Poker
Boat (poker hands)
Boat is a poker term for a full house: a hand containing three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank.
- Also called
- Full house, full boat, full hand, tight
- Composition
- Three of a kind plus one pair (5 cards total)
- Ranking
- Below four of a kind, above a flush1
Key points
- Boat is slang for a full house, used across poker variants that rank five-card hands.2
- It beats a flush but loses to four of a kind in standard hand rankings.1
- The term appears in poker glossaries and rulebooks as an alternative name for full house.23
Common questions
Is boat a poker term?
Yes. Boat is a common slang term for a full house in poker. It appears in poker glossaries and is used by players to describe a hand with three of a kind and a pair.23
Where this term is used
Related terms
Poker
Check poker hands
Explains how to evaluate and compare any five-card poker hand.
Poker
Poker hand rankings
Lists all standard hands from highest to lowest, including boat.
Poker
Poker hands probability
Shows the odds of being dealt each hand, including a full house.
Poker
Poker hands quads
Covers four of a kind, the hand that beats a boat.
Poker
Omaha poker hands
Explains hand formation in Omaha, where boat rules still apply.
Poker
Full boat poker
Another name for a full house, synonymous with boat.
Sources
- List of poker hands en.wikipedia.org Provides the ranking position of a full house (below four of a kind, above a flush).
- Glossary of poker terms en.wikipedia.org Lists boat as slang for full house in the glossary of poker terms.
- Poker Rules - Pagat pagat.com Confirms boat as an alternative name for full house in poker rules.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.