2 players 2 pairs, who wins?

[Redbeard]

Hello,

my family has started to play a confortable texas hold'em night every once in a while now.
Tho today it came to a little argue between me and the boyfriend of my mother.

The following was on the table:

7 7 A J 3

His Hand:

A 8

My Hand:

A 2

I thought it's a split pot because our strongest hands for both were A A 7 7 J but the rest of my family said that my mom's BF wins because of him having the "high kicker" 8 against my 2.

Can anyone help me out here because i thought it's always the strongest 5.

Best Regards,

Redbeard

[Isaac Mikel]

No, you're right. You play the best 5 card hand you can out of the 7 dealt.

[HalfSugar]

Show them this - Who wins? FAQ