What Suit is Higher?
I was playing in a Texas Holdem game recently and at the river, both of us had the exact same hand. I had an ace and king of diamonds and my opponent had the ace and king of spades. There was a king on the board and neither of us had a flush. My opponent said that because he had the A-K of spade, he won. I thought that it should be a chopped pot. Another player thought that since I was closest to the dealer button, I should get the pot.
Who was correct and if he was right about the suits mattering, which suits are highest.
Jamie
Jamie,
First, your friends need to learn the rules of Holdem a bit better. When two players have the exact same hand at the river, the pot is chopped. Suits do not matter in determining Texas Holdem hands. Next, your opponent that said you should have gotten the pot due to position was off. The only time this is relevant is if there is a chopped pot with an odd chip. In that case, the odd chip goes to the player closest to the button.
I will go over ranks of suits, but they are only relevant in Stud based games. In seven card stud, there is a bring-in. This means that the player with the lowest card showing on third must put in a forced bet similar to a blind. Sometimes, multiple players have the same low card, such as two players having a deuce. In this case, the tie is broken by the suit.
Suits are ranked in alphabetical order from lowest to highest. Clubs, diamonds, heats, and then spades. However, suits will never determine the winner of a hand in most standard poker games. There are a few oddball games where the lowest spade or club gets half of the pot, but these are not casino games.
Tags: Seven Card Stud, Suit Rankings, Texas Holdem