subject: Kickers in Texas Holdem - Poker In Montana [print this page] Texas Holdem poker involves playing five cards. This means that if you are able to find a strong five-card combination, you will surely have a long game to play. However, it is not always that you will be able to find a five-card combination. More often than not, you will be playing with kickers in Texas Holdem. While kickers have a reputation for being irrelevant, they still play an important role in Texas Holdem Poker.
Kickers in Texas Holdem are important because they can determine winners in case of ties. For example, if the community cards show four aces and none of the players have a better hand than these four; the kickers will determine the winner. Your kicker will be the highest ranked card that you have, may it be in your hands or part of the community cards.
To better understand kickers, in a combination of four aces and a queen, the queen is the kicker. While in the combination of three aces, a three, and a jack, the three and the jack are the kickers. If you have three aces, a two, and a king, you will win against the three and jack kicker.
This simply illustrates the importance of kickers no matter how irrelevant they might seem. When both players have pairs of twos and fours, the one with the higher ranked kicker will win the pot.
Pay attention to the kickers in Texas Holdem because they might just be your very ticket to grabbing the chips on the pot. While some might think they can do away with the kickers, you know that when it comes to ties kickers will be the very cards that will break them. Always keep in mind not to overlook kickers in any Texas Holdem poker game - they might just work for you.
