One Pair

High Top Pair

Texture and the Top Pair

A Pair as a Drawing Hand

Moderately High Top Pair

UnderPairs

Interactive Tutorial: Playing a Pair

Community Flop, Early Position

Your Cards			The Board:

When you take the flop versus three or more opponents, hitting a pair under the top pair is not the cause for celebration. Your hand is already likely to be second best and will probably only be in worse shape by the river.

Playing second best holdings is a very costly habit to get into!

If you are one of the first players to act, check. Then assume you are beat if somebody bets so fold.

Only call if you get the proper odds for your draw to two pair or a set, which will be very rare.

You have five possible outs (in this case, two eights, and three sevens) which means that you only have a (5x2.2=) and an eleven percent chance to hit you hand on the next card. And there is no guarantee that hitting your hand will make it a winner, especially the two pair.

As a rule of thumb, you'll need a "clean board" and a pot of at least ten times the size of your call to make fishing worthwhile.

Thus, check-fold unless the pot is huge.

Community Flop, Late Position

In late position if somebody bets and you need to call, then fold! The only rare exception would be if the pot is over ten times the size of the call, and the board or your opponent's play doesn't frighten you.

If nobody bets and you are last to act...

This is a tricky situation and there is no single 'proper play'. It is very contextual. The less opponents you face and the tighter they are the more likely you should be to bet. Your hand could be best and if your opponents missed the flop, they should fold.

But if you face many and/or loose opponents you should just take your free card and hope you make trips or two pair.

Versus One or Two Opponents

Versus one or two opponents, your hand is far more likely to be best, especially if an ace didn't flop. We recommend that you make a bet to take a stab at the pot.

However, if there is a bet to you, fold (unless you are facing a very aggressive opponent who bluffs a lot of pots, then you may wish to raise). You really don't wish to go to war with an underpair, you wish to take a sniper shot and then run if you miss.