Word (kicker) in English comes from the verb of kick, that often means "beat", mostly - "kicking". And the kicker - is the one who makes the most of kick, that is, "Striker ball player" (football, etc.), "kicker" and in a figurative sense - "stubborn"? "An unexpected turn of events" and even "a trap". Life, too, sometimes have kicks, is not it?
Apparently, it is the figurative meaning and got into poker at the dawn of the last existence. Kicker - a kind of "trap", which can cater to even the most experienced players. And if we talk about the meaning of vocabulary, the "kicker" in
poker games is a synonym for "high card". Usually the word is used in two cases:
1) least significant combination. In the event that a showdown (showdown) it turns out that no one at the table do not even have a pair, the winner is the one with the highest card in the hands of dignity. And if there are two or more players - one who has the second-ranking card, etc. Finally, if all 5 cards of the same (of course, it happens very rarely), the pot is split in half;
2) the highest card not included in the combination. It is about the sequences that involve no more than four cards. This square, two pairs (and there, and there are involved 4 cards), set (3 cards) and a pair (2 cards). At concurrence of combinations of two players should also look at the highest card. And if at least one of them, it does not apply to the general, the pot goes to the holder of the highest rank card. In general, a square and two equal pairs to determine a winner look at one additional card when the total set - into two, with the pair - three. The remaining cards (if any) - are not included.
Of particular importance are the kickers in the poker variants with community cards - such as Texas Hold'em and Omaha. After all, in these games often at the board formed a powerful combination, and on the extent to which "pocket hand" players complement it depends on the outcome of the hand. The following table shows the calculation of
equity to a number of situations that differ from each other different quality combinations on the board, the number of players, initial Hand Player. From there, one can see clearly that the players who already have aces preflop, have a much better chance of winning than, for example, the owners of jacks or fives.