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Tie Breaking
When two or more hand rankings are equal, the tie breaking rules are used.

Straight Flush - The flush with the highest ranking cards wins. Example: the hand J of Hearts, 10 of Hearts, 9 of Hearts, 8 of Hearts, and the 7 of Hearts beats the hand 10 of Diamonds, 9 of Diamonds, 8 of Diamonds, 7 of Diamonds, and the 6 of Diamonds.

Four of a Kind - The hand containing the higher ranking set of four cards wins. Example: the hand 8 of Clubs, 8 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 8 of Spades, and A of Spades beats the hand 6 of Clubs, 6 of Diamonds, 6 of Hearts, 6 of Spades, and K of Spades. In the event that there is more than one hand with the set of four cards being equally ranked the kicker is used to determine the winner. The hand with the highest ranking kicker wins. In the case were the kickers are equally ranked the hands are tied and the pot is split.

Full House - The hand containing the higher ranking set of three identical cards wins. Example: the hand 9 of Clubs, 9 of Hearts, 9 of Spades, 3 of Hearts, and 3 of Spades beats the hand 6 of Clubs, 6 of Hearts, 6 of Spades, A of Hearts, and A of Spades. When there are two or more hands having the same ranked set of three cards then the pair is used in deciding the winner. The player with the highest ranked pair wins the hand. If the pairs are of equal rank then you have a tie and the pot is split.

Flush - for multiple flush hands, the hand containing the highest ranking cards wins.
Example: the hand J of Spades, 10 of Spades, 8 of Spades, 4 of Spades, and 3 of Spades beats the hand 10 of Hearts, 8 of Hearts, 7 of Hearts, 3 of Hearts, and 2 of Hearts.
The first comparison is of the highest ranking cards, if they are of equal rank the next highest ranked cards are compared, if they are the same you look at the next highest ranked cards and continue until the winning hand is found by having a higher value card. If all the cards are ranked the same you have a tie and the pot is split between players.

Straight - With several straight hands the hand with the highest ranking card wins. Example: the hand Q of Diamonds, J of Diamonds, 10 of Spades, 9 of Hearts, and 8 of Spades beats the hand J of Hearts, 10 of Diamonds, 9 of Clubs, 8 of Hearts, and 7 of Diamonds. If the cards in both hands have identical rank it's a tie and the pot is split.

Three of a Kind - The hand with the highest ranked set of three cards wins. Example: the hand 5 of Clubs, 5 of Diamonds, 5 of Spades, 3 of Hearts, and K of Clubs beats the hand 4 of Clubs, 4 of Hearts, 4 of Spades, 8 of Hearts, and A of Spades. When there are two or more hands having the same ranked set of three cards then the kickers are used in deciding the winner. The player with the highest ranked kicker wins the hand. If the kickers are of equal rank then you have a tie and the pot is split.

Two Pair - The hand with the highest ranked pair of cards wins. Example: the hand 9 of Hearts, 9 of Spades, 2 of Clubs, 2 of Diamonds, and K of Hearts beats than the hand 8 of Hearts, 8 of Spades, 3 of Hearts, 3 of Spade, and K of Clubs. When the highest ranking pairs are identically ranked then the other (lower) ranking pairs are compared. Example: the hand 10 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, 5 of Clubs, 5 of Hearts, and K of Clubs beats the hand 10 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds, 4 of Hearts, 4 of Diamonds, and K of Hearts. If both pairs have identical rank the kicker in each hand is compared to determine the winner. If the kickers are the same, you have a tie, and the pot is split.

One Pair - The hand containing with the highest ranked pair wins. Example: the hand 9 of Diamonds, 9 of Hearts, K of Hearts, 9 of Clubs, and 5 of Hearts beats the hand 6 of Clubs, 6 of Spades, Q of Hearts, 5 of Clubs, and 2 of Diamonds. When the pairs are identically ranked the next highest cards are compared and the hand with the highest ranked card wins. In the event these cards are identical the text highest cards are compared and so on until one hand is shown to have a higher ranked card and is declared the winner. If both hands are identical the pot is split.

High Card - Here the highest ranking card in each hand is compared and the hand with the highest ranked card wins. When both high cards are identical the next highest card is compared and the hand with the highest ranked card wins. If these cards are the same then the process continues with the next highest cards until one hand is found to have a higher ranking card or the hands are seen to be equivalent. If both hands are identically ranked the pot is split.

Note that the cards suit is not generally used as a tie breaker. The only time suits are used for breaking a tie is when players are high-carding for button before tournament play starts. When using suits to break ties the alphabetical order of the suits is used in reverse order (lowest to highest ranking is Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades).