Limit Texas Holdem: Playing a Pair

A single pair is your most likely holding after a flop, apart from a simple high-card hand. Much money is won or lost based on the evaluation, and re-evaluation, of a single pair.

Pairs come in different types, so we will discuss a number of situations. Our focus will be on playing at a loose nine or ten player Texas Holdem table.

Top Pair

Flopping top pair is often an exciting moment because you have a "made hand" that is in the running to be the best hand at the showdown, unimproved. This is most likely to be true if a small number of people have seen the flop. Headsup, it is a very strong hand.

But not all top pairs are created equally.

We'll begin by evaluating High Top Pair.