Poker glossary
Pocket pair
Two hole cards of the same rank.
Also: pocket pairs, pocket aces, pocket kings
A pocket pair is when your two hole cards are the same rank, like 7♣ 7♦ or A♠ A♥. In Hold’em, the lowest pocket pair is 2-2 (deuces) and the highest is A-A (pocket aces).
Can a pocket pair be suited?
No. A standard deck has only one card of each rank in each suit, so the two cards of a pair are always different suits.
How often you get one
| Hand | Chance per deal | About once every |
|---|---|---|
| Any pocket pair | 5.9% | 17 hands |
| One specific pair, like pocket aces | 0.45% | 221 hands |
Flopping a set
Small and medium pairs win their biggest pots by hitting a set: three of a kind using both hole cards. A pocket pair flops a set or better about 11.8% of the time, roughly 1 in 8.5. That’s the maths behind set mining: calling a raise with a small pair, hoping to hit and win a big pot.
Playing pocket pairs
- Big pairs (Q-Q to A-A): raise and re-raise before the flop. When the board comes low, a pair above every board card is an overpair.
- Medium pairs (7-7 to J-J): usually raise when first in. Slow down when big bets come on high boards.
- Small pairs (2-2 to 6-6): mostly hoping to flop a set. Fold them to big raises when the stacks are too short for set mining to pay.
More on specific hands: how to play pocket jacks and how to play pocket kings. For every hand before the flop, see starting hands.