The role of high cards in combinations

The kicker bird, of course, is small, but if it has older sisters in a combination, then the poker game will be won. Let's talk seriously about the role of kickers.

Poker is a game with its own unique style, but with an iron rule: you need to collect the highest combination, having only five cards in the game! If after the river no one has collected anything, it is necessary to use kickers to achieve an excellent result (cards that are not included in the general combination, but have the unique ability to identify the winner from a draw). Whoever has an extra high card in his hands will win!

Example # 1. Micro-stakes cash game

If one UTG player raised, the other called at the cut-off, the rest - at a big bet with 10 and 9 spades called. All trading up to the river was passive, and the result was the following picture: 2 spades 3 and 6 diamonds 8 crosses 10 hearts. We started trading with only the last card. UTG announces a small bet, all players call. At the fifth stage, the opponents were left with A tambourine 10 crosses and K cross 10 tambourines.

All hit the bull's-eye, but the player in early position won. Why exactly he? Because his ace in this situation is the senior kicker!

Example # 2. Game with two kickers

Player # 1 with cards A and Q is a tambourine, and player # 2 with A crosses K of spades. On the board came 3 hearts 6 crosses 8 hearts J spades J hearts. Each got a pair of threes, and the main kicker was aces. According to the rules, a full combination always has 5 cards. Therefore, No. 2 with the king wins (group J spades J hearts A crosses K spades 8 hearts are stronger than J spades J hearts A crosses Q tambourine 8 hearts).

You must always remember:

• In combinations with five cards (straight, flush, full house), the kicker is absolutely useless. The high card will only help in cases with pairs, sets, four of a kind.

• It's great if you have a lot of free kickers (aces or kings) on your hands. Occasionally, several free cards are used to identify the best.