What is Kicker in poker?

A kicker is the highest card outside the hand itself that decides a showdown when two players have matching main hands, such as the same pair or two pair. Instead of splitting the pot, the player with the higher-ranked side card wins everything. Kickers matter most with one-pair and two-pair hands, and skilled players pay close attention to kicker strength when deciding whether a hand is strong enough to call or value bet, since a weak kicker can turn an apparently strong hand into a losing one.

AK vs AQ on a board of A-9-6-5-2 — both have a pair of Aces, but K beats Q, so AK wins.

Kicker (Kicker) belongs to the Hands group of poker terms and shows up in almost every hand of Texas Hold'em. If you are starting out, read the poker rules and the hand rankings first, then come back here. To practise risk-free you can play against our AI right on the site.