What is Two Pair in Poker?
A Two Pair hand is a combination of five cards, where two are of the same rank, and another two are of another rank. The fifth card is not important (unless used as a "kicker" - a tiebreaker between two hands with the same two pairs). It is one of the most frequent winning poker hands.
Two Pair
What Does Two Pair Look Like?
As the name suggests, the hand is made out of two pairs. Here are a few examples of Two Pair:
- A
, A
, Q
, Q, 5
- J, J, 8, 8, A
- 9, 9, 5, 5, K
- 6, 6, 2, 2, 10
, A
, Q
, Q
How Does Two Pair Rank?
Although a Two Pair hand is found in the lower part of the poker hand rankings, it is one of the most frequent combinations for winning in Texas Hold'em. It ranks under Three of a Kind and above One Pair.
What Beats a Two Pair?
Rank | Hand Names | Example | Hand Description |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
| 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace all in the same suit. | |
2 |
| Five cards in a row, all in the same suit. | |
3 |
| The same card in each of the four suits. | |
4 |
| A pair plus three of a kind in the same hand. | |
5 |
| Five cards, all in one suit, but not in numerical order. | |
6 |
| Five cards in numerical order, but not of the same suit. | |
7 |
| Three of one card and two non-paired cards. | |
8 |
| Two different pairings or sets of the same card in one hand. | |
9 |
| One pairing of the same card. | |
10 |
| No matching cards |
A Two Pair hand is ranked based on the value of the highest pair in the hand. For example, J-J-2-2-5 beats 10-10-9-9-A. In case two or more players have the same high pair, the tie is broken by the rank of the second pair. If this is still a tie, the fifth card (the "kicker") determines the winning hand.
How Should You Play Two Pair in Hold’em?
A Two Pair is a good opportunity to win some chips if you play it well, but every situation is likely to be different so you need to keep your wits about you.
Two pair is never going to be the best possible hand - also known as "the nuts" - because if anyone has a pocket pair a set is always possible, and Three of a Kind beats Two Pair every time.
However, on many boards Two Pair is likely to be a strong hand, especially if there are no Straight or Flush possibilities. One thing to watch out for is that when you hold two low pairs, you may be vulnerable to the board pairing.
For example, imagine you have 7-5 on a board of 7-5-9-J, and are up against A-A. If a J or a 9 were to fall on the river, you would lose to a higher Two Pair.
Two Pair Probabilities
Two Pair is a hand comes up frequently in Texas Hold'em, and often wins pots. The probability is higher than the cumulative probability of a stronger hand being formed. As a result, Two Pair can be very valuable.
Number of ways to make the hand (not including different suits) | Number of ways to make the hand (including different suits) | Odds of getting Two Pair | Probability of getting Two Pair |
|---|---|---|---|
858 | 123,552 | 1 / 20.0 | 4.7539% |
The odds of being dealt Two Pair on the flop is only the tip of the iceberg. For more on odds, including the probability of winning any given hand on the flop, turn, and/or river, have a play with our poker odds calculator.