Odds of Getting a Full House in Poker
A full house is generally considered one of the strongest hands in poker. This hand is basically made up of the combination of three cards all having similar values and a single pair. This potent card combination can dismantle almost any other hand that gets on its way in the game of poker. It fills up the fourth highest slot in the poker hand rankings.
Among the ten viable card combinations in poker, there are only three other hands that are considered higher than a full house. This hand just cannot defeat a four-of-a-kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush. There is no cause for concern here because a full house is much easier to acquire than the previous three more valuable hands.
Notwithstanding its limitations, a full house can really be a very good hand. With the rarity of the three higher valued card combinations, it is almost unbeatable on top of the poker table. More often than not, players who can get a full house would win the games. This outstanding hand is just simply hard to beat in a tough game like poker.
A full house can easily beat all the lower card combinations in the game. No pair/high card, one pair, and two pair card combinations are simply powerless against it. The same is also true for a three-of-kind, a straight, and a flush. With the power of this hand, it is really hard to imagine how great and dominating this poker hand can be.
There is a basic commonality that can be observed upon analyzing some of the mathematical aspects of poker. Similarities are pretty much evident when observing each poker hand's odds, frequency, as well as probability. The calculations show that these aspects seem to increase as the value of the hands goes lower. At the same time, the same aspects seem to decrease as the value of the hands goes higher.
Counting all the possible combinations that will make this poker hand, there are a total of 3,744 potential full houses in a normal 52-card deck. This frequency is pretty high compared to a four-of-a-kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush. However, it is pretty low compared to a three-of-a-kind, a two pair, and especially to a no pair/high card.
The probability of getting a full house is precisely measured at 0.144 percent. Players may see the chances of getting this hand as pretty bleak, but once they get their hands into it they are guaranteed to win almost any game. The odds of getting this strong hand are set at 694: 1.