Texas Holdem: Three of a Kind

Three of a Kind Interactive Tutorial

Three of a kind is a mighty fine hand, and pretty easy to play--you want to bet it and raise it in most cases.

Sets

A set is three of a kind using a pocket pair. We have discussed playing sets when we talked about pocket pairs.

To summarize, a set is a very strong hand which is very well disguised.

Trips

Trips are three of a kind using a pair on the board. For example,

Your Cards			The Board:

This is also a very strong hand, but not very well disguised. Your opponents will be wary that you hold a ten.

Trips are a very strong hand and your main worries are somebody holding a straight or a flush, both of which can beat you. Somebody holding a pocket pair could also have a fullhouse.

Kickers

You are slightly less worried about holding a bad kicker when you have trips, than when you have top pair. This is because there is only one more card in the deck that could also form trips (in the above example then ten of clubs is the card).

So bet your trips hard, even if your kicker isn't very good, but beware of anyone raising you.

Conclusion

Bet your three of a kind hard, especially if there is no flush or obvious straight possible.

Interactive Tutorial