A four-of-a-kind is a strong hand. It actually happens to be one of the strongest hands you can earn in a game of poker, ranking lower only than a straight flush and a royal flush and beating a full house and a three-of-a-kind.
Earning a four-of-a-kind would be pretty great, but how can you produce this winning hand in a poker game?
With this guide, we will explore the odds of making this hand through one of the most popular variants of the game.
WHAT IS A FOUR-OF-A-KIND?
Undoubtedly one of the best possible hands, a four-of-a-kind consists of a five-card poker hand with four cards of the same rank. Earning four cards of the same rank can be pretty difficult, but they don’t have to be of the same suit, which makes this hand a little more attainable.
We have provided a couple of examples of what you could get on the board:
- Quad aces or four aces and a four of spades
- Four queens of different suits and a five of diamonds
Whichever poker player produces the higher card on the board will be deemed the winner. To hit quads, it is the denomination of a card that matters most.
Quads compare favourably with other five-card hands, such as a full house. It ranks third and it is only surpassed by a straight flush and a royal flush. Straight flushes, however, are five cards in sequence but from a mixture of suits.
ODDS OF MAKING A FOUR-OF-A-KIND OUT OF A 52-CARD DECK
If you draw five cards out at random, you will only have a 0.024% chance to make four-of-a-kind out of 2,598,960 possible combinations. You are more likely to get this type of hand if you are dealt a pocket pair.
Ultimately, you will have a far greater chance of making a full house with hole cards.
ODDS OF GETTING A FOUR-OF-A-KIND IN TEXAS HOLD’EM
When playing poker, a full 52-card deck will provide a total number of 624 different ways of getting a four-of-a-kind, but the probability of getting one stands at a mere 0.024%.
That said, poker has come a long way from the early days in Las Vegas casinos. Providers have released new-and-improved versions of this timeless game that have taken entertainment to a whole new level. And not only has the gameplay seen a hot new makeover but the odds of hitting specific hands may have been altered as well.
For example, the odds in Texas Hold ’em Poker may be different to Omaha Poker. For the sake of not dropping so much information at once, we’re going to focus on Texas hold’em.
In Texas Hold ’em, the probability of drawing four-of-a-kinds is based on making the best five community cards out of seven cards. The chances of getting one on the board are 0.168% — a lot better than your standard game of poker.
ODDS OF HITTING A FOUR-OF-A-KIND ON THE FLOP
As we’re sure you can guess, the odds of hitting a four-of-a-kind vary depending on the phase of the round you’re in.
Flopping quads with a starting hand are extremely rare. So, you can flop quads once every 3,333 flops, which is approximately 25% of your starting hands, a flop will occur once every 13,332 hands.
ODDS OF HITTING A FOUR-OF-A-KIND ON TURN
To get a five-card hand of quads on the turn, let’s show you the chances of not hitting such poker hands. The odds of not hitting quads on the turn is 46/47 (95.7%). So, to hit a quad on the turn is roughly 4.3%.
ODDS OF HITTING A FOUR-OF-A-KIND ON RIVER
To not hit a quad on the river works out as 45/46 or 95.7%. Statistically, the chances of playing quads and making them on the river are also quite low.
If you draw five cards out at random, you will only have a 0.024% chance to make four-of-a-kind. You are more likely to get this type of hand if you are dealt a pocket pair.
Ultimately, you will have a far greater chance of making a full house with hole cards.
IMPLIED ODDS OF A FOUR-OF-A-KIND
Providing you use one of the four hole cards, a four-of-a-kind will have excellent implied odds compared to a pair, but this will depend on what is on the table.
If there are four community cards of equal rank on the board, then every player will hold a four-of-a-kind. In this case, the implied odds are not as great. The winning player will be any player with an ace as their hole card.
So, using one of your hole cards to form a four-of-a-kind (i.e. three cards of equal rank on the board) carries better implied odds than forming a four-of-a-kind out of four community cards.
FOUR-OF-A-KIND TIPS
As many players know, the four-of-a-kind is not the easiest hand to hit, so sometimes, a little bit of extra help is needed. Luckily for poker players, EnergyCasino does not fall short on tips. These tips may help poker players land a four-of-a-kind:
- If four cards of equal rank are on the board, move cautiously with your first two cards, or you risk losing.
- Don’t make call-downs too early on against one player; otherwise, you could find yourself with a high card, and you can win more from the pot.
- Check the number of decks used, as this can drastically affect your chances of earning a four-of-a-kind.
- Don’t go into a round without a proper strategy, as you may end up depleting your bankroll too quickly by betting blind.
- If there are four cards of equal rank on the board, proceed cautiously unless you hold an ace.
Just remember that winning is never a guarantee due to the house edge. The house edge describes the mathematical advantage the house has over the player and is always prevalent.
Here are the chances of making a four-of-a-kind in texas hold’em.
FOUR-OF-A-KIND STAGES PROBABILITY IN TEXAS HOLD ‘EM
- Flopping four-of-a-kind or better with any starting hand – 0.03%
- Chances of flopping four-of-a-kind or better with a pocket pair – 0.24%
- Odds of flopping four-of-a-kind or better with AKo – 0.01%
- Chances of hitting Quads on the turn – 2.13%
- Odds of hitting Quads on the river – 2.17%