Poker Hands
What is a Full House in Poker? (May 2024)
A full house in poker is considered the first full hand. There is a shroud of mystery around the name, as it is also called a full, a tight, a boat, and originally it was called a full hand. This is the fourth strongest hand you can make in poker, though it is formed rarely.
What is a Full House in Poker
A full house is a poker hand that constitutes a three of a kind and a pair. Between your 2 hole cards and the 5 communal cards, you need to pick out these cards. As poker is only played with a single deck, the three of a kind and pair cards cannot be suited. For example, you can have a Queen of Clubs, Spades and Hearts, and Jack of Spades and Diamonds.
What Beats a Full House?
There are only three poker hands that beat the full house.
Four of a kind is perhaps a bigger threat than the other two. This is because for a full house you need at least one pair in the communal cards, and this is also the minimum requirement for four of a kind. Say you have a pair of Queens and amongst the communal cards there is a Queen, a pair of 10s, a 9 and 8. The communal cards have brought you a pair and a third Queen for a full house. But say someone else has a pair of 10s in the hole – they beat you with four of a kind.
It is definitely more common than a poker round having both a full house and a straight flush. Though that is not impossible either. With the same hand, imagine the Queen, 10 and 8 are all Hearts, whilst the other 10 and 9 are unsuited. Should your opponent have a Jack and 9 of Hearts, they have a straight flush. And just like that, you can have a full house, four of a kind and straight flush in one round.
The most common hand that can beat your full house is another full house. Should two players both have a full house, the round is decided by who has the better set of three, and then who has the better set of two. Identical full houses end in draws.
This can happen if the communal cards bring three of a kind and both players have the same pair. Or, both players have the same hole cards that match up with a pair and a matching card on the table.
Full House Hand Probability
Before you start doubting the strength of a full house hand, consider these facts. There are 3,744 different ways to make a full house, and for the top three hands combined, there are only 663 combinations. If you were to bet on it, the odds of getting a full house would be 693.17/1. In terms of probability, there is a 0.144% chance of getting a full house – compare that with a combined 0.0255% chance of someone getting any of the three stronger hands.
How to Use a Full House Hand
So first, it is important to remember that the minimum requirements for a full house are that the communal cards should have at least one pair. When looking at how your opponents are playing, what you want to guess is whether they have a full house or four of a kind (or if they are bluffing).
Preflop
Whilst it is better to have a pocket pair in the hole, it is not essential to form a full house. Say you have a 9 and a Jack. If a pair of Jacks and a 9 are drawn in the communal cards, you can still form a full house. Therefore, pocket pairs, whilst advantageous, are not required. Instead, it is better to play depending on how high your cards are. A pair is always welcome, as it makes a great head start.
Flop
There is an outside chance that you form a full house hand when the flop is dealt. This is rare but not impossible. It will give you the opportunity to raise with confidence and force the limpers out of the game. The idea is not to settle for the checks though, so bait your opponents to keep them in the game.
It is far more likely that you will not make a full house after the flop though. If you are just one card short, then you can also raise the pot. However, you must analyse the cards.
If the communal cards bring a pair, then be wary that it is possible another player can form four of a kind. Unless of course, you have the third matching card in the hole. Should you have a pair of cards, then you are either hoping for the communal cards to bring a three of a kind, or a matching card to your pairs and another pair. It is very rare that the flop will draw three of a kind though, and it is even more dangerous as it opens the possibility for other players to form full houses too.
Turn
The most comfortable full house at this stage is when you have matching cards for a pair and a single high card in the communal cards. That way, there is no chance that another player has four of a kind. You can still lose if someone else has a full house with the same three of a kind but beats your pair. Therefore, be careful and watch how they react to any raises.
If you do not have a full house by the turn, then you are relying on the last card to draw in your favour. This is a highly risky game, especially if the pot has increased tremendously. Should there be multiple opponents raising at this stage of the round, there is most probably some bluffing going on. They may be trying to convince the others they have four of a kind, but for that, they need a pocket pair (or three of a kind on the table). Keep track of these raisers as most players who start with a pocket pair will raise the pot almost immediately.
River and Showdown
Once the river is dealt, you will know exactly what is possible and what is not. If you missed out on your full house, then you may have to cut your losses and fold. It may be painful to part with a big sum of money, but at this late stage, the raising usually increases exponentially. Should you have a full house and are confident of the win, then raise as far as you think your opponents may still call. You want to make the most of your hand after all. An outlandish bet may just scare them off and you will miss your opportunity.
Best Case Scenario
The best full house you can have is a set of three Aces and two Kings. To go further, it is best if you started with Ace-King and the communal cards brought 2 Aces and 1 King. The 2 other cards in the hand can be anything else, as long as they are not paired. This way, there is no way that any player can form four of a kind.
Worst Case Scenario
The worst full house you can have is a set of three 2s and two 3s. If anyone also makes a full house, they will certainly beat you – unless they have an identical hand. If the three 2s are all communal cards, then this is even more dangerous, as one other player may have a 2 and can then take home the pot with four of a kind.
Conclusion
A big part of using your full house to the maximum is not being caught out by a better full house or four of a kind. You should always keep an eye on who bets and when. Once you get to know your opponents better, you can work out whether they began with a pair, a couple of high cards, or a couple of low hands.
