One Pair in Poker
What is One Pair?
One pair is a poker hand containing two cards of identical rank alongside three unmatched cards known as kickers. A one pair hand is a very common hand in poker and sits near the bottom of the standard ranking order, with only high card below it. The full order from royal flush down can be reviewed in our poker hand rankings guide.
Where One Pair Ranks
One pair is rank nine out of ten poker hands in the standard poker hand rankings. Two pair sits one rank higher than it and high card sits one rank lower. A one pair poker hand is the second-lowest ranked hand, only ahead of a hand where none of the cards form any recognized combination. The complete hand rankings, with each hand in descending order, can be found in our poker hands guide. To learn about the hand ranked a place above one pair, go to the two pair page.
Example Hands
A one pair poker hand contains two cards of matching rank with the remaining three places made up of the highest available unmatched cards.
- K♠ K♦ A♣ 10♥ 6♠ (A pair of kings with an ace, ten and six kicker)
- 7♥ 7♣ Q♦ 9♠ 4♣ (A pair of sevens with a queen, nine and four kicker)
- If the two hands above clashed, the pair of kings would win because the pair ranks higher than the pair of sevens
When two players hold the same pair, the kickers decide the winner.
- A player holding Q♠ Q♦ A♣ 8♥ 3♠ beats a player holding Q♥ Q♣ K♦ 8♠ 3♥
- In this example, both hold a pair of queens but the first hand's ace kicker outranks the second hand's king kicker
What One Pair Beats and Loses To
At showdown, a one pair hand beats high card, the only hand ranked below it. One pair loses to two pair and above, which means every hand from two pair upwards, in the standard poker hand rankings, beats it. A single pair is therefore stronger only than a hand with no recognizable combination at all. Any two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush or better beats it at showdown. Learn more about what one pair beats on the high card page.
Ties and Kickers
It gets a little more complicated when players share the same one pair, and even the same kicker, but here are some easy-to-understand rules:
- The higher pair wins outright (e.g. a pair of jacks beats a pair of tens regardless of the kicker)
- When two players hold the same pair, the highest kicker breaks the tie
- If the two players have the same highest kicker, then the next highest kicker is used, and so on
- If the two players hold identical five-card hands, then it results in a split pot
- A split pot is more common in games like Texas Hold'em where the community cards are shared between players
An example of the final kicker deciding the pot would be player one holding 10♠ 10♦ A♣ J♥ 4♠ and player two showing 10♥ 10♣ A♦ J♠ 6♥. Both hold a pair of tens and both have a first and second kicker of equal rank. The pot would be decided at showdown by the third kicker, where player two's 6♥ outranks player one's 4♠. The suits are not relevant in this example.
One Pair Probability
One pair is a common hand in Texas Hold'em and a very common winning hand, although the one pair hand ranking is low. The chance of making exactly one pair in Texas Hold'em when all five community cards are dealt (across all seven cards) is 43.8%. The chance of making one pair or better is naturally greater than that. One pair appears far more often than any hands ranked above it, so its strength at showdown depends heavily on the pair's rank and the kickers that accompany it.
One Pair Across Variants
In high-hand games, making a pair is usually positive but in lowball games, a pair reduces the value of a hand.
In razz, deuce-to-seven triple draw and deuce-to-seven single draw, the lowest hand wins, so it is preferable to avoid making pairs. In hi/lo games, the low half of the pot is decided by the lowest hand and a pair does not qualify as a low hand. In badugi, a four-card game, only one of the paired cards counts towards your final hand, so a pair reduces a hand's strength.
6+ Hold'em is a short-deck poker format that removes the twos, threes, fours and fives, leaving a 36-card deck, which raises the probability of making one pair although the rank of one pair itself is unchanged.
Frequently Asked Questions About One Pair in Poker
One pair is a five-card poker hand made of two cards of identical rank and three unmatched cards. The two matching cards form the pair, and the three remaining cards serve as kickers. One pair ranks ninth of the ten poker hands, above high card and below two pair. An example is K♠ K♦ A♣ 10♥ 6♠.
One pair beats the only hand ranked below it, high card. One pair loses to two pair and above, including three of a kind, a straight, a flush and all stronger hands. A single pair is therefore the second-weakest holding in poker, however a high pair is frequently the best hand at showdown as pair vs pair matchups are very common. It is still possible to win a pot against a hand with a higher ranking by getting the opponent to fold.
When two players hold one pair, the highest pair wins, for example, a pair of aces beats a pair of kings. When both players hold the same rank of pair, the highest kicker decides the winner: the highest kicker is referred to first, if that is the same, the second kicker is compared, and then the third. If the pair and all three kickers match exactly, it results in a split pot. For example, a pair of tens with an ace and jack kicker beats a pair of tens with an ace and nine kicker, because the jack outranks the nine.
One pair is not rare in Texas Hold'em. It can be made by being dealt a pocket pair where both of your hole cards match, or by matching one of your hole cards with a community card, or by two community cards matching. The chance of making exactly one pair at showdown in Texas Hold'em is 43.8%.