Do You Know Your Pairs in Poker?

In the game of poker, a dealer hands out five playing cards to each player, per game. You call this a poker hand. At times, you may get a 1-pair hand or a 2-pair one. Which ranks higher or lower? And which ranks the same? Here are some examples of pair poker hands you can get in a game of poker and how they rank.

1 pair poker hand

You can get a poker hand where 2 cards show the same value or one rank. For example, in a poker hand of 5 playing cards, you got:

• 5 of Hearts
• 5 of Clovers
• a King of Spades
• a Queen of Hearts, and
• 9 of Spades

 In this example, the 5 of Hearts and 5 of Clovers form a pair. The remaining 3 playing cards are your kickers. A pair ranks under 2-pair poker hands.

In these examples, the first poker hand ranks highest among the three. The second poker hand ranks higher than the third one.

First poker hand:

10 of Hearts, 10 of Clovers, a King of Spades, Queen of Hearts, and 9 of Spades

Second poker hand:

8 of Hearts, 8 of Clovers, a Queen of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and 8 of Spades

Third poker hand:

8 of Hearts, 8 of Clovers, a Jack of Spades, 10 of Hearts, and 7 of Spades

2-pair poker hand

You can get a poker hand where 2 cards show the same value or one rank. Another 2 cards show the same value or one rank. For example, in a poker hand of 5 playing cards, you got:

• 5 of Hearts
• 5 of Clovers
• a King of Spades
• a King of Hearts, and
• 9 of Spades

In this example, the 5 of Hearts and 5 of Clovers form one pair. Then the King of Spades and the King of Hearts form another pair. The 9 of Spades is your kicker. 2-pair hands rank higher than 1-pair poker hands.

Check out these examples of 2-pair poker hands. These are listed in order of ranking. The first ranks highest among all others, and so on.

First poker hand:

Queen of Spades, Queen of Clovers, 10 of Clovers, 10 of Hearts, and 9 of Spades

Second poker hand:

Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clovers, 9 of Spades, 9 of Hearts, and 8 of Spades

Third poker hand:

Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clovers, 8 of Spades, 8 of Clovers, and Queen of Spades

Fourth poker hand:

Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clovers, 8 of Spades, 8 of Clovers, and 10 of Spades

In these last two examples, both poker hands are equal ranking:

First poker hand:

King of Spades, King of Diamonds, 8 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 7 of Hearts

Second poker hand:

King of Clovers, King of Spades, 8 of Clovers, 8 of Hearts, 7 of Diamonds

Final Thoughts

There you have it. Now you know what is a 1-pair and a 2-pair poker hand. So get out your playing cards and start practicing.