THE TWO PAIRS POKER HAND EXPLAINED

A two pair hand occupies the lowest rungs of the ladder when it comes to the poker hand rankings, so why exactly should it deserve a mention?

You’ll be surprised to know that a two pair has the potential to be a winning hand very often, if played correctly.

Poker players who know how to play such hands often win the pot, and you’ll very rarely hear them complain about being dealt a two pairs!

In an effort to make you part of that demographic, we’ve decided to dedicate an entire article to the two pair hand — how exactly is it made, how does it rank and how exactly should it be played? Stick around to find out.

What is a two pair in poker?

A two pair is a very straightforward five-card hand, since it is just made up of two sets of pairs, whereby a pair consists of two cards of the same rank.

Here’s an example: 4d, 4s, 10d, 10c, Jc would make a two pair, whereby we have one pair of 4 and one pair of 10s, with the Jc being the high card.

In Texas hold’em or any other poker game that uses traditional poker hand rankings, a two pair is among the weakest poker hands, but it can still prevail when stronger hands are nowhere to be found.

How two pairs work in poker

As we’ve mentioned above, you’ll need two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank to make a two pair hand, while the fifth card can be irrelevant.

Do note that four cards of identical rank are not classified as a two pair (although that would technically still be correct), since that would make it a four of a kind.

What happens if two players make a two pair? Who would win in that case? That’s a very easy problem to solve.

Simply put, the highest-ranking pair wins. Let’s take another example.

Let’s say that one poker player holds Jc, Jd, 7c, 7d, 3d while another player holds 9d, 9s, 8s, 8c, Jd.

Although both players hold a two pair, the first player wins since theirs is a higher pair (Jacks) than that of the second player, who holds a lower pair (9s).

Even though both players hold two pair hands, the highest pair wins — in this case, the pair of Jacks outranks the pair of 9s.

If both players have the same two pair, the second pair will decide the outcome.

For example, if Player A holds Jc, Jd, 7c, 7d, 3d and Player B holds Js, Jh, 10d, 10h, 5c, it is Player B who’ll be the winner, since their second pair (10s) is a higher pair than that of Player A (7s).

Now, let’s take one final example in which both players hold the same two pair: Player A holds Jc, Jd, 7c, 7d, Ad and Player B holds Js, Jh, 7h, 7s, Kc. That is the same hand, right? Not really!

While both hands can be thought of as the same five-card hand, they have a different kicker (Player A holds an Ace kicker while Player B holds a King kicker).

In this case, Player A wins since they hold the higher kicker.

How do two pairs rank in poker hand ranking against other hands?

The two pair is far from the best hand in the game — at least, in most poker casino games.

A poker game that defies this statement is Omaha Hi-Lo, where players can win the pot by forming the either strongest or lowest hand.

Shifting our attention back to Texas hold’em and other traditional poker variants, the two pair is considered quite a ‘low hand’ compared to the rest of the hands, since it only sits above the one pair.

Here’s how a two pair ranks in poker:

• Royal flush
• Straight flush
• Four of a kind
• Full house
• Flush
• Straight
• Three of a kind
• Two pair
• One pair
• High card

Poker hands that two pairs beats

While there aren’t many hands that a two pair beats, it can still be a vital hand fully capable of winning you the pot. The following are the hands that will be beaten by a two pair:

• One pair
• High card

Apart from standard high-card hands, a two-pair hand only beats a one pair hand.

With this in mind, it is definitely possible to win a pot through this hand, but you should keep note of what other players hold. Any hand better than a two pair (or simply better two pair hands) will beat it.

When it comes to misconceptions about poker hand rankings, we cannot avoid mentioning the assumption that forming two pairs is harder than forming a three of a kind.

That is not the case. A three of a kind beats a two pair since it is a marginally rarer hand. Just because a hand requires more cards to be made doesn’t mean that it is rarer than hands with fewer cards.

The scenario we’ve described in this section perfectly sums this up; a two pair (consisting of four cards) is not rarer than a three of a kind (which consists of three cards), despite the fact that it requires one more card to be made.

Poker hands that can beat a two pair

Should the community cards allow, many stronger hands can be made than just a two pair. Here are hands that will beat our esteemed two pair:

• Royal flush
• Straight flush
• Four of a kind
• Full house
• Flush
• Straight
• Three of a kind

As you can see, all these hands beat a two pair: a royal flush, straight flushes, four of a kind, full house, flushes, straight (anything from a Broadway straight to a seven high straight) and a three of a kind.

Seeing how low two pairs are ranked in conventional poker hand rankings, there’s not much you can do if you’ve made a two pair on a wet board, where strong poker hands are more than possible.

In this case, there’s not much you can do even if you hold two Aces or two Jacks. In the following section, we’ll give you a few pointers when playing with a two pair in poker.

How to play a Two pairs in Texas hold ‘em

With five community cards on the board for players to use, a two pair can be a tricky hand to play with.

Nevertheless, there are some things you can keep in mind to win the pot with such a hand.

• Don’t bother slow playing a pocket pair on a dry board. Making a two pair or better is very possible with a pocket pair as your hole cards. Feel free to play aggressively if you’ve got a high pair (10s or higher) pre-flop, since that might pay dividends later on.
• Know when stronger hands are made. Having an inkling about stronger hands being present should be something that every player must work on, but this might be glaringly obvious. If there are five cards on the board that can be used to make strong hands (such as Aces, Kings etc.) and players are betting big, you should know that you’ll be taking on more than a high card hand if you call. Fold before it’s too late!
• Practice makes perfect. Practice really does make perfect when it comes to partaking in online poker, so feel free to hop by the poker tables of HotSlots to refine your two pair-wielding hands! Newcomers can learn all about the hand rankings by playing poker at our tables, whereas seasoned players can partake in our several poker tournaments. Whether it’s a round of good-old Texas hold’em or a game of Pot-Limit Omaha, don’t miss the chance to impress at a poker game at our Casino!

Two pairs probabilities

Here are the odds of making a two pair during different streets in Texas hold’em.

CHART

ADVICE FOR PLAYING TWO PAIR POKER AT HOTSLOTS

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