Having “suited” cards is the next most important consideration. It is also definitely better to have two high cards than only one because you will also have a good “kicker” to your hand. For example, A ♥ K ♣ holds a very strong lead over Q ♠ J ♣ before the flop, and the worse hole cards have to improve from the start. The most important advantage is having higher unpaired cards than your opponent, as you have a higher chance of winning if you hit a pair (or if nobody hits a pair).
On average, you will be dealt a pocket pair just once every 16 hands, so you will need to figure out another method to assess hand strength. Plainly, the biggest pocket pairs often qualify as monster hands, but smaller pairs can be considered speculative at best. Another player would only need to match one hole card with a bigger community card to make a higher pair. Small pocket pairs can be dangerous if they do not improve. Furthermore, if the board brings a third card of the same rank, you have made three of a kind, or a “set”. If you are holding aces, your opponent has to make at least two pair in order to beat you. Pocket pairs can often win a hand of Texas Hold’em without improvement, however this largely depends on the size of your pocket pair. If your hole cards form a pair, known as a “pocket pair”, then you already have a hand one step up the hand rankings ladder.
