Who Wins?

[joshm]

I was playing texas holdem last night. We could not decide who won so we split the pot. Who should have won?

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[Sean_in_NJ]

Chop. Both play the board.

[joshm]

I was told by a friend that 8,J would win because it has the higher straight... 8,9,10,J,Q ... but can't both players have this because it is on the community cards? If both play the board, wouldn't the kicker card (Ace) win? I assume the J,J and 8,8 pair are irrelevant because of the straight? Sorry but i'm still finding this confusing.

[joshm]

Nevermind, I understand now. So the split pot was the right thing to do. Thanks.

[robvleugel88]

You both choose the best 5 cards, in this case the community cards.
If one of you had a K it wouldnt be a split pot since 9,10,J,Q,K would be higher than 8,9,10,J,Q.

There is no such thing as kickers when both players have either a full house, straight or straight/royal flush.