What Is Four Of A Kind In Poker – Odds, Probabilities, and Rankings

2 minutes

Last Updated: January 6, 2024

Written by: Tadas Peckaitis

Four of a Kind is an exceptionally strong poker hand and ranks third in the official poker hand rankings.

As the name suggests, it is made of four cards of the same rank with an additional card, which is entirely irrelevant.

The best Four of a Kind poker hand is A A A A x, which beats all other 4 of a Kind and lower hands in poker.

Here are a couple of examples of these poker hands, which are also known as Quads:

A A A A 4
Q Q Q Q K
8 8 8 8 J
3 3 3 3 9

It is fairly easy to determine how Four of a Kind ranks among other holdings since the higher quads always win against the lower ones. For example, K K K K x is better than J J J J x, just like 9 9 9 9 x is better than 3 3 3 3 x, and so on.

Also, this poker hand only loses to Royal Flush and Straight Flush combinations, so while it is not the best possible poker hand, it still beats everything else, so you can be very happy when you have it.

Four of a Kind Odds and Probabilities

The probability of 4 of a Kind is still fairly low:

The odds of hitting four of a Kind is just 0.024% when you have a random hand.
The odds of flopping Four of a Kind is around 0.25% when you have a pocket pair as your starting hand.
The probability of flopping Quads without a pocket pair is very low and equals 0,01%.
The odds of Improving to Four of a Kind on the turn when you flop trips are 2.1 %.
The chance to hit Quads on the river when you have Three of a Kind on the Turn is 2.2 %.
The odds of hitting Four of a Kind by the river when you flop 3 of a Kind is 4.3 %.

As you see, the odds of hitting Four of a Kind poker hands are very low initially, but when you are lucky to hit Trips on the Flop, you will make Quads around 1 out of 23 times. Now so bad, right?

What beats Four of a Kind in poker?

Four of a Kind can only be beaten by a Royal Flush, Straight Flush, or another 4 of a Kind hand.

If you are up against another player with Quads, your Four of a Kind hand's value will be considered based on card ranks to determine the winner, with two being the lowest and Ace the highest card.

So, K K K K x beats J J J J x, and so on.

What can Four of a Kind beat?

4 of a Kind is still one of the best possible poker hands you can have, so it beats most other holdings, including Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, One Pair, and High Card Texas Holdem hands.