Article updated 15 February 2025
Some hands in poker stand out – those premium hands that just don’t seem to come along very often and, hence, begging the question –
"What are the odds of getting Quads in poker?"
Depending on the game, Quads in poker can be extremely rare. Because of the strength of this hand, players have a chance to win some big pots—provided that they get some action.
Keep reading to learn all about Quads in poker, how to use this powerful hand in Texas Hold’em, the odds of Quads in poker, and more.
What Are Quads in Poker?
As the name implies, “Quads” is the name given to a hand in which a player receives four-of-a-kind. This hand is powerful– one of the best in poker.
The examples below show some common ways a player might make Quads in Texas Hold’em poker:
- Board: Q♣️Q♦️5♥️5♦️2♠️
- Hand 1: Q♥️Q♠️
- Hand 2: 5♣️5♠️
This scenario seldom happens in Hold’em. However, both players make quads using pocket pairs in the above example. In situations where two players make Quads, the winner is determined by who holds the highest-ranked Quads.
Seeing as Quads vs Quads is so unlikely, some casinos offer a bad beat jackpot where the loser and often other players at the table receive a huge payout from the casino (more on that below).
A slightly more common scenario for two players making Quads occurs when the Quads appear solely on the board, as in the example below.
- Board: Q♥️Q♦️Q♠️5♦️Q♣️
- Hand 1: K♦️K♠️
- Hand 2: A♠️4♣️
The above shows the concept of “counterfeiting”. Hand 1 has a strong full house on the turn, Queens full of Kings. Once the fourth Queen appears on the river, Hand 1 can no longer use the pocket pair of Kings to construct their best hand.
Hand 1 must use Four-of-a-Find Queens since this is the strongest possible hand they can make.
This result leaves room for one kicker, so Hand 1 uses one King as the kicker. Although Hand 2 was more or less total garbage on the turn, it now improves to the best hand by the river.
It makes Quad Kings with an Ace Kicker beating Hand 1’s King kicker. Hand 1 usually feels somewhat hard done by, so this scenario is called “ getting counterfeited” in poker lingo.
The above two hands are pretty unlikely.
Here’s a more common example of how a player might get Quads using a pocket pair.
- Board: 5♥️K♦️Q♠️5♦️2♣️
- Hand 1: 5♣️5♠️
- Hand 2: A♠️K♣️
The player with the first hand hit another five on the flop to make a set of fives. The player with Hand 2 is already in trouble on the flop, hitting top pair with top kicker. Hand 1 only gets better when the case five (the last in the deck) hits on the turn.
These quad fives have a chance to win a decent pot if the opponent doesn’t fold.
Example of Quads Used in a Sentence
Now that you know what quads are in poker, using the term in a casino or home poker game becomes much easier.
Here are some examples of how to use the term “Quads” at the poker table.
“I had a set on the flop but managed to make Quads by the river.”“Marie’s quad sevens were definitely enough to beat my pair of kings.”“I knew Tim had the best hand, but I wasn’t expecting him to be holding Quads.” |
What Are the Odds of Quads in Poker?
The odds of getting Quads in poker are long, so don’t expect to see this hand that often. The odds of hitting Quads in a poker hand are 4,164 to 1.
- That makes the probability of getting Quads at just 0.0256%.
- By comparison, the chance of hitting a pair on the flop is 32%.
- When holding a pocket pair, the odds of hitting a set are about 11.8%.
Landing that fourth card in the deck for Quads in poker is much more difficult.
What Beats Quads in Poker?
Knowing the rankings of hands is critical when it comes to playing poker. Those who don’t know poker hand rankings will be lost. Here’s a quick review:
Royal Flush –
This hand ranks best in poker and features 10 through Ace, all of the same suit, such as 10♠️J♠️Q♠️K♠️A♠️
Straight Flush –
A straight flush is five cards in a sequence, all of the same suit, such as 8♣️9♣️10♣️J♣️Q♣️.
Four-of-a-Kind (also known as Quads) –
As noted, this hand is four cards of the same rank, such as 4♥️4♣️4♦️4♠️.
Full House –
This poker hand consists of three cards of one kind and two of another, such as A♠️A♥️A♣️K♣️K♦️.
Flush –
This hand has five cards of the same suit, but not in a sequence, such as A♦️K♦️9♦️7♦️2♦️.
Straight –
This hand occurs when a player is dealt five cards in a sequence but not the same suit, such as 2♠️3♥️4♠️5♣️6♦️.
Three-of-a-Kind –
Holding three cards of the same rank
Two Pair –
Two Pair is when you have two different pairs, such as a pair of Aces and a pair of fours.
Pair –
Two cards of the same rank, such as two aces.
High Card –
This hand happens when a player doesn’t have a pair and plays the best five cards, such as a hand with Ace-high.
Notice that quads come under straight and royal flushes in the rankings. Those two hands are rarer than four-of-a-kind, but finding Quads is still very rare and offers the chance at some nice winnings.
A player with other solid hands, such as full house, would be in significant trouble against a player holding Quads.
How to Use Quads as Part of Your Poker Strategy
Any time we make Quads using one or more of our hole cards in Hold’em, we have the nuts. The only exception is making Quads with a pocket pair when there is a higher pair on the board (our opponent could theoretically make a better Quads) or if another player made a straight flush or royal flush.
This scenario is so unlikely that you should mostly ignore it or attribute it to wild poker variance unless we are playing with exceptionally deep stacks.
Even in Pot-Limit Omaha, Quads are an exceptionally strong holding and are almost always worth playing for stacks. One reason is that our opponent is unlikely to fold the nut full house (for example they hold JJxx on a J-10-10 board and we hold the 10-10xx).
Players must use at least one of their hole cards to make Quads in Omaha. Unlike Hold’em, it is impossible to make Quads playing the board since a player would only use one or none of their hole cards.
This action is against the rules in Omaha, where we must use exactly two of our hole cards).
Quads in a Bad Beat Jackpot
Quads often play a significant role in a casino’s bad beat jackpot. These promotions feature the house taking a small portion out of each cash game pot to build a prize pool jackpot on the side.
So, if you’re on the hunt for where to play poker in Vegas at a casino, choosing one with this offer could prove fruitful.
The jackpot is triggered when a premium hand is beaten by an even better hand.
The “loser” of the hand usually takes the more significant portion of the prize pool, with the winner taking a nice portion as well. Most casinos typically divide the rest of the jackpot among the remaining players at the table. Some properties even give a portion to all the cash game players at the tables at that time.
For example, a $1.7 million bad beat jackpot happened in September 2024 at the Playground Poker Club in Quebec, Canada.
The hand saw one player score quad nines while another player hit quad aces on the river.:
- The loser with quad nines won 40% of the jackpot for $640,004.
- And the winner grabbed 20% for $337,096.
- The other seven players at the table shared the remaining 20% for $48,156 each.
Catching Quads paid off in a big way for all players at the table.
Quads in Poker - Conclusion
Quads in poker occur when a player holds four cards of the same rank – such as four kings. This hand is one of the best in poker, but the chances of getting Quads in poker are very low. Players have the real potential to win a sizable pot when catching this hand.
While Quads in poker can lose to hands like a straight flush or a royal flush, this scenario would be extremely rare – unlike in poker movies. It would even trigger a bad beat jackpot in some casino cash games.
Most players would love to receive Quads, which is almost always a winning hand at the poker table.
See Also
High Hand, Two Pair, Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, Straight Flush, Royal Flush, Hold’em, Omaha, Counterfeit, Effective Stacks, Kicker
