A set is three of a kind made with a pocket pair plus one matching card on the board. If you hold 7♠ 7♦ and the flop is 7♣ K♥ 2♠, you have a set of sevens.
Set vs trips
Trips is also three of a kind, but made with one card in your hand and a pair on the board — for example, holding K♣ Q♦ on a K♥ K♠ 5♣ board. Sets are much stronger in practice because they are well hidden: nobody can see them coming. With trips, everyone at the table can see the paired board, and your kicker matters.
The odds of making a set
- Flopping a set or better with a pocket pair: about 11.8% (roughly 1 in 8.5).
- Making a set by the river (if you see all five cards): about 19%.
- Set over set, when two pairs see the flop: roughly 1% of the time.
See more numbers on the poker probabilities page.
Set mining
Set mining means calling a raise with a small or medium pocket pair mainly to flop a set and win a big pot. Because you only hit about one flop in eight, you need deep stacks: a common rule is that the effective stack should be at least 15 times the amount you call. Learn why in implied odds.
How to play a set
On wet boards, bet and raise quickly to charge draws. On dry boards you can sometimes slow play. Either way, sets are usually strong enough to get all your money in. More terms in the poker glossary.