3 Pairs In Poker—Myths, Realities, and Strategic Plays

For example, look at one of the forum posts we mentioned above.

The poster was playing a game of Texas Hold’em and had drawn a 4 and a 7. The flop (the first three community cards) showed a 4, 7, and Q. The river and turn (fourth and fifth cards) were 3 and 3. The poster’s opponent had a queen and nothing else of value, giving them two pairs (two queens and the two 3s). They won the hand, and this is what confused the poster. In their minds, they had three pairs (3s, 4s, and 7s), and indeed three pairs beat two pairs.

It would make sense if that were the case, but in most poker games, the goal is to make the best five-card hand. In Texas Hold’em, you make the best five cards from the two in your hand and the five on the board. You can use any combination you want, but only pick five.

In the above example, the best five-card hand would be the 4s and the 7s with a queen kicker. The best hand for their opponent is the queens and 3s with a 7 kicker. Both players had two pairs, and as the queens were more valuable than the 4s or 7s, they won the hand.

When a Pair is Not a Pair

The fact that you’re limited to five-card hands creates an interesting and often frustrating possibility in games of Texas Hold’em.

Let’s assume you’re holding a pair of 7s, and the flop shows 8, 8, 10. It’s not the strongest hand, as you will be beaten by anyone with a higher pocket pair (a starting pair higher than 7s) and anyone holding an 8. But you would also be beaten by someone holding a single 10, even if it’s a weak hand like 10 and 2. Sure, you have two pairs, but thanks to those 8s, they also have two pairs.

If your opponent has A-K, you’re winning. But if the next card is a 10, you’re losing. Even though they haven’t paired anything in their hand, their strongest 5-card hand is now 7-7-10-10-A, whereas yours is 8-8-10-10-7. You have a pair in your hands, but those 8s and 10s beat them, so they don’t count.

Of course, it’s a different story if you land another 7, but even a solitary 9 will beat you if that doesn’t happen.

Pair, Flush, Straight—What Beats What?

While there is no such thing as three pairs, there is such a thing as three-of-a-kind: when you have three cards of the same value, such as 5, 5, 5. All poker pairs are beaten by three-of-a-kind. So, even if your opponent has a pair of aces and a pair of kings, you would still beat them with a low set (another name for a three-of-a-kind) such as 2-2-2. If you add an extra pair to the mix, you have a full house that beats everything except a four-of-a-kind and a straight flush.

Of course, as a full house uses five cards, you can’t improve on that hand with another pair, but you can improve it by turning the set into a four-of-a-kind, at which point the fifth card is the one with the highest value, and it can’t be paired-up.

Summary: 3 Pairs in Poker

There is no such thing as three pairs in poker. You may see three pairs if you are playing a game of Texas Hold’em, as you have seven cards at your disposal each time. However, you can only use five of these, and as you need six cards to make three pairs, it is not a valid hand.

For that reason, three pairs can be beaten by two pairs, as it’s just a competition between one hand with two pairs and another hand with two pairs, in which case the hand with the highest pair will win (kings and 2s will beat 10s and jacks, for instance).