Top pair is a poker hand combination 'pair', which was made by matching the highest card on the board and one of the pocket cards of the player.

For example if you have    , and the flop is      , you have a top pair of tens, because the ten is the highest card on the board. If you had     on the same board, you would have 'middle pair' and if you had     on the same board, you would have bottom pair.

There is no doubt top pair is a good combination in poker which gives you some edge but don’t overestimate it as it is still only a pair - the weakest poker hand in poker after the high card.

Example of top pair in poker:

Hand:    

Flop:      

Examples of playing top pair in poker:

You will flop top pair hands quite often on different board textures and depending on the situation they could be strong combinations or absolutely useless.

That makes playing with top pair an uneasy task, so one needs to make a good analysis of cards on the board and actions of the opponents. One needs to closely look at what the opponent does in the hand and analyze their past actions. Your opponent might have the same top pair but with a better kicker. Top pair, actually, beats only bluffs as there are few people who are aggressive with the weaker pairs.

In the example we have top pair of queens with jack as a kicker.

Top pair has good chances for improvement, unlike over pair. You can easily get two pairs or even top trips (variation of poker hand three of a kind) on the next street. Full house comes next.

We should look at top pair vs different draw hands more closely. We must always think about what our opponent might have. Only very loose players make big bets not having a good made hand (a set or better one) or a strong draw. So if you see that the next card could have closed the supposed draw, you must closely watch opponents’ actions and not get overly committed to your top pair.

Example:

Hand:    

Flop:      

You’ve got a top pair. Should we analyze board, we will notice someone could hit on the flop a flush draw or a straight draw. Surely, we are ahead for now but it is possible you will be way behind in the next betting round.

For example:

Turn:   or   or  

All these turns significantly worsen your hand making it practically useless. In the first case an opponent might have flush, in the second case - straight and in the third case your top pair stops being top pair as you opponent might have an ace in his hand what makes him top pair owner.

Top pair plus over card (preferably an ace) combination is very valuable on the flop (that means you have top pair and a card higher than your pair). Beside you have a good kicker there are more chances to improve your combination.