Since a definitive guide on every hand and how and when to play it in every situation would take more words than a novel, this article will touch on the major points of basic pre-flop hands with broad strokes. Texas Holdem Starting Hands. Watch the video below for some immediate help picking the right Texas Hold'em Starting Hands. 10 Best and Worst Starting Poker Hands. One of the most important thins to learn in texas hold em is which hands are worth playing and which ones you would be better off folding. When it comes to every hand its all about the worth of those two down cards you’re first dealt. Poker Hand Rankings - Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart. At the bottom of this page is a comprehensive listing of Texas Hold'em starting hands based on their EV (expected value). Expected value is the average number of big blinds this hand will make or lose.

• 20 Best Starting Hands Texas Holdem
• Texas Holdem Starting Hands Probability
• Best Starting Hands For Texas Holdem Poker
• Best Starting Hands Texas Hold Em
• Good Starting Hands Texas Holdem

Basic Strategy:Tips : Position : Starting Hands : Bluffing : Betting : Money Management

The two cards that you are dealt at the start of a hand in Texas Hold'em are your weapons. If you want to play a hand, your cards need to be strong enough to fight against your opponents' cards to win the pot.

At the core of every winning poker player is good starting hand strategy.

Texas Hold'em starting hands table.

I'm not going to mess about here, I'm just going to give you the starting hand strategy table for you to get your teeth into. The tables below give starting hand recommendations for both full ring and short handed games depending on your position at the table.

How to use the starting hand strategy table.

First thing that you need to do is consider your position in the hand, because this is going to determine the range of cards that you are going to be able to play profitably.

• If you are in early position, you should stick to playing the hands in red only.
• If you are in middle position, you should play the hands in red, as well as the hands in blue.
• If you are in late position, you should play the red and blue hands, along with the hands in green.

So essentially, the better your position is at the table, the more hands you can play.

However, if you are in one of the later positions and there has been a raise before you, then you should forget about playing the hands in green, and stick with the ones in red and blue. This is because players raising from early position will typically have a strong hand, so you should also have a premium hand to play against them. Playing the green hands against a raiser from early position will usually put you in pretty bad shape.

Full ring starting hand strategy.

When you are playing at a full ring table that holds around 10 players, you really need to tighten up your starting hand selection. This is because the large number of players at the table increases the likelihood that at least one player has a premium hand, and so you want to be sure that you have one of the best hands at the table every time you see a flop.

The starting hand table may look to be very strict, but this is simply a rough guide to help beginner players find their feet in Texas Hold'em. After you start to learn the game and become more experienced, you can start to open up your starting hand selection to incorporate different hands in different situations. However, if you are a new player, it is advised that you stick with this table as it will give you the best shot at winning as you start out.

Short handed starting hand strategy.

Seeing as there are less players at the table, you can afford to open up your starting hand requirements quite a bit. If you stuck with the full-ring starting hand table, you would be playing too few hands and missing out on good opportunities to make money.

Short handed tables are going to be harder to play than the full ring tables because the action is generally going to be wilder and less predictable. You are almost forced to play more hands, which means that unless you know what you are doing, the chances are that you are going to lose more money than you would at a full ring game.

Again, just as with the full ring table, the short handed table is merely the basic guide for a beginner player. As you progress, you will be able to work out how to profitably include other starting hands into the line up. But as for now, stick with this table if you're just getting to grips with short-handed play.

Starting hand strategy overview.

If you are a new player, these tables are really going to help set you up in the right direction. Even though this has only been a pretty rough guide on which hands to play in each position, it should have helped to build a solid foundation for you to build upon.

A lot of the time, there are going to be other factors like the type of players who you are up against, and/or the action that has taken place before you that will have an influence on your decision to play a hand. It's always best to use your head in poker, rather than relying on a table or rule for every play you make. So whilst this table will be a handy guide for now, try not to rely on it too much, and start to develop your knowledge of good starting hand strategy as you play.

At the end of the day, poker isn't really poker if you are playing from a set of rules. Always try and use your head when making decisions - they will be more profitable that way.

Go back to the sublime Texas Hold'em guide.

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Winning Texas holdem players do a good job of choosing the correct hands to enter the pot with. They resist the urge to enter the pot with marginal or poor hands, and always consider their position before making a decision to call, raise, or fold before the flop.

I remember when I started playing Texas holdem, I quickly learned how important starting hand selection was. The problem was that I couldn’t find specific information about what hands to play and which hands not to play in this version of casino poker gaming.

Of course, you can find a short list of hands you can always play, and it’s fairly easy to put together a list of some hands you should never play. But what do you do about all of the hands in between? It’s still almost impossible to find a list of specific hands you can play.

I’m going to give you a specific list of hands to play in Texas holdem. But you also need to understand a few things before you just blindly use this list. It’s important that you read the two sections below before reading the list.

How the List Was Developed

Over the years, I’ve developed the list of starting hands listed below. The hands I consider playing are based on table position. But I never play all of the hands blindly. The list is just the first thing I consider, and it’s only a small part of what you need to consider also.

Most poker players play too many hands, and one of the fastest ways to improve your results is to play fewer hands. If you fold all the hands that aren’t on the list, you won’t enter the pot often with hands that lose in the long run.

I learned that the optimal percentage of hands for me to see the flop with is around 20%. This is somewhat game-specific because, in some games, I can push the percentage up to close to 25% and in others, I push it down closer to 15%.

The starting hand recommendations below will see the flop from 20% to 25% of the time, including the blinds. As you’re going to learn, some of the hands are marginal and should only be played in certain situations. If you’re in doubt about a marginal hand, the best play is to fold before the flop.

Starting Hand Warning

If you want to be a winning Texas holdem player, you must learn about position and how to use it to help you make profitable plays. It’s much deeper than this, but as a short explanation, you can play more hands in late position than early position.

The reason is because you have an advantage when you get to act after your opponents. When you have to act first, your opponents have an informational advantage over you. This is why you can only play your strongest starting hands from early position.

The list below is just a starting point. Once you see the flop, you have to make smart decisions based on your position, the strength of your hand, and your odds of improving your hand. Most of the hands you see the flop with should be folded in order to save money for when you hit a good flop.

You also need to learn how to judge the abilities of your opponents. Against poor competition, you can get away with playing a few more hands because they make more mistakes. But against good competition, you can’t afford to make mistakes because they make you pay for every mistake.

Early Position Hands

At a nine or 10-player table, early position is the first three seats to the left of the blinds. At a six-player table, it’s the first two seats to the left of the blinds.

You can play a few more hands at short hand tables, but you shouldn’t add too many more hands.

Here are the only hands to consider playing from early position:

• AA
• KK
• QQ
• AKs
• AK
• AQs

I know this is a small list, but you’re at such a strong disadvantage in early position that you must remain tight to have a chance to profit. And even though this list is small, in some games, I fold AQs from early position. Though it’s rare, I’ve also folded AK from early position in particular games.

When you enter the pot from early position with these hands, you need to raise over 90% of the time. Playing in an aggressive manner forces weaker hands that can outdraw you on some flops to fold or pay a higher price to see the flop.

You also need to learn how to play each of these hands correctly after the flop. If you raise with QQ and the flop has an ace, you’re in a weak position on the flop. If you enter with AKs or AK and the flop doesn’t have an ace or king, you’re also in a tricky spot.

Middle Position Hands

Middle position is the two or three seats to the left of early position. The list of hands you can consider entering the pot with include the hands in the previous section as well as the following hands:

• JJ
• 10 10
• 99
• 88
• 77
• AQ
• AJs
• AJ
• A10s
• A10
• A9s
• KQs
• KJs

Some of these hands are weaker than others and must be folded when you face a raise from early position. In most games, the only hands on this list I consider laying when facing an early raise are the pairs. And if I don’t flop a set, I usually fold them after the flop.

Late Position Hands

20 Best Starting Hands Texas Holdem

Late position is the button and one seat to the right of the button.

The following list of hands can be played from late position in most games, but many of them must be folded if there has been a raise in the hand.

• 66
• 55
• A8s
• A7s
• A6s
• A5s
• A4s
• A3s
• A2s
• KQ
• KJ
• K10S
• K10
• QJs
• QJ
• Q10s
• Q10
• J10s

None of these hands are good enough to win on their own very often, so you need to be prepared to fold them on the flop if you don’t improve. When you flop a draw to a good hand, you need to start using pot odds and expected value to make all of your post flop decisions.

Texas Holdem Starting Hands Probability

With one of the hands in this section, you can raise occasionally, but most of them are drawing hands so you want to see the flop as cheaply as possible.

Blind Hands

The blinds are a big problem for most Texas holdem players. They get in trouble on the flop when they get to see the flop for free, or they decide to call a half bet or a raise with a weak hand because they already have money in the pot.

In the small blind, you need to fold any hand that isn’t on the list above. It doesn’t matter that you have a half bet in the pot already. The only hands you can consider playing from the small blind are the small pocket pairs not on the list, and it’s questionable if these are worth playing for a half bet.

Any time you face a raise in the blinds, the only hands you should play with are the ones that are strong enough to play from early position and the pocket pairs that can flop a set. All other hands should be folded.

Once you see the flop from the blinds, always remember that you’re in the worst position at the table. This means that if you don’t flop a strong hand or a draw that offers the correct pot odds to chase, you should check and fold to the first bet. It’s not worth chasing anything questionable from the blinds.

Conclusion

Best Starting Hands For Texas Holdem Poker

Now you have a specific list of starting hands for Texas holdem. You need to learn to make adjustments to the recommendations above based on whether the game is limit or no limit and based on the level of competition at the table. Use this list as a starting point and refine it as you gain experience.

Best Starting Hands Texas Hold Em

Good Starting Hands Texas Holdem

Shoot for seeing somewhere around 20% of the flops, and you’re going to have a better chance to win than most of your opponents. The player entering the pot with the strongest hand has the best chance to win.