A straight is a far superior hand to two pairs in all poker variations, and any straight will beat any two pair combo in a poker hand.
As all poker hands are ranked by the likelihood of making them, two pairs is one of the lowest-ranked poker hands, with only one pair and high card being below it in the poker hand rankings chart.
On the other hand, a straight sits two steps higher on the chart, as the likelihood of making a straight with any random starting hand is significantly lower.
If you want to learn how to play poker, knowing the odds of making different poker hands and beating other hands is important, which is why you will do well to keep on reading this article.
We are going to explain how likely you are to make a straight or two pair with various starting hands and why a straight is superior to two pairs in poker games like Texas Hold’em.
Why Does a Straight Beat Two Pair?
As we mentioned in the intro, a straight is simply a far less common hand than two pairs, which is why it is ranked higher in the poker hand rankings.
Straights are relatively powerful poker hands, beating all one pair, two pairs, and three-of-a-kind combos while losing only to flushes and better.
Two pair, on the other hand, is a fairly common poker hand, and it only beats one pair or high card hands. However, it is worth noting that many poker hands end up with two pair going up against other two pair, in which case the combo with the higher pair wins the hand.
When two pair and a straight collide, the straight comes out ahead, unless two pair improves further into a full house, which happens about 8% of the time.
Here is a quick look at the odds of making a straight or two pair on the flop, turn, and river in a poker hand:
| Chances To | Straight | Two Pair |
| Make it on the Flop | 0% – 1.29% | 2.02% |
| Make it on the Turn | 8.5% – 17% | 6.4% |
| Make it on the River | 8.7% – 17.4% | 6.5% |
How Often Will You Make a Straight?
A straight is a poker hand that can be made in many different ways, which is why the odds of making one can often vary quite a bit.
For starters, the odds of making a straight on the flop will be different with different starting hands. Connected cards without any gaps have the highest chances of flopping a straight at 1.29%, while completely disjointed cards have no chance of flopping a straight at all.
Yet, any hand can flop a straight draw, which occurs up to 26% of the time, again depending on how close your cards are to begin with.
Straight draws can come in the form of gutshot and open-ended straight draws, and the two will give you different numbers of outs to make your straight.
A gutshot straight draw gives you exactly four outs to a straight, which means you have an 8.5% chance to make a straight on the turn and an 8.7% chance to make it on the river.
If you flop a gutshot straight draw, you will have a combined chance of 17.2% to make a straight before the showdown.
On the other hand, open-ended straight draws are a lot more powerful, giving you as much as a 34.4% chance to make your straight on the turn or river.
Overall, straights are not as hard to come by as hands like flushes and full houses but are still rare enough to be considered among the stronger hands in the game of poker.
How Often Will You Make Two Pair?
If you play Texas Hold’em Poker, you will make two pairs quite often. The problem, however, is that two pairs simply aren’t the best hand as often as a straight or a flush would be.
First of all, two pair can lose to other two pair, especially if your pairs are on the lower side. Furthermore, two pair can lose to many other poker hands, including a straight.
Starting with an unpaired hand, you will make two pair on the flop just over 2% of the time, which means one in 50 random starting hands will turn into two pair with the first community cards.
Furthermore, if you make a single pair on the flop, you will have about a 6.4% chance to pair your other card on the turn, and a 6.5% chance to make two pair on the river.
Of course, starting with one pair on the flop, you will also be able to make three-of-a-kind on the turn and river, as well as improve to other poker hands, such as straights and flushes, depending on board structure.
All said and done, you will make two pairs at the poker table quite often, but make sure to remember that making two pairs does not guarantee you have the best hand, even on the flop, so there is no need to deviate from a solid poker strategy when you hit it.