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Three of a Kind

A three-of-a-kind is a poker hand with 3 cards of the same rank and 2 other unmatched cards.

Three of a Kind
King of SpadesKing of ClubsKing of DiamondsThree of DiamondsTwo of Hearts
Three Kings

Three-of-a-kind ranks above two-pairs and below a straight.

Ranking three-of-a-kind hands

When comparing three-of-a-kind poker hands, the hand with the highest ranking three cards win. If both hands have the same ranking three-of-a-kinds (possible in games with community cards), then the kickers are compared to determine the winner.

Example #1

Three Jacks
Jack of SpadesJack of HeartsJack of ClubsNine of SpadesFive of Clubs
Defeats
Three Nines
Nine of HeartsNine of ClubsNine of DiamondsAce of ClubsKing of Hearts

Example #2 (Community/Wild Card Games)

Three Aces with King kicker
Ace of SpadesAce of HeartsAce of DiamondsKing of ClubsTwo of Spades
Defeats
Three Aces with Queen kicker
Ace of SpadesAce of HeartsAce of ClubsQueen of HeartsJack of Clubs

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