What is a 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. It is one of the most frequent winning� poker hands.

What does Two Pair look like?

As the name would suggest, 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♣

How does a 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 a One Pair.

What Beats Full House?

Rank	Hand Names	Example	Hand Description
1	Royal Flush	10 J Q K A	10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace all in the same suit.
2	Straight Flush	4 5 6 7 8	Five cards in a row, all in the same suit.
3	Four of a Kind	10 7 7 7 7	The same card in each of the four suits.
4	Full House	K K K J J	A pair plus three of a kind in the same hand.
5	Flush	6 8 Q 3 10	Five cards, all in one suit, but not in numerical order.
6	Straight	10 9 8 7 6	Five cards in numerical order, but not of the same suit.
7	Three of a Kind	2 J K K K	Three of one card and two non-paired cards.
8	Two Pair	Q 4 4 A A	Two different pairings or sets of the same card in one hand.
9	One Pair	7 8 Q 5 5	One pairing of the same card.
10	High Card	2 3 7 Q K	No matching cards.

A Two Pair 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 determines the winning hand.

How should you play Two Pair in Hold’em?

A Two Pair is an opportunity to win some chips from a hand if you play it well. Rather than playing to a specific game situation, you can afford to play to an overall strategy.

Slow playing a Two Pair can work effectively because if you raise there’s not many hands you’ll be able to get value from.

If you’re involved in multi-way pots, then slow playing can become a little riskier because you are less likely to win if you check-call your way to a showdown.

Two Pair Probabilities

Two Pairs can be obtained quite often when playing Texas Hold'em. The probability is higher than the cumulative probability of a stronger hand being formed. As a result, a Two Pair can be very valuable.

Number of ways to draw the hand (not including different suits)	Number of ways to draw 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.

FAQS

A Two Pair is a five-card combination that includes two pairs. In other words, it has two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and a fifth card of a different rank than the first two. The suits of the cards are not important.

No, a Two Pair does not beat Three of Kind. A Two Pair only beats One Pair and a High Card.

Most poker hand values rank higher than Two Pairs. As a result, the hand in question will lose to Three of a Kind, a Straight, a Flush, a Full House, and a Straight Flush. You can learn all of the Texas Hold’em poker hands here.

Any Two Pair hand will beat any hand with just a One Pair, or with a High Card. Two Pairs can also win against another Two Pair hand if the rank is higher.

Yes, despite its position on the poker hands list, having Two Pairs can be very good in a game of Texas Hold'em. It beats most common hands and the probability of an opponent getting one of the best poker hands is fairly low.

A pair of Aces and pair of Kings is the strongest Two Pair combination a player can hold in Texas Hold’em. If two players share the same Two Pair, then the highest fifth card will be used to determine the winner. If both players share the same fifth card, then the pot is split.