Three of a kind is three cards of one rank plus two unmatched kickers. In Hold'em a set uses a pocket pair and one matching board card; trips use one hole card with a board pair. Both belong to the same showdown category.
Where three of a kind ranks
Three of a kind beats two pair, one pair and high card. It loses to a straight and every higher category. Compare the triplet rank first, then the two kickers from highest to lowest if the triplets match. Use the complete hand-ranking chart to compare different categories.
A five-card example and how to compare it
7♠ 7♦ 7♣ A♥ K♣
Three eights with a queen and jack beat three sevens with an ace and king: the triplet is compared first. With shared sevens, 7-7-7-A-K beats 7-7-7-K-Q because ace is the first different kicker. A set does not beat higher-ranked trips merely because it was made with a pocket pair.
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 | 7♠ 7♦ K♣ 4♥ 2♠ |
| Your hole cards | 7♣ A♥ |
| Opponent's hole cards | 7♥ Q♦ |
Reveal the comparison
You win with three sevens and ace-king kickers. Your opponent has three sevens with king-queen kickers. The shared king does not force a tie: your ace supplies a higher first kicker. Both players have trips, not a set.
Your best five: 7♠ 7♦ 7♣ A♥ K♣
When the board has three of a kind
On 8-8-8-Q-5, everyone still in the hand has at least three eights. A-K can provide two kickers, while a pocket pair can make a full house. A player holding the last eight has quads. If you have both a triplet and a pair among seven cards, use the full house rather than describing your final hand as three of a kind.
Common mistakes with three of a kind
- A board triplet is shared, not owned by the player who first notices it.
- The second kicker matters when the triplet and first kicker tie.
- A set can lose to a higher set, a straight, a flush or another stronger hand.
How often does three of a kind occur in five cards?
Exactly this category occurs in 54,912 of 2,598,960 random five-card hands (2.112845%). Choose a rank in 13 ways and three suits in four ways. Choose two different kicker ranks from the remaining 12, then a suit for each. The count is 13 × 4 × C(12, 2) × 4² = 54,912. Requiring distinct kicker ranks excludes full houses.
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 the chance of improving a flopped set to quads. 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.