Three-of-a-Kind Hand in Poker

As the name suggests, “three-of-a-kind” is a hand in which you have three cards of the same rank. It is 7th on the list of poker rankings:

1. Royal Flush
2. Straight Flush
3. Four of a kind
4. Full House
5. Flush
6. Straight
7. Three of kind
8. Two pair
9. One pair
10. High card

Here are a few examples of having a three-of-a-kind hand:

K♥️K♣️K♠️A♦️10♦️

A♦️A♥️A♣️9♠️5♠️

6♠️6♦️6♥️J♣️7♥️

How Does a 3-of-a-Kind Hand Rank?

There are a total of 858 distinct ranks of three-of-a-kind hands and the possibility of getting them is 2.1128%. In poker, the rarity of getting a hand defines its rank. Here’s the probability of each hand:

Hand	Probability
Royal Flush	0.000154%
Straight Flush	0.00139%
Four of a kind	0.02401%
Full House	0.1441%
Flush	0.1965%
Straight	0.3925%
three-of-a-kind	2.1128%
Two pair	4.75359%
One pair	42.2569%
High card	50.1177%

Here are a few examples of “three-of-a-kind” hands: 

5♠️5♥️5♦️6♠️9♥️

9♥️9♠️9♦️A♠️K♦️

7♦️7♥️7♠️Q♠️8♣️

How Does a 3-of-a-Kind Hand Match Up?

As mentioned above, “three-of-a-kind” is the 7th best possible hand combination you can get in poker. So, before you get too excited by having this, make sure you keep the other 6 hands in mind. Watch out for flush draws and keep a check on the table and the betting pattern of your opponents. There’s a high chance they might have a stronger hand than you. The best case scenario for you to play a “three-of-a-kind” is when you already have pockets as your hole cards.

Hold’em Probabilities

Odds of making a “three-of-a-kind” in Texas hold’em if you have a pocket pair: 

	Pocket pair
Flop	11.8%
Turn	4.26%
River	4.35%

Pot Limit Omaha Probabilities

Odds of making a three-of-a-kind in Pot Limit Omaha:

	Pocket Pair	Two pair
Flop	12.59%	21.37%
Turn	4.44%	8.89%
River	4.55%	9.09%

Three-of-a-Kind Variations & Examples

In Texas hold ’em, looking out for a “three-of-a-kind” is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is to make sure you have 3 cards of the same rank while using two hole cards in your hand.

In Omaha, this gets a little complicated. The chances of you making a “three-of-a-kind” are higher but the chances of somebody else making a better hand is also good. Because in Omaha, you have 4 cards in your hand out of which you have to choose two.

Conclusion

In short, three-of-a-kind is a great hand to have in poker game, especially when you have a pocket pair as hole cards. If you place your bets right, it will be tough for the opponents to guess your cards. Just beware of straight draws and flush draws and if you hit a three-of-a-kind on the flop, try and make the opponents who are looking to make a straight or flush fold their cards.

FAQ

1. How many three-of-a-kind poker hands are there.

There are 858 distinct hands of “three-of-a-kind” in poker.

2. Does kicker matter in 3 of a kind

If an opponent also has the same three-of-a-kind, then the kicker matters. The player with the higher kicker will win the game.

3. What is the three-of-a-kind probability

The probability of getting a three-of-a-kind in poker is 2.1128%.

4. What is the best three-of-a-kind hand?

The best three-of-a-kind hand you can have is 3 Aces + 1 King + 1 Queen, for eg. A♠️A♥️A♦️K♦️Q♣️

5. What hand can beat three-of-a-kind?

There are 6 poker hands that beat three-of-a-kind: Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight