A full house is three cards of one rank and two of another. Compare the three-of-a-kind rank first, then the pair if the triplets match. Kings full of twos beats queens full of aces: the pair of aces does not outweigh the higher triplet.
Where full house ranks
A full house beats a flush, a straight and every weaker category. It loses to four of a kind and a straight flush. There is no spare kicker: all five cards form the triplet and pair. Use the complete hand-ranking chart to compare different categories.
A five-card example and how to compare it
K♠ K♥ K♦ 4♦ 4♣
J-J-J-3-3 beats 10-10-10-A-A because jacks outrank tens. If the triplets match, J-J-J-8-8 beats J-J-J-7-7. If both triplet and pair ranks match, the pot is split; an unused sixth card cannot settle it.
Test a Texas Hold'em showdown
You and one opponent have reached showdown on this board. Decide whether you win, lose or split, and name your best five cards before revealing the answer.
| Cards | Holding |
|---|---|
| Shared board | K♠ K♥ 4♦ 4♣ 2♠ |
| Your hole cards | K♦ Q♣ |
| Opponent's hole cards | 4♠ A♥ |
Reveal the comparison
You win with kings full of fours. Your opponent makes fours full of kings. Both players have a full house, but the kings are the higher triplet. Your queen and their ace are unused cards, not kickers.
Your best five: K♠ K♥ K♦ 4♦ 4♣
Two triplets or three pairs among seven cards
With A-A-A-K-K-K-2 available, choose A-A-A-K-K: use the higher triplet and two cards from the lower one. With A-A-K-K-Q-Q-2, you only have three pairs, not a full house; no rank appears three times. Build the best five-card combination before giving the hand a name.
Common mistakes with full house
- The pair is compared only after the triplets tie.
- A pair on the board does not guarantee anyone a full house.
- A shared full house can be improved by a hole card that makes a higher triplet, pair or quads.
How often does full house occur in five cards?
Exactly this category occurs in 3,744 of 2,598,960 random five-card hands (0.144058%). Choose a triplet rank in 13 ways and three of its four suits in four ways. Choose a different pair rank in 12 ways and two of its suits in six ways. The product is 13 × 4 × 12 × 6 = 3,744.
This model uses a standard 52-card deck, no wild cards and no known cards. It is not the chance of your best five from seven at a Hold'em river, or your chance of beating the other player. The five-card probability explorer compares categories under the same assumptions.
What to practise next
Continue with how flushes are compared. At the play-chip training table, name the five cards you use before reading the showdown result. A hand's category alone does not tell you whether to call a bet; pot odds and equity address that separate question.
Rules checked against PokerStars' standard hand rankings. Counts checked against University of Hawaii's five-card calculations (2 January 2005 edition). Original examples are checked with the Hold'em Sim evaluator; counts are re-derived using combinations. AI-assisted text and checks reviewed 30 October 2026.