Two Pair Vs Two Pair Texas Holdem

1. Does A 3 Pair Beat A 2 Pair
2. Two Pair Vs Two Pair Texas Holdem Tournaments
3. Which Is Correct 2 Pair Or 2 Pairs
4. Texas Holdem Two Pair Vs Two Pair
5. 2 Pair Vs 2 Pair Poker

Unlike flopping Two Pair, the Two Pair plus odds, do change based on the type of hand. AKo to flop 2 Pair plus = 3.8%. 9Ts to flop 2 Pair plus = 5.6%. Q3s to flop 2 Pair plus – 4.31%. We can see that suited connected type holdings are typically in the best position to make Two Pair plus with a high frequency.

If two or more players hold two pair hands, the player with the highest pair wins. If each player has the same high pair the player with the highest second pair wins. When two or more players have the same high hand of a pair, or three of a kind, or something similar, the rest of each player’s hand is considered. If you ever wanted to know some of the odds and probabilities of Texas hold'em poker, from the chances of flopping a flush (0.8%) or set (12%) to the odds of an overcard coming on the flop when.

1. Three of a Kind vs. It might sound crazy that, say, three 2’s will beat a Pair of Aces and a Pair of Kings – but it’s not. The odds of getting any two pairs are actually 20:1. In a game of poker with a deck of 52 playing cards, the cumulative probability of this happening is 7.62%.
2. Two players are all in pre-flop, hands on their backs. As you might have guess, both hands are basically even odds to win - ie 50/50, or that of a coin flip. The most common 'flip' situation you'll see (or more likely be in) is the classic pair vs. Eg AK vs 99 or AJ vs 77.

In this lesson we’re going to run through a number of heads-up match-ups that will help give you an idea of where you stand in a variety of pre-flop situations when playing hold’em. Be aware that we’re only going to focus on individual hand match-ups. When playing hold’em it’s essential that you put your opponent on a range of hands, rather than specific holdings. However, knowing the odds of common pre-flop match-ups is a good starting point. Pick out and study what will help you. While it’s not essential that these statistics be committed to memory, it won’t hurt you if you do.

Let’s start by looking at hand match-ups when holding a pair:

Pair vs. Pair

The higher pair is an 80 percent favourite. We can get very technical and highlight the fact that if the underpair didn’t have any clean suits and/or the maximum number of straight outs then the high pair’s equity would increases by one or two percent.

Pair vs. Overcards

This is the classic coin flip hand that you’ll see many times late in tournaments with one player being all-in. The term coin flip indicates an even money situation which is really a 55 to 45 percent situation, as the pair is a slight favourite.

Pair vs. Undercards

In this situation the pair is normally about a 5-to-1 favourite and can vary depending on whether the two undercards are suited and/or connectors.

Pair vs. Overcard and an undercard

The pair is about a 70 percent favourite. Another example of this holding would be J-J against A-9. The underdog non-paired hand has three outs while the favourite has redraws.

Pair vs. Overcard and one of that pair

The classic example of this situation is the confrontation between a pair of cowboys and big slick. The A-K has three outs and it becomes a 70-30 percent situation or a 2.3-to-1 dog for the cowboys. This is a far cry from the next situation where even though one of the pair is matched the other card is lower.

Pair vs. Undercard and one of that pair

The non pair has to hit its undercard twice or make a straight or flush to prevail. The pair is better than a 90 percent favourite or slightly better than 10-to-1 odds. I’ll take those odds anytime.

Pair vs. Lower suited connectors

You see this match-up late in tournaments when a player is getting desperate and pushes all-in with middle suited connectors. A hand such as Q-Q against 7-6 suited would be a prime example. The pair is a strong favourite to win.

Pair vs. Higher suited connectors

Here is the real coin flip situation. A pair of eights heads-up against a suited Q-J is a fifty-fifty proposition. The higher suited cards would have an edge against a lower pair, such as 2’s or 3’s, since the board itself can sometimes destroy little pairs.

Common Pre-Flop Match-Ups (Non Pairs)

The following heads-up confrontations contain no pairs.

Two high cards vs. Two undercards

The two higher cards are usually a 65% favourite to win, but it can vary depending on whether any of the cards are suited and/or connectors.

High card, low card vs. Two middle cards

In this match-up the high card gives it the edge. But it’s only a marginal winner, approximately 57% to the hand containing the high card.

High card, middle card vs. Second highest, low card

The edge is increased by around 5% when the low card becomes the third highest card, as shown in this example, which gives approx 62% to 38% for high card/middle card combination.

High card, same card vs. Same card, low card

In this example the A-J is in a very strong position. If we discount any flush or straight possibilities, it only leaves the player holding J-8 with three outs (the three remaining 8’s).

Same high card, high kicker vs. Same card, low kicker

The high kicker gives this hand a fairly big edge. It’s very common for A-K run into A-Q, A-J, and lower, and it’s why Ace-King is such a powerful hand, particularly at the business end of no-limit hold’em tournaments when people move all-in with any sort of Ace.

Statistical Variations

For any math maniacs reading this who do not find these odds precise enough, I acknowledge that the math is rounded and for the most part does not take into account the possibilities of ties and back door straights and flushes. What players need to be equipped with is the general statistical match-up – not the fact that in the example of a pair of eights against a suited Q-J the percents are exactly 50.61 for the eights to 48.99 for the suited connectors with the balance going to potential ties. I call that a fifty-fifty proposition.

Of greater importance than quibbling over tenths of a percent is the fact that in most heads-up confrontations you can never be a prohibitive underdog. That is one reason why poker is so challenging and fun. Of course, while true, I’m not attempting to embolden the reader to ignore the odds and become a maniac. Math is the underpinning of poker and if you regularly get your money into the middle with the worst of it you will go broke.

One statistic that hasn’t been mentioned, and it’s one that I particularly like is this – the odds of both players being dealt Aces when playing heads up (one on one) is 270,724-to-1. It’s my favourite statistic because it provides me with almost total confidence when I’m playing heads up and receive pocket Aces that I’m the boss! That confident feeling lasts right up to the river when my Aces get cracked by some rotten piece of cheese which my opponent elected to play. As mentioned already, rarely are you a prohibitive underdog – so remember that to keep those losing hands in perspective.

By Tom 'TIME' Leonard

Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.

If you are interested to get the best rakeback deals and private promotions on poker sites head on to PokerPro website (PS: there are plenty of options to choose from also for the USA players).

A common confusion for new players is to determine a winning hand at showdown. Things can get complicated very fast if 2 players have two pairs at showdown or some other same ranking hand. Luckily for you, I will show you many different scenarios, so next time you can be sure who wins.

Who wins if both players have 2 pairs? A person with a higher 2 pairs wins. In the case that both players have the same 2 pairs, then the one with the highest kicker wins. If 2 pairs and the kicker are the same, then the pot gets split.

Playing high cards will help you be on the winning side more often when both you and your opponent have two pairs.

Yes, you will still win with bottom two pair, since you are beating all the top pairs and overpairs, that are value betting multiple streets. But to be the winner of the truly huge pots, you will need to have higher two pairs than the opponent more often.

Some players start folding top pairs and overpairs when faced with multiple streets of value. But to start folding even bottom two pairs, it takes some self-discipline. And discipline is what many players on lower stakes lack.

When you have the top two pair, you can value bet huge and will get paid off by the smaller two pairs. Your opponents will try the same, so stick to playing bigger cards – playing more broadway cars than low suited connectors is the right approach – to have higher two pairs more often.

Nonetheless, there are several different possible scenarios when it comes to both players having two pairs at showdown. Let’s check them below.

Both 2 pairs but of different value

This is probably the most common scenario when you see both players having two pairs. It is easier to have 2 pairs of a different value than having exactly the same two pairs. This is due card removal effect – if we hold AQ, then AQ is less likely to be in the opponent’s hand.

Higher pair is different, and a lower pair is the same

If a higher pair is different, then no need to check the lower pair anymore. We already know that the person with the higher pair in their two pairs wins.

Example: we have AT, and the opponent has KT. Board is AKT23. First, we check, and we see that we both have 2 pairs. But we win because our highest pair is higher than the opponent’s highest pair. The fact that the lower pair is the same as an opponent’s it doesn’t matter. Also, the fact that our kicker is lower is, in this case, completely irrelevant.

Once the higher pair is different, we know we already have the winner. In our case, we have two pairs aces and tens with a king kicker, and the opponent has two pairs of kings and tens with an ace kicker.

Higher pair is the same, and the lower pair is different

If both players have the highest pair the same, but the lower pair is different, then the person with higher 2nd pair wins. For example, AK vs. AT on AKT23 board. We will win with AK as we have two pairs aces and kings with a ten kicker, and the opponent has two pairs aces and tens with a king kicker.

We check the highest pair, and we see it is the same, then we move down to 2nd pair, and we see that our 2nd pair is higher than the opponent’s, so no need to check the kicker, we win.

Both pairs are different

The person with the highest pair wins when both pairs are different. If you hold AK and the opponent has T9 on the AT9K2 board, then you are the winner since you have two pair aces and kings with a T kicker. Opponent only has two pairs of tens and nines with an ace kicker. – you can see that it is enough just to check the highest of the two pairs in each player’s hand and we know who the winner is.

Both players have the same 2 pairs

Different kicker

If players have a different kicker and both pairs are the same, then the person with the highest kicker will win. Let’s check an example:

• We have KT, and the opponent holds JT. Board is QQT23. We win the pot, we have the same two pair, but we have a better kicker than our opponent. Our hand is two pairs, queens and tens with a king kicker, the opponent has the same hand, but only jack kicker.

The kicker is the same

If the kicker is the same and both pairs are the same, then pot gets split.

There is not much more to explain, so let us move on to the next possible scenarios :).

Two pairs on the board

Does A 3 Pair Beat A 2 Pair

Sometimes it will happen that there are 2 pairs already on the board. If nobody else holds a higher pair in their hand, then the kicker will be a deciding factor in who wins the pot. If the kicker is of the same rank, then the pot gets split. Let’s check two examples:

1. Board is A3773: We have A2, and the opponent has K4. We win because we have a higher two pair than the opponent. Our hand is two pair, aces, and sevens with a 3 kicker (AA773), while the opponent has two pair, sevens and threes with an ace kicker (7733A).
   
2. This time board is T3773. We hold A2, and the opponent has AK. The pot gets split as we both have two pairs, sevens and threes, with an ace kicker (7733A). Remember, the best five-card combination wins.
   

How strong are two pairs

Two pairs are a decently strong hand. You can expect to have 2 pairs around every 21 hands (if you wouldn’t be folding and always went to showdown). Or if we transfer this into percentages, you have a 4.75% chance to have exactly two pairs at showdown. To check probabilities to hit certain hands, check this link to Wikipedia.

As you were able to see from all the examples above, some two pairs are much better than the other two pairs. Having the top two pairs is excellent. Even top and bottom pair are a lot better than having 2nd and 3rd pair. But

The value of our two pairs is different depending on the board, and our equities can change dramatically. Let’s check a few examples:

Dry boards

On very dry boards, our two pairs are a valuable hand. Of course, our bottom two pairs aren’t as strong as the top two pairs, but nonetheless, we still do beat plenty of hands. Check the equities on Q95 rainbow board:

Wet flops and mono boards (of one color)

Straight possible boards

We have 87, on three straight boards like 6h7h8s many opponents will be betting if they have a 9 and a pair, sets, lower two pairs, high flush draws, and made straights. Our equity of the top two pairs is a lot worse here than on a dry board above. Let’s see in the table below how we do against certain hands.

Two Pair Vs Two Pair Texas Holdem Tournaments

The most surprising is that 69 has almost 44% to win against the top two pairs there. The board is 6h7h8s:

Mono (flush hits on the flop) board

On 2h7h8h board, our 87isn’t such a good hand anymore. It is largely behind flushes (it has 17.3% to win), and we have only 63% against ace-high flush draw (AhTs in our example). Against T9 (including flushes) we now have 56.4% equity, which is around as much as QQ has against AK offsuit, and many categorize that as a flip already.

Related questions

Which Is Correct 2 Pair Or 2 Pairs

Does a straight beat a two pair?

Straight does beat two pair. Both are winning hands but straight is just better. Hand rankings go as follows, from weakest to strongest:

1. No pair
2. One pair
3. Two pair
4. Three of a kind
5. Straight
6. Flush
7. Full house
8. Four of a kind
9. Straight flush
10. Royal flush

Pair in hand vs. pair on the table

It doesn’t matter if you have a pair on the table or a pair in the hand. At showdown, both still count as a pair. But a pair in the hand is more valuable. Let me explain why:

• If there is a pair on the board, then everyone has at least that pair.
  
• In the case that you have a pair in hand and there is a pair on the board, then now you have two pairs.
  
• Think of the pair on the table as a bonus to everyone’s hands. Plus on top of that, it is easier for someone to have trips now. On the other hand, the pair in your hand is only yours, and others still need to hit a better hand if they don’t already have a higher pair than yours, to beat your hand.

Conclusion

Texas Holdem Two Pair Vs Two Pair

All the examples above will make you a lot more confident next time when you see the same cards at showdown. Keep playing, and eventually, you will know in a split of a second who wins the pot. It kind of becomes muscle memory after a while. If you are interested in similar articles, then check the section below. Good luck at the tables.

2 Pair Vs 2 Pair Poker

Related Links

• Who wins if both players have one pair?