice only, nothing is saved.
01
How a showdown is decided
- Build your best five cards. Use any five of your seven cards: both hole cards, one, or none. Using none is called playing the board.
- Compare hand types. Straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card, in that order.
- If the types match, compare the cards group by group. For a pair, compare the pair first, then the three other cards from high to low. For two pair, compare the higher pair, the lower pair, then the single card.
- A kicker only counts if it is inside your best five. Cards left over outside the five are ignored.
- If all five cards match in rank, the pot is split. Suit is never used to break a tie in Hold'em.
| Hand type | What decides a tie, in order |
|---|---|
| Straight flush, straight | The highest card in the run. The wheel (A-2-3-4-5) counts as five-high, the lowest straight. |
| Four of a kind | The four of a kind, then the kicker. |
| Full house | The three of a kind, then the pair. |
| Flush | Highest card, then second highest, and so on down all five cards. |
| Three of a kind | The three of a kind, then the higher kicker, then the lower kicker. |
| Two pair | Higher pair, lower pair, then the kicker. |
| One pair | The pair, then the three kickers from high to low. |
| High card | All five cards from high to low. |
02
Worked examples (made-up hands)
1. Same pair, different kicker
Board: A♠ 9♦ 6♣ 4♥ 2♠. Player A holds A♥ K♦, Player B holds A♣ Q♦. Both have a pair of aces. A's best five is A-A-K-9-6 and B's is A-A-Q-9-6. The pair and the 9 and 6 are identical, so the first kicker decides: the king beats the queen. A wins.
2. The board kicker you cannot beat
Board: A♠ K♦ 9♣ 8♥ 4♠. A holds A♥ 3♦, B holds A♣ 2♦. Both make A-A-K-9-8 using the board's king, nine and eight. The 3 and the 2 are outside the best five and do not matter. Split pot.
3. The wheel loses to a six-high straight
Board: 3♠ 4♦ 5♣ K♥ K♦. A holds A♥ 2♦ (A-2-3-4-5, the wheel). B holds 2♣ 6♦ (2-3-4-5-6). The ace plays low in the wheel, so A's straight is only five-high and B's six-high straight is higher. B wins.
4. Playing the board
Board: A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♦ 10♦ is an ace-high straight. Unless someone holds a flush or better (the flush needs two more spades), nobody's hole cards improve it, so everyone left in splits the pot.
All hands above are invented for teaching. The "Example" buttons in the checker load examples 3 and 4 so you can verify them.
03
Common mistakes
- Counting a kicker that is not in the best five. If the board already gives both players the same five cards, a bigger hole card does nothing.
- Thinking suits break ties. They do not in Hold'em. Two identical-rank hands split, even if one is spades and the other clubs.
- Forgetting a flush beats a straight. And a full house beats a flush. Check the hand type before comparing cards.
- Ace-high straights wrapping around. Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. The ace is high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3-4-5), never both.
- Missing a better two pair. With three pairs among seven cards you use the two highest pairs and the highest remaining card as the kicker.
04
FAQ
What is a kicker?
A kicker is a side card that completes a five-card hand and can break a tie, such as the king in A-A-K-9-8. It only counts when it is one of your best five cards.
What if two players have exactly the same hand?
The pot is split equally. If it cannot be divided evenly, the odd chip is handled by house rules, often given to the tied player closest to the left of the dealer button. Ask the dealer or check the site rules.
Does the order of the suits ever matter?
Not for deciding who wins a Hold'em showdown. Suits matter only for making a flush or straight flush.
Is the ace high or low?
Both, but only in straights. It is high in 10-J-Q-K-A and low in A-2-3-4-5, which is the lowest straight. Everywhere else it is the highest card.
Does this work for Omaha?
No. In Omaha you must use exactly two of your four hole cards and three board cards, which this checker does not enforce. It is built for Texas Hold'em only.
Is anything stored or uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser and is cleared when you close the page.
05
Sources and checks
Rules (best five from seven, playing the board, split pots, the wheel as the lowest straight, ace not wrapping, kickers inside the best five) were cross-checked against PokerNews, Tied Poker Hands, PokerNews, What is a Kicker in Poker?, PokerSkill, Best Five Card Hand Rule, PokerSkill, Split Pot and Briggs Software, Texas Hold'em rules. PokerListings has a Which Hand Wins calculator that shows win and tie percentages; this page adds a written reason for every result and a practice quiz. Checked 10 November 2026.
How this page was tested: the hand evaluator reproduces the standard count of all 2,598,960 five-card hands (40 straight flushes including 4 royal flushes, 624 four of a kind, 3,744 full houses, 5,108 flushes, 10,200 straights, 54,912 three of a kind, 123,552 two pair, 1,098,240 pairs, 1,302,540 high card) and passes known showdown cases including the wheel, three pairs and board plays.
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