How to Play Pocket Pairs: All 13 Pairs by the Numbers
Play a pocket pair by its size. Big pairs, AA, KK, QQ and JJ, are raising hands: they have 77.47% to 85.20% against a random hand, and every overcard that falls costs them. Middle pairs, TT down to 77, are good before the flop and fragile after it. Small pairs, 66 down to 22, mostly win by flopping a set, which any pair does 11.76% of the time, about 1 flop in 8.5, so they need deep stacks to call a raise. You are dealt a pair 5.9% of the time, 1 hand in 17, and before the flop the risk is a bigger one: against five opponents KK runs into aces 2.44% of the time and 22 meets a bigger pair 26.10%.
All 13 pairs by the numbers
Every pair flops a set or better 11.76% of the time, so what separates them is the rest of the flop: how often it comes in under the pair, and how often it brings an overcard. Then there is how well each pair holds up as players join. The flop columns are exact over all 19,600 flops, and so is the equity against one random hand: every opponent hand and every board, 2,097,572,400 deals. Against three and five random hands the equity is simulated, to one decimal.
| Pair | Overpair flop | Overcard flop | vs 1 | vs 3 | vs 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 88.24% | 0% | 85.20% | 63.8% | 49.2% |
| KK | 67.57% | 20.67% | 82.40% | 58.2% | 43.0% |
| 50.41% | 37.84% | 79.93% | 53.5% | 37.9% | |
| JJ | 36.43% | 51.82% | 77.47% | 49.2% | 33.6% |
| TT | 25.31% | 62.94% | 75.01% | 45.2% | 29.9% |
| 99 | 16.71% | 71.53% | 72.06% | 41.1% | 26.6% |
| 88 | 10.33% | 77.92% | 69.16% | 37.6% | 24.0% |
| 77 | 5.82% | 82.43% | 66.24% | 34.4% | 21.8% |
| 66 | 2.86% | 85.39% | 63.28% | 31.5% | 20.1% |
| 55 | 1.12% | 87.12% | 60.32% | 28.9% | 18.5% |
| 44 | 0.29% | 87.96% | 57.02% | 26.3% | 17.3% |
| 33 | 0.02% | 88.22% | 53.69% | 24.0% | 16.3% |
| 22 | 0% | 88.24% | 50.33% | 21.9% | 15.5% |
An overpair flop has every board card below your pair. An overcard flop has at least one card above it and no set. Add the 11.76% of set flops and the three cover every flop. Equity is the share of the pot a pair wins on average, a tie splitting it; each simulated figure is 50,000,000 deals, with a standard error under 0.01 points. Each pair links to its own page.
Is a bigger pair already out?
Before the flop, the risk with any pair below aces is that someone was dealt a bigger one. Counted exactly, with your own cards out of the deck and each opponent's hand taking cards away from the others: against five opponents, a full 6-max table, KK runs into aces 2.44% of the time, QQ meets a bigger pair 4.84% and 22 26.10%. With eight opponents at a full ring game, 22 is already behind 38.33% of the time.
| Your pair | 1 opponent | 5 opponents | 8 opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| KK | 0.49% | 2.44% | 3.91% |
| 0.98% | 4.84% | 7.67% | |
| JJ | 1.47% | 7.18% | 11.29% |
| TT | 1.96% | 9.47% | 14.77% |
| 99 | 2.45% | 11.71% | 18.13% |
| 88 | 2.94% | 13.91% | 21.36% |
| 77 | 3.43% | 16.05% | 24.47% |
| 66 | 3.92% | 18.15% | 27.46% |
| 55 | 4.41% | 20.21% | 30.34% |
| 44 | 4.90% | 22.21% | 33.11% |
| 33 | 5.39% | 24.18% | 35.77% |
| 22 | 5.88% | 26.10% | 38.33% |
Counted by inclusion and exclusion over the opponents rather than by multiplying one player's chance, because one player's aces are aces nobody else can hold. AA is left out: nothing is bigger. Behind is not beaten, either: the smaller pair still wins some of these hands, mostly by flopping a set.
Big pairs: AA, KK, QQ and JJ
Against one random hand these four have between 77.47% and 85.20%, and they lose ground with every card that comes. Leaving out the flops where they make a set, KK sees an ace on 20.67% of flops, QQ an ace or a king on 37.84% and JJ an overcard on 51.82%; only AA never does. That is the case against slow-playing them: every free card is another chance for the overcard. Aces have their own guide and come 1 hand in 221 (the odds of pocket aces). When two big pairs both flop an overpair, that is a cooler of its own, priced on the overpair against overpair page.
Middle pairs: TT down to 77
Good before the flop, fragile after it. TT flops an overpair 25.31% of the time and 77 only 5.82%; the rest of the time there is a card above the pair, unless you flop a set. Against a 3-bet, how they do depends on how wide the 3-bet range is. TT has 52.2% against the range library's wide 3-bet of a button open, but 36.5% against its value-only 3-bet of an under-the-gun open (AA, KK, QQ, AKs and AKo).
Small pairs: 66 down to 22
Small pairs make their money by flopping a set, 11.76% of the time. You miss 7.5 times for every hit, so the set has to win enough to pay for all the misses: that is implied odds, and the odds of flopping a set works out the stacks it takes. A set is Hold'em's version of being rolled up in stud, with the third card on the board instead of in your hand. Without one, a small pair on a board of higher cards is a bluff-catcher at best: 66 flops an overpair 2.86% of the time and 22 never does. Two sets on one flop is the classic cooler. All in before the flop they hold up better than they look: every pair from QQ down to 22 is a small favourite against AK, from 52.01% to 56.17% (AK against a pocket pair, and 22 against AK on its own).
Pocket pairs by position and stack depth
The site's two charts agree that pairs are worth playing and differ on how many. The range library, which the preflop charts use, opens every pair, AA down to 22, from under the gun at 6-max with 100bb. The TAG cheat sheet, a tighter starter chart, opens TT and up from under the gun and does not play 44, 33 or 22 from any seat. Short stacked it is simpler: in the push/fold chart's heads-up solution, the small blind shoves every pair at every stack from 1 to 30 big blinds.
Facing a 3-bet or a 4-bet
When a pair meets a re-raise, what matters is what the re-raiser holds. Against the range library's re-raising ranges, QQ has 40.2% against the value-only 3-bet of an under-the-gun open (AA, KK, QQ, AKs and AKo), and if you 3-bet it and run into a value 4-bet (AA, KK and AKs), 27.2%. Against the wide 3-bet of a button open, every pair from TT up is a favourite. The whole table:
| Pair | 3-bet vs UTG (value) | 3-bet vs CO (mixed) | 3-bet vs BTN (wide) | 4-bet (value) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 84.1% | 83.3% | 83.5% | 79.7% |
| KK | 57.1% | 67.0% | 70.8% | 32.3% |
| 40.2% | 55.3% | 62.9% | 27.2% | |
| JJ | 36.2% | 48.0% | 56.3% | 27.5% |
| TT | 36.5% | 45.4% | 52.2% | 27.8% |
| 99 | 35.7% | 44.0% | 47.8% | 27.5% |
| 88 | 35.9% | 44.0% | 46.4% | 27.7% |
| 77 | 35.9% | 42.7% | 45.6% | 27.8% |
| 66 | 35.9% | 41.9% | 45.3% | 27.7% |
| 55 | 35.5% | 40.9% | 44.7% | 27.3% |
| 44 | 35.3% | 39.6% | 43.7% | 27.1% |
| 33 | 34.7% | 38.9% | 42.5% | 26.6% |
| 22 | 34.0% | 38.2% | 41.3% | 25.9% |
Each figure is the pair's equity against every combination in the named range from the range library, card removal included, from a simulation of 60,000 deals for each pair of hand classes; no figure's standard error is above 0.12 points. It is the equity if all the money went in now; a call that leaves chips behind plays out on later streets.
Related tools
Frequently asked
How often do you get a pocket pair?
5.9% of hands, 1 in 17: 78 of the 1,326 possible two-card hands are pairs. One particular pair, such as aces, comes 1 hand in 221, 0.45% of the time.
How often does a pocket pair make a set?
A set or better on the flop 11.76% of the time, about 1 in 8.5. By the river, if you see all five board cards, 19.18%: at least one of the two cards left of your rank lands somewhere on the board.
Should you slow-play a big pocket pair?
Usually not. Big pairs are most often best before the flop and lose ground as cards come: leaving out the flops where they make a set, QQ sees an ace or a king on 37.84% of flops and JJ an overcard on 51.82%. Every free card you give is another chance for the overcard that beats you.
How often does someone have a bigger pair?
It depends on your pair and on how many players are dealt in. Against five opponents, KK runs into aces 2.44% of the time, QQ meets a bigger pair 4.84%, JJ 7.18% and 22 26.10%. Against eight, 22 is behind 38.33% of the time.
Should you always set-mine with small pairs?
No. You miss the set 7.5 times for every hit, so the call only pays when the set can win a big pot: enough chips behind, and an opponent who will pay you off. The odds of flopping a set article works out the stacks it needs.
Which pocket pairs can you open from under the gun?
In the site's range library, all 13, AA down to 22, at 6-max with 100bb. The starter TAG cheat sheet is tighter and opens TT and up from under the gun.
How do you play pocket pairs in tournaments?
With a deep stack, much as in a cash game. Short, a pair is an all-in hand: in the site's heads-up push/fold chart the small blind shoves every pair at every stack from 1 to 30 big blinds. All in against AK, every pair from QQ down to 22 is a small favourite, 52.01% to 56.17%.
How do you play pocket pairs in a cash game?
By size, with the stacks in mind. At 100bb the site's range library opens every pair from every seat, while the tighter TAG cheat sheet does not play 44, 33 or 22 at all. Big pairs keep raising. Middle pairs slow down against a value 3-bet (TT has 36.5% against one) and on boards with overcards. Small pairs call raises only when the stacks behind can pay for the 7.5 misses that come with every set.
Terms used in this article
Keep reading
New to poker? Take the free Poker 101 course →