Three of a kind, as the name suggests, is a five-card hand made up of three cards of the same rank from different suits and two other cards, known as the kickers. While it may not be the strongest hand on the table, the three of a kind holds a solid place in the middle of the poker hand rankings, beating hands like one pair and two pair and giving you a real chance to win the pot.
Three of a kind may not be the strongest poker hand but is still quite useful majorly it has more odds of showing up than the other premium hands. This indicates that you have great odds of winning medium-sized pots, especially if opponents have weaker hands. It is a dependable hand that can be beneficial, especially for beginners who are just starting out.
As discussed above, to form a three of a kind poker hand, you need to have three cards of the same rank, plus two other unrelated cards. K♠ K♦ K♣ 9♠ 4♥ is an example of a three of a kind hand, known as three kings with a nine and a four. Similarly, 8♦ 8♠ 8♥ J♣ 2♦ and 5♠ 5♦ 5♣ A♠ 6♦ are also examples of a three of a kind.
Three of a Kind Examples
The three of a kind is ranked seventh in the poker hands ranking chart. This indicates that it is one of the less strong hands in poker and can be beaten by several higher value hands like the royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, and the straight. The three of a kind poker hand, however, can beat the bottom three hands in the poker hierarchy, including the two pair, one pair, and the high card.
There are multiple three of a kind combinations and they are valued differently. The strength of a particular three of a kind is determined primarily by the rank of the three cards. So, when two or more players have the three of a kind each, the winner is decided based on whose hand has a higher rank of the three cards. If those are the same, the winner is decided by the highest kicker.
Lets say, a player has 9♠ 9♦ 9♣ K♠ 2♥ and the other has 8♥ 8♣ 8♦ J♠ 4♦. In this case, the player with three nines wins as nine is higher in value than eight. However, if the competing hands were 9♠ 9♦ 9♣ K♠ 2♥ and 9♥ 9♣ 9♦ J♠ 4♦, then the player with a king kicker would win since both the players have three nines, so we decide the winner by the highest kicker.
Possible combinations: 54,912
Total 5-card hands possible: 2,598,960
Probability of getting a three of a kind: 54,912/ 2,598,960 = 0.1441% or 1 in every 47 hands
To maximize your odds of winning with a three of a kind, you must know how to play it smartly and navigate your way through the game.
You need two things for a three of a kind poker hand: a group of three cards of the same rank plus two kickers. So analyze your cards well and understand the probabilities, which will help you make the hand with the strongest possible cards.
Carefully watch the game unfold on the board and accordingly decide whether to play aggressive or take it slow. If there are not too many draws you can afford to play slow by checking or calling. However, if there are many straight or flush draws, you can get aggressive and bet or raise to protect your hand from being outdrawn. Also, keep the game dynamics and opponent behavior in mind.
Kickers are an important part of your hand. They can often even decide which three of a kind beats another. This is why you should keep an eye out and carefully decide the cards you wish to choose.
The three of a kind is not the strongest of poker hands, which is why when you think you are on a losing end and the opponents have much better cards than you, you can fold and minimize your loss.
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