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Since the chances of getting two pair occurs often quite often (about 22% of the time - compare this to the chances of getting three of a kind, which is 5%, or a full house, which is less than 2%) it undoutedly the most frequently dealt hand which requires a "non obvious" decision.  The dilemma is simple... should I keep my two pair together in my five-card hand, or should I split them up, and use the lower pair as my two-card hand?  

Most of the time the answer depends upon not just on the specific pairs you have, but on the other cards in your hand.

The following strategy table, from Stanford Wong's excellent book Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker, indicates the proper way to play all possible two pairs:

Let's make a few more, simple modifications.

1) A pair of threes and a pair of deuces require a jack.  Not just any jack but the best possible jack, jack-ten.  For our purposes, we can step up this requirement by one notch, and stipulate this particular two pair now requires a queen... any queen.

This was the only jack in the entire table (where the jack was the high card) so now, no matter what two pair you have, if you don't have at least a queen to place as the high card in your two-card hand, you must split your two pair.  I'll say that again:

All two pair hands require a side card of either a queen, king, or ace 
to even consider keeping the two pair together.

If you have two pair but your three odd cards don't include at least a queen, you should split your pair.

2)  A pair of eights and a pair of threes require at least a K-5.  Let's modify this and just say a king is needed.  Yes, it's possible you might be dealt the lowest possible 8-8-3-3-K hand, which would be 8-8-3-3-K-4-2, and if you believe that simply a king is needed, you'd put the K-4 up as your two-card hand, and you'd be wrong, since you really need at least a K-5.  However, the chances of you being dealt that hand are very small and the cost of you doing so is small too.


3) Let's do the same thing with Q-6 and A-5.  Let's modify them to indicate any queen (instead of Q-6) and any ace (instead of A-5) is required.


This gives us the following table:

If the total is greater than or equal to 17, split the pair.

If the total is 12 thru 16, an ace is needed in your 
two-card hand if you wish to keep the two pair together.

If the total is 8 thru 11, a king is needed in your 
two-card hand if you wish to keep the two pair together.

If the total is 5, 6, or 7, a queen is needed in your 
two-card hand if you wish to keep the two pair together.

That's it!  We're done!

A few examples are in order.  

Example #1:  A pair of eights and a pair of threes gives us a total of 11.  (8 + 3 = 11)  As mentioned above, any total of 11 requires at least a king in your two-card hand if you wish to keep your eights and threes together.  If you don't have a king, you should split the pair.

Thus, if you were dealt 8-8-3-3-K-9-5 you now know to keep your two pair together... your total is 11 and have the requirements for your two-card hand, a king.  But if you were dealt something like 8-8-3-3-Q-J-10, you must split the pair... Q-J in your two-card hand is not good enough.


Example #2:  A pair of tens and a pair of fives total 15.  (10 + 5 = 15)  As mentioned above, any total of 15 requires at least an ace in your two-card hand if you wish to keep the two pair together.  If you don't have an ace, split the pair.

Thus, 10-10-5-5-K-Q-J is not good enough to keep your two pair together, since K-Q in your two card hand does not meet the requirement.  You need at least an ace.



Question: What would your action be with a pair of queens and a pair of fours, assuming one of your odd cards was a king?

Figure it out.  And do so without looking at any of the previous tables.  Simply do the math and remember your "rule."  

Answer: A pair of queens and a pair of fours total 16.  (12 + 4 = 16.  Note: jacks = 11, queens = 12, kings = 13)  As mentioned in the preceding example, any total of 12 thru 16 requires an ace.  Thus, the king is not high enough to put in your two-card hand, so you need to split up your two pair.


If you spend all of ten minutes and practice adding up the totals of various two pair hands, and then contemplating how you will play them according to our "rule," the process will become automatic almost immediately!


You will probably wish to remember a couple of noteworthy exceptions.

Exception #1:  If you look back at the very first table near the top of this page, (the absolute best way to play) you'll see kings & threes are always split.  They should be split regardless of how high you might otherwise be able to make with your two-card hand.  If you forget this, and all you remember is our new method, you might play this hand incorrectly.  You would add up this hand and come up with a total of 16  (king + 3 = 16) and if your hand also included an ace, you would then keep your pair together, as per the rule, which would, in this case, be incorrect.  (You always want to split kings & threes.)  Likewise with kings & deuces.  The rule says you need an ace, but you really need the best possible ace, A-Q.  Most of the time your kings & deuces should be split.


Exception #2: In order to create our "method/rule" we made a big concession with nines & eights and tens & sevens.  Again, from the very first table, both of these two pair hands require an ace. (9-9-8-8 requires any ace and 10-10-7-7 requires a very low ace, A-5.)  Since both of these totals add up to 17 you should try to remember that these two hands, which according to our total method should be split, should actually not be split if you can put an ace in your two-card hand.  

Exception #2a: Jacks and sixes, another two pair hand that also totals 17, requires an A-10.    

Thus, don't be so quick to automatically split these three hands that total 17.


Exception #3:  Queens & threes, which total 15, (12 + 3 = 15) and queens & fours which total 16 (12 + 4 = 16) require an ace, according to our rule.  Try to remember that a moderately strong ace is actually needed, since the original table indicates a minimum hand of A-10 and A-J is required.  If all you can two-card is, for example, A-9 or A-8, you really should split up the two pair.

There are a few other very minor exceptions and each player will have to determine how much "work" they are willing to do to remember as much of the original table as possible.  Obviously, the more of the original table you can remember, the better off you will be.  However, the method described above, of 

adding up your two pair, 

arriving at a total, 

and then deciding whether you need an ace, a king, or a queen based upon your total,

works very well in most all cases, and I find it extremely easy!

Another exception worth noting is queens & threes and queens & fours.  Our method says all you need is an ace in your two-card hand, but in reality you need a moderately strong ace.

Good luck and happy playing.

Ed Collins
December 13, 2005