• Texas Holdem Heads-Up Preflop Odds. This table was created by enumerating through every possible board and opponent hole card combination for each of the 169 texas holdem preflop starting hands.
• However, there are 1,326 different starting poker hands in Texas Holdem, and even 270,725 poker hand variations in Pot Limit Omaha. While there are many different starting hands options in various games, the winning hand is determined by poker hand rankings consisting only of 10 options.

Fundamentals of Poker - Limit Texas Hold'emMason MalmuthTwo Plus Two Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 12

• General Guidelines
• Seven Card Stud
• Limit Texas Hold'em

These statistics were compiled by a major online poker room from an expected value page from their database of millions of real live hands. Positive expectation hands are indicated by black numbers while negative expectation hands are indicated by red numbers.

There are five categories of limit hold ’em starting hands that we will discuss: Big pairs, small and medium pairs, two high cards, suited connectors, and big-little suited. Most other hands should be thrown away unless you have the big blind and the pot has not been raised.

Big pairs.

A pair of tens and higher is an excellent starting hand. With a high pair, you not only can make an even bigger hand, but also can completely miss the board — your hand does not improve — and still have a reasonable opportunity to win the pot. Obviously, the chances of winning with two aces are better than the chances of winning with two tens. In general, however, all high pairs have immediate value and should be played aggressively.

Small and medium pairs.

In hold ’em, as in seven-card stud, there is a big difference in strength between big pairs and smaller pairs. A hand like the

seldom wins the pot without improvement. Moreover, the odds against this hand improving to three of a kind on the flop are almost 8-to-1 (although you still can flop a straight draw).

Since small and medium pairs rarely win without improving, they have little immediate value and therefore can be classified as drawing hands. And to profitably play these hands, you need several opponents in the pot.

Two high cards.

Two unsuited high cards is usually a playable hand but not a great hand. Even though ace-king almost always should be played, a hand like the

often should be folded, especially if someone has raised. In addition, this hand must hit the flop to win in a multiway pot.

If your hand is suited, you should be more inclined to play. But remember the warning given earlier: Don’t overrate the value of two suited cards.

Suited connectors.

Hands like the

are only fair at best. And if your hand contains a gap, you cannot play it as often since your straight possibilities have decreased. This type of hand usually should be thrown away in early position, and you should not call a raise even from a late position unless many players are already in the pot.

Big-little suited.

An ace or a king with a small card of the same suit is similar in value to the suited connectors and should be played as such. Of course ace-little suited is better than king-little suited.

Starting Hand Quiz

1. What hands are you primarily interested in playing?

Big pairs and high cards, especially suited high cards.

2. How do you play these hands?

Aggressively. Almost always raise, and with the better hands, usually reraise.

3. Suppose two players are already in the pot. The first player has raised, the second has called, and you hold two kings. What should you do?

Raise again. You have a strong hand and would prefer to shut out the remaining players.

4. In what situation do small pairs play best?

In a many-handed pot.

5. When you play a small pair, what are you hoping to do?

To make three of a kind on the flop.

Strength Of Poker Starting Hands Meaning

6. When do suited connectors play best?

When many opponents are in the pot.

7. You are in one of the blind positions, someone has raised, and there are several callers. What kind of hands should you play?

All of the good hands, plus all pairs and many of the hands that can make straights and flushes.

8. Which hand is better, ace-jack offsuit or eight-seven suited?

Normally, ace-jack offsuit is the better hand. But when a lot of players are in the pot, you would prefer to hold the eight-seven suited. In this spot, don’t overplay a hand like ace-jack.

9. If there is no raise, what hands do you call with out of the little blind?

Even though you can get in for only a partial bet, you still need to be somewhat selective. Routinely playing hands like the

eventually will prove costly. In other words, you still should discard your worst hands.

10. If someone has raised, how does this affect the hands you should play?

Generally, you need to be much more selective. Small pairs and medium suited connectors do not play well against a large pair, and when someone raises, he’s quite likely to be holding a large pair. In addition, a raise makes it doubtful that a lot of players will enter the pot. This means you will not get the implied odds — the amount of money you anticipate winning versus the amount you expect it to cost you — that many hands require to be profitable.

11. When should you play a hand like king-four suited?

When you are in a late position, several players are already in, and the pot has not been raised.

12. When you have a close decision regarding whether to play a hand, what should you consider?

In hold ’em, as in seven-card stud and all other forms of poker, you must take into account how well those opponents already in the pot play. The better they play, the less inclined you should be to go up against them.

It’s important for any player of any skill and experience level to determine the strength of his or her poker starting hands from the get go. After all, strong starting hands will defeat weaker starting hands in 3 out of 4 instances - at least.

It’s important for any player of any skill and experience level to determine the strength of his or her poker starting hands from the get go. After all, strong starting hands will defeat weaker starting hands in 3 out of 4 instances - at least. You can’t argue with those odds!

Despite the rather epic detail some people go into when trying to breakdown the best poker starting hands, it’s actually quite easy to decide which hands to keep and which to muck. There’s no need to over-think it; we've got the goods on how to best guarantee your odds by simply being adequately selective with your starting hand (i.e. your hole cards.)

Follow this step-by-step guide to shaking off the rubble and playing the gold.

Step 1: Know Your Poker Hand Rankings

If you want to know if your starting hand has any merit, first you've got to know which poker hands bestow esteem. Familiarize yourself with poker hand rankings before slipping into any game. Pretty basic, right? You bet.

Let’s move on then...

Step 2. Determine Rank

The higher rank your hole cards, the better your chances of winning the hand (or the game).
The best ranking hole cards you could possibly have are pocket pairs. Pocket Pairs (two of the same card) offer a good start, though of course the higher your pair, the better your chances. Finding two Aces in the hole, for example, is every poker player's dream. If you land pocket aces in the hole, your opponent will need at least 2 pair to knock you out. A pair in the hole also means you stand a reasonable chance of landing a third card of identical rank on the flop, turn or river. Just keep in mind that a small value pocket pair does not always pan out. Your opponents still have plenty of opportunity to score a sweet addition to their hole cards. For example, if you have a 3♦, 3♥ and your opponent held hole cards of 6♠ and J♣, he or she would simply need to land a six or a jack in the community cards to win.

As a rule, we don't recommend raising early on unless you have at least a pair of nines (or higher), Ace-Queen (or higher). If your table is smaller (i.e. 6 max), a King-Queen partnering in the hole is a solid bet too.

As odds have it, you will only be dealt pocket pairs about 1 in 16 hands, so you don't want to rely on these little miracles.

Having two high cards is also advantageous because they provide a good 'kicker' (i.e. the card used in the event opponents have the same hand. The 'kicker' determines who will win.)

Sklansky hand groupings are often used to rank starting hands. Here, the lower the number in the chart, the better the hand. Hands without numbers are considered the weakest.

So, what do we want to look for next then?

Step 3: Determine Suit(s)

In general, it is better to have cards of the same suit than to have connected cards. This is because as far as poker starting hands go, suited hole cards have a better chance of making a flush. What's more, holding two hole cards of the same suit will give you the upper hand when it comes to a board full of the same suit. Here' what we mean:

If you have 6♦, 7♦ as your hole cards and the board shows A♦, 5♦, 6♠, 9♦, chances are you will have the winning hand. If you're holding 6♦, 8♠, however, and the board shows A♦, 5♦, 2♦, 9♦, your luck may not hold because any diamond higher than a 6 will best your hand.

Step 4: Look for Similar Ranking

Any go-to guide on poker starting hands is not complete without talking a little bit about consideration for cards of close rank. This is an incredibly important element of landing a straight. By 'close rank' we mean: how close are your cards in their poker-given ranking?

Again, let's look at an example: If your hole cards are 9♦, 8♣, you stand a much better chance of making a straight than if your cards are 10♦, 5♥ since the 4 card gap makes it impossible to use both your cards to make the straight. Same suited, high rank, consecutively ranking hole cards are particularly desirable (e.g. A♥, K♥ or A♣, K♣, and so on). Still, remember that when it comes to poker starting hands, even these powerful hole cards won't beat a small pocket pair. It is a hand that requires some building to gain a solid footing.

If you get low, unconnected, not-same suited hole cards, you are going to want to muck your hand without another thought (e.g. 7♣, 2♥). Neither flush nor straight is in your future, my friend. Leave your fight for another day.

Strength Of Poker Starting Hands Against

This said, there are a couple notable exceptions to this rule:

1. Blinds. Blinds are the forced bets placed by the 2 players to the immediate left of the dealer. The small blind (1st to the left) places half the full bet and the big blind places the full bet. Example: in a limit game of Texas Hold’em where the stakes are $2/$4, the small blind would place $1 and the big blind would place $2. Blinds exist to drive money into the pot and encourage betting by sweetening the pot.

So, have you already bought your way into the action on a blind - particularly a big blind? If you've already paid your dues and no one has raised, then it won't cost you anything to check and see what the flop holds. This is also true if you are the small blind, though to a lesser extent. Some poker starting hands ride walk that blurry line between possible and total crap, so it can be a tough call to decide whether to pony up the remaining portion of the full bet when you are the small blind. Our advice? First consider steps 1 through 4 again, then consider your existing stack. Is it stocked well enough to tolerate a little loose play? Next, consider your competition. Who's in the game, or who's left in the game? If the game has just started and you're still looking at a full table, then it will be hard (if not impossible) for you to make this call; there are too many different players, too many different playing styles and as such, too many variables. However, if you are one of the last players standing, you may have a solid handle on your opponent(s) playing style and, as a result, be able to gauge the kinds of cards he or she considers playable.

2. If you are playing a Hi-Low game, where the highest and lowest ranking hands both split the pot. Just keep in mind you want the lowest hand – not just a low hand, so keeping middle of the road poker starting hands isn’t going to bode well for you here. Your hand has to be positively abysmal (e.g. 2♠, 3♥).

Strength Of Poker Starting Hands Games

And there you have it! A simple, comprehensive guide to how to play poker starting hands in four easy steps. No muss, no fuss, just tight, consistent play to maximize your chances of winning from the very first deal.