Regardless of what poker variant you play, kicker cards are an important factor to keep in mind. The concept is not hard to understand and can make a significant difference in your hand strength and win rates. Kicker cards are especially important when dealing with one-pair hands, and it is critical to know how to manoeuvre these types of hands with the strongest possible edges.
Typically, the rank of a hand determines which player wins a pot in poker, however, when two hands are of the same rank it is necessary to use other factors to distinguish between them. These factors are usually the accompanying cards to the made hand – commonly referred to as the ‘kickers’. The higher the kicker, the more likely you are to win the hand.
Understanding the importance of kickers in poker can help you to avoid making costly mistakes at the tables, and even extract value from opponents when you have the best of it. Not only will kickers help you to decide which hands are stronger than others, but they will also enable you to make more accurate assessments of your opponent’s range when determining whether to call or fold preflop.
In addition to Texas Hold’em, kickers are used in most other popular flop games such as Omaha and Five and Seven Card Stud. They are particularly useful in determining the winner of a hand when players have the same high pair, three of a kind or straight. In these cases, the highest kicker wins the pot.
However, when a high pair is not involved and the board contains multiple high cards, kickers will often not come into play. This is because the majority of high pairs consist of four matching cards and only require the fifth card to complete the ranking. For this reason, if the board runs Q Q 5 7 9 and you have A5 up against an opponent with KQ then you will win the pot as your King kicks the 2 in your opponent’s hand.
It should be noted that kickers will only come into play if the cards are of equal value or higher. If you have A5 up against AK on an AQ993 board then your kicker won’t play because AK is the higher hand and beats yours.
Understanding the role of a kicker in poker is an essential element for all players to grasp. Not only will it change the way you look at your own hands, but it will also enable you to identify and isolate players who don’t realise the value of a strong kicker. With a little practice, you can master the art of kicking and boost your winning potential at the table! Good luck!