Four of a kind

From ArticleWorld

Four of a kind is a poker hand consisting of four cards of the same rank, in addition to one more unmatched card. When two, or more, players have four of a kind, the higher ranking matched set wins. This hand ranks above a full house, but below a straight flush..

Ranking

A poker hand consists of five cards. Although in many poker games each player has seven cards to play, the two extra cards are not used to determine the winner. If two, or more, players have identical five-card hands, they will divide the pot equally between them.

The cards are ranked Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. An Ace may also be used as a low card, below the 2 in making a straight, or a straight flush. The suits have no rank in poker, and are not used to determine the winner of a hand.

Probability

In poker, the probability of each type of five-card hand can be computed by calculating the proportion of hands of that type among all possible hands. Four of a kind can be formed 624 different ways. The odds of getting this hand are 4,164 : 1.