What Beats a Full House in Poker?
Short answer
Only three hands beat a full house: four of a kind, a straight flush and a royal flush. A full house beats everything else, including a flush and a straight.
Four of a kind
Straight flush
Royal flush
What a full house beats
A full house (three of a kind plus a pair) beats a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. In five-card poker there are 3,744 full houses out of 2,598,960 hands, roughly 1 in 694.
Full house vs full house
Compare the three of a kind first. The higher trips win, whatever the pair is.
Eights full of twos (wins)
Sevens full of aces (loses)
In Hold'em two players can share the same trips from the board. Then the pair decides it: kings full of aces beats kings full of queens. If both are identical, the pot is split.
What beats aces full of kings?
Aces full of kings is the best possible full house, but four of a kind, a straight flush and a royal flush still beat it.
FAQ
Does a flush beat a full house?
No. A full house beats a flush.
Does four of a kind beat a full house?
Yes. Four of a kind is one rank higher than a full house.
How do you break a tie between two full houses?
Compare the three of a kind first, then the pair. Suits never break ties.
How rare is a full house?
There are 3,744 full houses among 2,598,960 five-card hands, about 0.14%.