Full House
Hands Level · Beginner Aliases: boat, full boat
A full house is a five-card hand made of three of a kind plus a pair.
What is Full House
A full house consists of three cards of one rank and two of another — K-K-K-A-A, for example. It beats a flush, a straight and three of a kind, and loses to four of a kind and a straight flush. When two full houses meet, the trips are compared first; only if those are equal does the pair matter, which is why KKKAA beats QQQAA. Paired boards make it much easier for players to complete one using their hole cards. Judge it by the best five cards, not by seeing trips and any pair in your hand. A strong full house usually builds a big pot, but on a board showing trips or two pairs, check whether an opponent can hold a higher full house or quads.
On the felt
Table6-max cash game
PositionBTN vs BB
FlopK♠A♠A♦7♣2♦
ActionShow down kings full with K♥K♣
Example
You hold K♥K♣ and the board runs K♠A♠A♦7♣2♦, giving you kings full of aces. An opponent with A♥Q♥ has only trip aces. Your full house wins at showdown.
Common mistakes
- Comparing the pair first. The correct order is the rank of the trips, then the rank of the pair.
- Thinking a pair on the board plus a pair in your hand makes a full house. You still need a third card of a matching rank to make trips.
Related terms
Bad Beat
A bad beat is a hand that was a heavy favourite when the chips went in but lost to an unlikely runout.
Cooler
A cooler is a collision where both players hold very strong hands and neither can reasonably avoid it.
Flop
The flop is the first three community cards, dealt together, and the second betting street.
Kicker
A kicker is a side card that is not part of the main hand and breaks ties between equal hands.
Nuts
The nuts is the strongest possible hand on the current board — no legal holding can beat it.
River
The river is the fifth and final community card, followed by the last round of betting.