How important are two pairs in poker exactly? Well, they are important enough to warrant an EnergyCasino Blog post, so they must be pretty important! Although sitting quite low in the hierarchy of poker hands, a two-pair hand can win more hands than it loses, if played correctly.
On a dry board, a two pair can be the diamond in the rough that can catch your opponent on the wrong foot, thus earning you the pot.
Have you warmed up to the idea of a two pair yet?
If that’s the case, then you’ll really want to have a look at the contents of this post, where we’ll explain the definition of a two pair, the chances of drawing one in each street and what tips you should keep in mind when playing with a two pair.
WHAT IS A TWO PAIR?
The two pair is quite a formidable hand. To make this hand, you must have two pairs — where each pair consists of two cards of the same rank. The suit of the cards does not matter in this case.
In the case where two players hold a two pair, the winner will be decided by the highest hand. So, for example, Kings will trump Jacks.
Here are examples of two pair cards:
Two Pair (10 – 10 and 3 – 3)
Two Pair (A – A and 8 – 8)
The top two-pair holding would consist of two aces and two Kings, at least, in the traditional version of the game.
A two pair carries some weight in the game, but in terms of position, it is weaker compared to a flush or a house (including any straight variety).
However, the value of making a two pair shouldn’t be underestimated.
ODDS OF MAKING A TWO PAIR OUT OF A 52-CARD DECK
You have a 4.7359% chance of drawing a pair from a 52-card deck stand at 4.7539% or to be more exact, a 20/1 shot of not making this hand.
Note that there are 858 ways to form a two pair. With suits combinations included, the total number of ways to make two-pair hands climbs to 123,552.
As you will see in texas hold’em, the chances of making a two pair increase dramatically.
ODDS OF GETTING A TWO PAIR IN TEXAS HOLD’EM
To win at Texas Hold’Em, you must form the best five-card hand from a possible seven cards, and the probability of making a pair on the board is 23.5%.
In the next section, we will outline how a pair will help you take more from the pot when competing against more players. We will also show how to make successful hands from the flop to the river.
ODDS OF HITTING A TWO PAIR ON THE FLOP
The two pair can be a strong hand, so here’s how we figure things out:
If you had any of the 1,248 unpaired starting hands, the chances of getting a pair from the flop = 2.02%.
But flopping with an unpaired starting hand increases to 4.1%.
ODDS OF HITTING A TWO PAIR ON TURN
Things get more interesting at the turn or second hand. We can calculate the probability of making a one pair as follows:
3/47 = 0.0638 or 6.4% approximately.
For a top two pair, this would work out as 5/47 = 0.1064 or 10.6%.
ODDS OF HITTING A TWO PAIR ON RIVER
At the river, the bottom two pair can be calculated as follows:
3/47 which equals 0.0638% or 6.4% roughly.
To work out the chances of hitting on the flop to the river, we need to work out the probability of not hitting a two pair on the river.
This works out at 43/46 which equals 0.8751 or roughly 88%.
So, the probability of making a bet and hitting with a starting hand from the flop to the river would be 12%.
IMPLIED ODDS OF A TWO PAIR
A top pair on the first hand will generally carry the best implied chances, but they can be affected by the board texture.
These hands won’t carry the same value as a straight or other flushes, but as we have seen, some two pair hands rank better than others.
A two pair wins against a one pair and a high card, but to make a two pair, you might need to stick around for more than just the flop.
Two pair holdings are usually made when many cards have been dealt. This usually happens by the river, but it can definitely happen by the flop.
When it comes to its odds of beating other hands, a two pair will lose out to most of the others.
Even as much as a random three of a kind will beat this hand, so make a note of this whenever you’re dealt a two pair.
For example, a holding of J – J – 10 – 10 – 2 will beat 10 – 10 – 7 – 5 – 3, seeing as the former is a two pair while the latter is simply a one pair.
TWO PAIR TIPS
To make a two pair more often playing poker, check out our tips:
- Analyse the flop – You can work out your position on the table and find out how your hand compares with playing against other players.
- Don’t call the blinds pre-flop: A good example of this would be with a pair of 10s without raising. Your opponent may cotton onto this tactic, so be cautious. Analyse your position and act accordingly.
- Be very cautious with a two pair: A two pair only beats a pair (and a simple high card). Be mindful of a possible three of a kind, which could see the strength of your two-pair holding evaporate before your eyes.
- Practice makes perfect – Practice really does make perfect when it comes to this playing this hand, so feel free to hop by the tables of EnergyCasino to refine your two-pair-wielding hands!
With a selection of the finest games on the market, you are free to test out the odds of making a two pair as much as you want — demo modes included!
TWO PAIR STAGES PROBABILITY IN TEXAS HOLDEM
- Flopping with an unpaired starting hand 2.02%
- Hitting Two Pair to turn 6.4%
- Hitting Two Pair to river 12%