Side cards / Kicker

Let's regard the following situation:

1st player have: A K
2nd players have: A 6

Community cards: A 2 9 J 4

Both players obviously have a pair of aces, but the winner of this hand is player A. The question why is easy to answer once you have started building the best combination of five out of the seven available cards, their so called poker hands.

1st Player have: A A K J 9
2nd Player have: A A J 9 6

We have already established at the beginning that a hand consists of five cards. This is a fact that is often ignored by many beginners. They see a pair of aces at the flop and forget that their opponent might also have a pair of aces, in which case the side card, the kicker, counts and elects who wins.

The cards which do not determine the rank of a hand are called kickers.

In the above example, the rank of both the hands of player A and B are determined by the two aces. The third, fourth and fifth card are side cards, or kickers, which are important when both players have the same hand as in this case.

If two players have the same hand, meaning the hands have the same rank and value, the value of the side cards/kickers determines the winner and loser. The highest side cards are compared. If they have the same value, the second to the highest side cards are compared.

Conclusions:
One of the most important and also one of the easiest rules at Texas Hold'em is: A hand consists of five cards. Keep this in mind and remember that not only the rank of a hand is important, but also recognize the value of the side cards/kickers. This can help you find out whether your hand is in fact good, or maybe just mediocre.

Many of the mistakes beginners make lie in this area. They do not pay attention to the kickers or the ways a hand can be improved using community cards. If you simply pay attention to them, you are already ahead of most beginners.