Whenever there is a pair on board, it is possible that someone may have quads, except in the following situation.
| Hole Cards | Board Cards |
|
|
Here you can be sure that no-one has quad Nines. Why? Because you have a Nine in your own hand! In this instance you know that the best possible hand anyone could have is a pair of pocket Jacks for Jacks full of Nines: J-J-J-9-9.
| Hole Cards | Board Cards |
|
|
Whenever there is neither a pair on board nor three of the same suit, it is usually possible that someone has made a straight. In this hand anyone holding J-9 in their hand can make the nut straight with J-10-9-8-7.
Sometimes the board is configured in such a way that no-one can even make a straight. For example:
| Hole Cards | Board Cards |
|
|
|
No straights are possible on this board, so the best possible hand is a set of Kings (trip Kings). If you had pocket Kings in your hand, you could combine them with the King on board to make the nut hand of K-K-K-Q-8.
