Compare the hands
Community cards
Your cards
Other player
Reveal the explanation
The board already has nines and fours, so both players play those two pairs. Your pocket twos are the third pair and do not fit in your best five. Your fifth card is the board king; the other player’s ace beats it.
Your best five: Two pair
Their best five: Two pair
Comparison uses standard PokerStars hand-ranking rules.
No chips, XP, or leaderboard score are attached to this puzzle. The answer is available without JavaScript through “Reveal the explanation.”
What decides this hand
Your hand is only ever the best five cards. When the board makes two higher pairs, a small pocket pair drops out and the fifth card, the kicker, decides.
A different hand, a different lesson
Two pair: compare the fifth cardRead both pairs.Kickers: same pair, different winnerSame pair. Different ending.Playing the board: a shared royal flushNobody owns this royal.
Use the hand-ranking chart if you need a reference, or return to all ten puzzles.