In poker hand rankings, a four of a kind is beaten only by a straight flush and a royal flush. It beats all other hands, including a full house. Details:
- Four of a kind (quads) consists of four cards of the same rank plus a kicker. The kicker is only relevant if two players both have four of a kind of the same rank, in which case the highest kicker determines the winner. In standard play, this situation is rare, but it can occur when the board supplies the four-of-a-kind or when players hold kickers that decide the tie [web results indicate four of a kind ranks just below straight flush and royal flush, and beats full houses and lower hands].
- The two hands that beat four of a kind are:
- Straight flush (including royal flush, which is the ace-high straight flush).
- Four of a kind does beat a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card hands.
If you’d like, I can tailor this to a specific variant (Texas Hold’em vs. Omaha) or explain with examples of how kickers determine ties.
