A pair in poker is a hand containing two cards of the same rank and three other unrelated cards. This is the weakest possible made hand, according to official poker hand rankings, that’s ahead only of a high card.
For example, if you have K-9 and the flop comes 9-5-2, you’ll have a pair of nines (two nines) with a king kicker.
Although a pair is the weakest made hand in Texas Hold’em, it is often good enough to win you a pot, especially when it is a top (best possible) pair with a strong kicker or an overpair. It is worth noticing that pocket pairs are also strong starting hands and can win you big pots.
When starting with a random unpaired hand, your chances of flopping a pair in Hold’em are about 29%. Learn more about one pair hands.
