How are you doing at the tables (Poker Thread)?

[poker]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlake

My post #35 above has troubled me for several hours now. Something about it does not make any sense to me, so I called them again, and I was again explained the same exact ruling on how their rule about the hole cards apply. So, what I explained above #35 is correct, based on their rules.

However, it makes no sense to me, and here is why. Using the example that I was given, 3 tens, a nine and a jack are on the table. Your holding the 4th ten and another card. According to their rules, the other card must be a jack, queen, king or ace for your hand to count. Their rule, as defined by them, states that your kicker must be equal to or higher than any other cards on the table, beside the 3 tens. In other words, your kicker must tie or beat the other kickers on the table for your hand to be considered a winning hand. That makes no sense, as you have 4 tens. No one else has four tens, therefore the kicker is irrelevant. It should make no difference what your kicker is, even a duce should be good. Kickers, by all poker rules, only come into play to break two or more hands that tie, and sometimes kickers will also tie and the pot is split. With any four of a kind hand, there can be no ties. Who ever has four of a kind, can never be tied with an equal hand. As a result the kicker is irrelevant!

Well all I can tell you is what I know. A poker hand in Hold Em consists of a 5 card hand, not 4. So the kicker does apply. If given the example you posted

10-10-9-J-10

And you have A-10, the Ace kicker counts as the 5th card to complete your hand.
If for example you instead had 8-10 in the hole, you have quads but the "J" on the board out ranks your 8, so therefore you do in fact have quads but you are not using both your hole cards, only the 10.

The key being that both players must have both hole cards contribute to make up a 5 card hand to qualify for bad beat JP.