Second pair
Second pair is a pair made with the second highest card on the board, which usually means a hand worth one bet rather than three.
It sits in the awkward middle of a range. It beats every hand that missed and loses to every hand that hit the top card, so betting it folds out worse and gets called by better, which is the definition of a hand that should often check.
Its value comes almost entirely from bluff catching. Against an opponent who bets a wide range it is a hand to call with, and against one who bets only when they connect it is a hand to fold.
an example
your cards
board
You hold a pair of nines on a board with a king. Every king beats you and every missed hand does not, so this is a hand to check and call with rather than one to build a pot with.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find second pair in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Top pair
Top pair is a pair made by matching one of your hole cards with the highest card on the board.
Bluff catcher
A bluff catcher is a hand that beats everything your opponent could be bluffing with and loses to everything they would ...
Showdown value
A hand has showdown value when it can win by simply being shown at the end, without needing anybody to fold.
next
Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
Forty hands against a bot, no account, and your own hand history at the end.