{"id":2533636,"date":"2024-07-10T06:51:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T06:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?page_id=2533636"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:48:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:48:21","slug":"one-pair","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/one-pair\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is One Pair in Poker?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A one pair is the first \u201cmade\u201d hand in poker, coming right after a high card hand in terms of rankings. A one pair hand consists of two cards of the same ranking and three other cards of different rankings, referred to as kickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a very common hand, but it\u2019s not a very strong one, as it loses to every other made hand out there. Still, in <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/texas-holdem-rules\/\" title=\"How To Play Texas Hold\u2019em \u2013 Poker Rules &amp; Basics\">Texas Hold\u2019em<\/a>, one pair is often good enough to win you the pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Poker Hand<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Explanation<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Example<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#1. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/royal-flush\/\" title=\"What Is a Royal Flush in Poker?\">Royal Flush<\/a><\/td><td>Five highest cards of the same suit<\/td><td>AcKcQcJcTc<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#2. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/straight-flush\/\" title=\"What is a Straight Flush in Poker?\">Straight Flush<\/a><\/td><td>Any five consecutive cards of the same suit<\/td><td>JcTc9c8c7c<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#3. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/four-of-a-kind\/\" title=\"What Is a Four of a Kind in Poker?\">Four of a Kind<\/a><\/td><td>Four cards of the same rank<\/td><td>4c4s4d4hJc<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#4. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/full-house\/\" title=\"What Is a Full House in Poker?\">Full House<\/a><\/td><td>Three cards of one rank + two cards of another rank<\/td><td>3c3s3d7h7c<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#5. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/flush\/\" title=\"What Is a Flush in Poker?\">Flush<\/a><\/td><td>Five cards of the same suit<\/td><td>KdJd7d5d3d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#6. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/straight\/\" title=\"What Is a Straight in Poker?\">Straight<\/a><\/td><td>Five consecutive cards in different suits<\/td><td>6s5s4d3d2h<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#7. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/three-of-a-kind\/\" title=\"What Is Three of a Kind in Poker?\">Three of a Kind<\/a><\/td><td>Three cards of the same rank<\/td><td>7c7h7d2hJ2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#8. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/two-pairs\/\" title=\"What Are Two Pairs in Poker?\">Two Pairs<\/a><\/td><td>Two cards of one rank + two cards of another rank<\/td><td>QcQs2c2hJs<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">#9. One Pair<\/mark><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">Two cards of the same rank<\/mark><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">8h8sAcKs5d<\/mark><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>#10. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/high-card\/\" title=\"What is a High Card in Poker?\">High Card<\/a><\/td><td>Any other hand<\/td><td>AcQdJs4h3c<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples of One Pair Poker Hand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many different ways to make a one pair hand in poker, and the hand itself is always named after the actual pair, regardless of the kickers. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As Ah Kd Js 5h \u2013 a pair of Aces<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Qd Qc 9c 7c 6c \u2013 a pair of Queens<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>9s 9h 5s 4s 3d \u2013 a pair of Nines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2s 2c Ad Kd Qh \u2013 a pair of Twos or a pair of Deuces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to determining the winner, if two players have a one pair hand, the pot always goes to the one showing a higher pair. For example, a pair of Kings always beats a pair of Jacks, regardless of other cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If, however, two or more players have the exact same pair, kickers (side cards) come into play. In this scenario, a player holding the highest kicker wins. For example, Qs Qd Td 4s 3c beats Qc Qh 9h 8h 7s. In the event the highest kickers are of the same rank, the second-highest kickers are compared in the same fashion, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Beats One Pair in Poker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A one pair only beats a high card, i.e. the only hand it is stronger than is a hand consisting of five completely unmatched cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\" title=\"Poker Hand Rankings &amp; The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Hands\">hand rankings<\/a>, one pair is only the ninth-best hand, and it loses to every other made hand in existence, namely two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush, and, of course, Royal Flush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Texas Hold\u2019em and other community card games, a top pair is the best possible single-pair hand, and it beats all other possible one pair hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One Pair Probabilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As already mentioned, one pair is one of the most common hands in poker, and in Texas Hold\u2019em, it constitutes about half of all hands. The odds of being dealt any one pair in a hand of five cards are 49.9%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Texas Hold\u2019em, these are your odds of making a one pair hand on different streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Street<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Odds<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Making one pair hand with all 5 cards on the board<\/td><td>42.23%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pairing one card from your hand on the flop<\/td><td>28.6%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>From flop to turn<\/td><td>12.77%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>From turn to river<\/td><td>13.04%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A pair isn\u2019t a particularly exciting poker hand, but here are a few more facts relating to a one pair hand that you may find interesting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The odds of flopping a set (three of a kind) when holding a pocket pair are 11.8%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll always flop a top pair when you flop a pair with AK<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you miss the flop, the odds of improving to one pair by the river are 24%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Play One Pair in Poker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When learning <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/\" title=\"How to Play Poker: Winning Strategy for Beginners\">how to play poker<\/a>, you will see that one pair can be good enough to win you the pot, but you should always approach it carefully. When you don\u2019t have at least a top pair, your goal should be to get to the showdown as cheap as possible and get out of the pot if there is a lot of betting going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In tournaments, where stacks are often shallower, it\u2019s fine to play your top pair hands quickly and not allow your opponents to catch up for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should also be mindful of your kicker any time you only have one pair. It is quite often the case that the kicker is used to determine a winner between two players that have the same top pair, so you should value one pair with the best kicker much higher than a pair with a smaller kicker, and it should influence your <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-strategy-tips\/\" title=\"Poker Strategy 101 \u2013 How to Win in Poker More Often\">poker strategy<\/a> in any given hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq uagb-faq__outer-wrap uagb-block-927553e5 uagb-faq-icon-row uagb-faq-layout-accordion uagb-faq-expand-first-false uagb-faq-inactive-other-true uagb-faq__wrap uagb-buttons-layout-wrap uagb-faq-equal-height     \" data-faqtoggle=\"true\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-e01e997a \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What is a one pair hand in poker?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>A pair in poker is a hand consisting of two cards of the same ranking and three unrelated cards of different rankings, such as Kh Kd 7s 8d 3c (a pair of Kings).<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-65390265 \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What beats a one pair?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>All hands apart from a high card beat one pair. This is one of the weakest hands in poker hand rankings, and it loses to two pair, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush, and Royal Flush.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-ba4f4482 \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What does a one pair beat?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>A one pair beats only a high card hand. Other than this, it beats other one-pair hands that are of lower ranking and other pairs of the same ranking with a lower kicker.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-f8f3f901 \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>How often will you make one pair?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>A one pair is an extremely common poker hand. You\u2019ll get one pair in a five-card poker hand about 49.9% of the time.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-2b88464b \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"uagb-question\"><em>What happens when two players have one pair?<\/em><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p>If two players have a one pair hand, the player with the higher ranking pair wins. If both players have the same one pair, the one with the best kicker (side card) wins the pot.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A one pair is the first \u201cmade\u201d hand in poker, coming right after a high card hand in terms of rankings. A one pair hand consists of two cards of the same ranking and three [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":0,"parent":2532176,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"right-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2533636","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"author_image":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tadas Peckaitis","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/tadas-peckaitisgmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A one pair is the first \u201cmade\u201d hand in poker, coming right after a high card hand in terms of rankings. A one pair hand consists of two cards of the same ranking and three [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2533636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2533636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2533636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2533766,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2533636\/revisions\/2533766"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2532176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2533636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}