Definition: Four of a Kind (also known as Quads) is a poker hand made up of four cards of the same rank, plus one additional card known as the kicker.
Four of a Kind ranks second in the standard poker hand rankings and is beaten only by a Straight Flush (including a Royal Flush).
The strongest possible Four of a Kind is Quad Aces:
A♥ A♠ A♦ A♣
When comparing Four of a Kind hands, the rank of the four matching cards is always the most important factor. For example, Quad Jacks beat Quad Tens, Quad Nines, and all lower-ranked quads.
Here are a few more examples of Four of a Kind hands:
2♥ 2♠ 2♦ 2♣
K♥ K♠ K♦ K♣
Q♥ Q♠ Q♦ Q♣
Important: Suits are irrelevant when ranking Four of a Kind hands — only the card ranks matter.
How Does a 4-of-a-Kind Hand Rank?
Mini-summary: Four of a Kind is ranked primarily by the value of the four matching cards, with the kicker used only if the quads are the same.
In a standard 52-card deck, there are 624 possible Four of a Kind combinations and 156 distinct Four of a Kind ranks. Because poker hands consist of five cards, the kicker can come into play when two players share the same quads.
For example, the hand 5♥ 5♠ 5♦ 5♣ 10♦ ranks higher than 5♥ 5♠ 5♦ 5♣ 7♦.
However, K♥ K♠ K♦ K♣ 2♦ ranks higher than Q♥ Q♠ Q♦ Q♣ A♦, even though the Quad Queens have a higher kicker. This is because the rank of the four matching cards always outweighs the kicker.
In summary, Four of a Kind Aces always beat Four of a Kind Kings, Quad Kings beat Quad Queens, and so on.
How Does a 4-of-a-Kind Hand Match Up?
Mini-summary: Four of a Kind beats every hand below it, but loses to a Straight Flush.
Four of a Kind is the second-best possible hand in poker. Only a Straight Flush ranks above it, making Four of a Kind an extremely strong holding in games like Texas Hold’em.
The next strongest hand below Four of a Kind is a Full House .
The best possible Full House is Aces full of Kings. As with all Full Houses, suits are irrelevant and hand strength is determined entirely by rank.
4-of-a-Kind Poker Probabilities
Below are the pre-flop, flop, turn and river probabilities of making Four of a Kind in both Hold’em and Omaha.
