Pair

A pair (or one pair) is a hand consisting of two cards of the same rank and any three other random cards. For example, a pair of aces is a hand consisting of two aces and three more cards of different ranks.

In terms of hand rankings, one pair occupies the second-lowest position, just above a high card, and it is the lowest “made” hand.

The three additional cards next to a pair are referred to as kickers or side cards. In an event where two players have the same pair, kickers are used to determine the winner. A player holding the highest kicker wins the hand.

For example, in Hold’em, a player holding AT will beat a player holding A5 if the board reads A267J. Both players have one pair (aces), but the first player has a higher kicker (T).

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