Does a full house beat three of a kind?

A full house is three of a kind with a pair attached, so by definition it beats plain three of a kind. Even a small boat like fours full of nines beats a set of kings. The pair that turns trips into a full house is what makes the difference.

On a board of 4♠ 9♣ 9♦ 2♥ K♣, one player holds 9♠ 8♠ for three nines with a king kicker and the other holds 4♦ 4♥ for fours full of nines. Trips with a decent kicker is usually the best hand here, but the small pocket pair matched the board, and the full house wins.

Paired boards produce this matchup constantly, and it is a hard one to escape. Any pocket pair that matched a board card, and any hole card that pairs the other board card, makes a full house against bare trips. When a player who checked the flop raises the river on a paired board, three of a kind should be ready to fold to big action.

Quick tip: A full house is trips plus a pair, so it always beats bare three of a kind.