When you are getting started in Texas Hold'em poker, you already know about the 10 best starting poker hands and what beats what in poker, but what about the 10 worst starting hands? Just like there are hands that make you want to bet the farm, there are definitely other hands in Texas Holdem that should make you a little nervous when it comes. Bad starting hands in Texas Holdem poker: 2-7 offsuit – this is the worst starting hand you can receive in Texas Holdem poker. You have no chance to make even straight draw, so when you are dealt these two cards it is better to fold. 2-8 offsuit – this is also a very bad hand and when you receive it you should consider folding. 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.
- Best 10 Starting Hands In Texas Holdem
- Top 10 Best Starting Hands In Texas Holdem
- Best And Worst Starting Hands In Texas Hold'em
- Best Starting Hands In Texas Holdem
Best 10 Starting Hands In Texas Holdem
The basic poker lesson is when to hold and when to fold. Knowing whether your initial deal is worth staying in the game or if you should call it a day, is one of the most important decisions to make at the beginning of the poker game. One of the most common beginner’s mistakes is holding onto the worst pair of hole cards instead of folding and protecting your money.
Therefore, if you are a novice poker player, one of the first things you should memorize is which initial hands are worth holding and which hands leaves you no choice but to fold. Since Texas Holdem is the most popular poker variation, here you can find lists of the best and the worth Holdem poker starting hands.
Best Poker Hands
If you are lucky to be dealt one of these initial hands, you are definitely having an excellent beginning:
Pair of Aces: as known as American Airlines or pocket rockets, it is the best possible Texas Holdem starting hand.
Pair of Kings: not as good as a pair of Aces but still an excellent way to open a game of Texas Holdem.
Pair of Kings: if you want to look at the bright side, you will be beaten only by Kings and Aces.
Ace and King: if they are of the same suit, your condition is even better, since you can form the nut flush at ease.
Pair of Jacks: unless the flop shows either a Queen, King or an Ace, you have decent chances of winning with this promising starting hand.
Ace and Queen: the same as Ace and King, a suited hand would increase your chances of stepping out as a winner.
King and Queen: unless the community cards contain an Ace, you are in a good shape with this starting hand and even better if it is suited
Ace and Jack: even if appears unsuited, this starting hand is still worth holding.
King and Jack: still one of the best Texas Holdem starting hands, but be careful with it, especially when unsuited.
Ace and Ten: the Ace upgrades it to a pretty good hand, although requires a cautious play since it can be beaten by any of the starting hands mentioned above.
Worst Poker Hands
These hands would suit you well if you play some of the lowball variations, but if you play traditional Texas Holdem poker, the best advice would be to fold.
2 and 7: if you are dealt this hand, especially unsuited, you cannot even make a straight. Even if suited you should be so lucky to form a low flush or the lowest pair. In one word: fold.
2 and 8: same as the previous hand; pair of 8s is still a low pair.
3 and 7: although it can beat the previous hands, it still a worthless pair of cards
3 and 8: again, hardly even a low straight.
2 and 6: only if the community cards will feature 3, 4 and 5, you will have a chance of forming a straight. However, do not count on it, especially if there are more than 3 attendances in the game.
2 and 9: thanks to the presence of the 9 you are in better shape than with the former hands, still you cannot form a straight and even a pair of 9s would be beaten by pairs of 10s, Jacks, Queens, etc.
3 and 9: the same thing: higher than 8 lower than almost any other hand.
4 and 9: as mentioned above; foldem.
2 and 10: even though Doyle Brunson had won two WSOP bracelets with this starting hand, unless you have the talent and experience of Brunson, do not hold this hand.
5 and 9: also known as Dolly Parton, this hand would get you nowhere near the final table.
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.
Top 10 Best Starting Hands In Texas Holdem
Here are the only hands to consider playing from early position:
- AA
- KK
- 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:
Best And Worst Starting Hands In Texas Hold'em
- 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
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.
Best Starting Hands In Texas Holdem
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
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.
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.