Top Pair
Top pair is a pair made with a hole card and the highest card on the board. If the flop is J-8-5 and you hold a jack, you have top pair.
The simple explanation
Top pair is a good hand, but not a monster. It beats lower pairs and many draws, but it loses to two pair, sets and better top pairs. How good it is depends on your other card, the kicker.
A closer look
Top pair is often a hard hand to play. It is strong enough to bet for value but weak enough to lose to many hands, so it should often play a medium-sized pot. Wet boards are dangerous for top pair, since draws have a lot of equity. Top pair with a top kicker (TPTK) is much better than one with a weak kicker (TPWK).
A practical example
You hold J♦ 9♣ and the flop is J♠ 8♣ 3♦. You have top pair.
Full explanation
Top pair is a pair made with a hole card and the highest card on the board. If the flop is J-8-5 and you hold a jack, you have top pair.
Top pair means pairing the highest card on the board.
It is a good, but not a monster hand.
The kicker matters.
It is more vulnerable on wet boards.
Top pair
No-limit Hold’em · Blinds 1/2 chips · No rake
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
Read the example transcript
Player A has the button (BTN) and posts the 1-chip small blind (SB). Player B posts the 2-chip big blind (BB).
- Preflop · Pot: 3 chips
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of hearts (Ah)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 199 · In this round 1
- Player B BB JJack of diamonds (Jd)99 of clubs (9c) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 8 chips
Player A raises to 6 before the flop.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of hearts (Ah)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB JJack of diamonds (Jd)99 of clubs (9c) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 12 chips
Player B calls. Each player has put in 6 chips.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of hearts (Ah)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB JJack of diamonds (Jd)99 of clubs (9c) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Flop · Pot: 12 chips
Player B pairs the jack, the highest card on the board. That is top pair.
Board: JJack of spades (Js)88 of clubs (8c)33 of diamonds (3d)
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of hearts (Ah)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
- Player B BB JJack of diamonds (Jd)99 of clubs (9c) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
Cards are shown for learning; totals are displayed before pot collection.