Quads (Four of a Kind)
Quads, or four of a kind, is a poker hand made of all four cards of one rank, such as four Sevens, plus any fifth card. It is the second-best hand in poker: it beats a full house and loses only to a straight flush, the royal flush included.
Learn what beats what in QuadsFree, five minutes.
What Quads Looks Like
Quad Sevens 7♣7♦7♥7♠K♦
Quad Aces A♣A♦A♥A♠9♣
The fifth card is the kicker. It does not change the hand, but it breaks a tie when two players hold quads of the same rank.
How Quads Happen in Texas Hold’em
You make your best five cards from your two hole cards and the five on the table. There are three common roads to quads:
- A pocket pair, two more on the board.You hold a pocket pair, say two Jacks, and the board brings the other two. J♣J♦ with J♥J♠4♣ on the flop is quads.
- A set that gets there.You hold J♣J♦, the flop brings one Jack (a set), and the turn or river brings the last.
- One card in hand, three on the board.You hold one Jack and the flop is J♥J♠J♦. Three of a kind on the board is the road to quads for anyone who holds the fourth card.
Where Quads Rank
Only a straight flush, and its best form the royal flush, beats quads. Everything below is weaker: full house, flush, straight and three of a kind. The full ladder is on poker hand rankings and the tie-breaks are on what beats what.
Quads Beat a Full House
Board 7♥7♠K♦K♣2♦
Hand A 7♣7♦
Hand B K♥3♣
Hand A wins. Four Sevens against kings full of sevens. A full house is the next rung down, so the quads win.
Quads Lose Only to a Straight Flush
Board 5♥5♠9♥8♥7♥
Hand A 5♣5♦
Hand B 6♥10♥
Hand B wins. Four Fives are strong, but a straight flush ranks above them. The only hand higher is a royal flush, the best straight flush there is.
Two Players with Quads: The Higher Rank Wins
Board 9♥9♠Q♥Q♠2♣
Hand A 9♣9♦
Hand B Q♣Q♦
Hand B wins. Both players hold quads on the same board. Four Queens beat four Nines; the extra card does not matter.
Quads on the Board: The Kicker Decides
Board 8♥8♦8♣8♠3♦
Hand A A♣2♦
Hand B K♣Q♦
Hand A wins. Everyone shares the four Eights, so the fifth card breaks the tie. The Ace beats the King.
The Odds of Making Quads
1 in 4,165in a five-card hand (0.024%), as in draw poker
1 in 595from seven cards (0.168%), as in Texas Hold’em
1 in 123with a pocket pair, by the river (0.82%)
These are exact counts. Five cards: 13 ranks times the 48 possible fifth cards is 624 hands out of 2,598,960. Seven cards: 13 ranks times the ways to choose the other three cards from 48 is 224,848 out of 133,784,560. With a pocket pair, the two cards you need must both come among the five on the board: 17,296 of 2,118,760 boards. On the flop alone it is 1 in 408 (0.24%). To test a hand of your own, use the poker odds calculator for your equity.
Quads and the Pot
Quads is so strong that the question is rarely whether to bet but how to get paid. The same hand on the board can also be a trap: if the board itself shows four of a kind, everyone plays it and only the kicker separates you, which is the board plays rule. Whether a call is worth it is a matter of pot odds.
What Players Call It
At the table players say “quads”, or name the rank: “quad Kings”, “four Kings”. All mean four of a kind. Do not mix it up with a four-flush, which is four cards of one suit.
Questions
What does quads mean in poker?
Quads is four of a kind: all four cards of one rank, such as four Sevens, plus a fifth card.
Does quads beat a full house?
Yes. Quads rank above a full house and below only a straight flush.
How likely is it to make quads in Texas Hold’em?
About 1 in 595 from seven cards. With a pocket pair, about 1 in 123 by the river.
Quads is for adults, 18 and over. It teaches with play chips only: there is no real money, ever.