What Is a Tie in Poker? Meaning & Rules

In poker, when two or more players hold the same hand, kickers are used to determine the winner. However, if all relevant cards are identical, the hand results in a poker tie, and the pot is split evenly.

In some cases, players have the exact same hand, including identical kickers. When this happens, the result is a tie in poker, and the pot is split evenly among the players. While most poker ties involve two players, it's also possible for three or more players to tie for a pot in games like Texas Hold’em or Omaha.

Commonly used alternative words for tie include “split” and “chop”.

Example of a tie in poker used in a sentence → The Hold’em board read T-J-Q-K-A, so every player tied in poker, leading to a split pot.

How a Tie in Poker Affects Strategy & Payouts

Some board textures make a poker tie more likely. For example, if the board runs out T♠ J♠ Q♥ K♠ A♦, every player in the hand automatically ties in poker since the best possible hand is already on the board.

See Also 

Split, Split Pot, Board, Kicker, Hand Rankings

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