One pair is the weakest made hand in Texas Hold’em, but it is still good enough to beat any high-card combination.
By definition, a high card hand does not contain any pair or other made poker hands like straights and flushes.
As such, a high card ranks as the lowest possible hand in poker, and multiple players can have a high card at a showdown.
When this is the case, the players’ highest cards are compared to decide who wins, but when a player shows down any pair, they will win the pot against any high card out there.
If you are wondering how likely you are to make one pair or still have a high card on the flop, turn, and river, keep reading and learn more about the odds.
Why Does One Pair Beat High Card?
In poker, hands are ranked by the odds of making each. While making a single pair is not that difficult, most of your hands will still miss the flop completely, leaving you with nothing but a high card.
For that reason, one pair, which is a less frequent poker hand than a high card, ranks higher in the poker hand rankings.
With a high card being ranked the lowest on the overall poker hand rankings chart, one pair is not the only poker hand that beats it.
In fact, every made hand in poker is better than a high card, so if you can make any combination that’s listed on the poker hand rankings, you will win against any high card combination.
Here is a quick look at the odds of making one pair or still having a high card on the flop, turn, and river:
| Odds To | Two Pair | High Card |
| Have it Preflop | 5.88% | 94.22% |
| Make it on the Flop | 29% | 63% |
| Make it on the Turn | 12.8% | / |
| Make it on the River | 13% | / |
How Often Will You Make One Pair?
One pair is the most common made hand in poker, and it is the only one you can complete with just your two hole cards.
5.88% of all starting hands you get in Texas Hold’em Poker will be pocket pairs, giving you one pair before the flop has even been dealt.
Still, most of your starting hands will be unpaired, but 29% of them will turn into exactly one pair on the flop. If not, an additional 12.8% of poker hands will turn one pair, while another 13% will river one pair.
So, as you can see, making one pair by showdown is not all that difficult, but the exact value of that one pair will depend on many factors.
For starters, it will be very important which of the cards on the boards you have paired, as low pairs lose to high pairs, and in most poker hands, neither player will have more than one pair.
Since you can only beat a high card with the lowest of pairs, most pots in which you end up winning against such hands will not be particularly big.
Yet, the one pair vs. high card scenarios add up as they are so frequent, and playing the correct poker strategy will be very important for your long-term win rate.
How Often Will You Make a High Card Combination?
Aside from the 5.88% of starting hands that contain two cards of the same rank, all other starting hands will be nothing but a high card.
29% of flops will give you one pair, while other hands like two pairs, three of a kind, straights, and flushes, will also come along on the flop every once in a while.
However, you will end up with nothing but a high card some 63% of the time on the flop, which means you will need to improve further on the turn or the river to have an actual poker hand.
Of course, many flops will give you straight draws and flush draws depending on your starting hand and board structure, but those are not actual poker hands that outrank anything.
For example, if you have KQ and the flop is JT8, you are still losing to a pair of 2s until you improve to either a pair, a straight, or another made poker hand.
The likelihood that your hand will not improve on the turn and river depends on the board structure and the draws you have on the flop.
A hand with no draws will only improve to one pair 12.8% of the time on the turn and 13% of the time on the river, while it will remain high card the rest of the time.
Many high card hands have a lot of potential on the flop as they have a chance to make top pairs, straights, and flushes on later streets. On the river, however, unimproved high card hands will lose to any pair or better, which is why you should usually not put too many chips into the pot with nothing but high card on the river. Avoid this mistake when learning how to play poker, and you will do significantly better in the long run.