Having default ranges may also protect you from an exploitative way of thinking and from changing your ranges without a clear, defined reason. The charts provided below will tell you the default ranges for open raising from a given position with a given effective stack. You can use these as a foundation and adapt them whenever necessary. Poker Helper Calculator; Running into Aces with Kings; Poker Odds Calculator; How to Use the Poker Odds Calculator; More Texas Holdem Starting Hands; You May Also Like (Video) Prep for Battle of Malta with Maria Ho's MTT Crash Course; Daniel Negreanu's Strategy Tips for Modern Tournament Poker; An In-Depth Guide to Creating & Identifying Ranges.

• Poker Hand Range Calculator
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Poker Math & Probability What is Probability?. The PreFlopper Poker Calculators are simple-to-use applications that will help you develop a solid pre-flop playing strategy for Texas Hold'Em, Omaha, Omaha HiLo, Stud and Razz Poker. Using a Poker Odds Calculator Effectively Why Use a Poker Odds Calculator?. When you have one way to poker hands preflop odds complete a straight.Understand leggopoker 7 day trial the importance of strategy Think you can play poker blind successfully?It's not a made hand.

Plug preflop leaks with our advice

• Conversely, if someone is looking disinterested then you can add some more hands to your raising/ calling range.
• Http://mistupid.com/entertain/pokerhandodds.htm Poker Hand Odds Calculator Poker Hand Odds Calculator.
• All Top Poker Hands (Ranked High to Low) - Best Texas Hold'em On Starting Hand Charts Ranking the 169 Hands in Hold'em Best Pre Flop Poker Hands - Paul Phua Poker Poker Hand Rankings - Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart Poker Hand Rankings & The Top 20 Best Texas Hold'em Hands Holdem Secrets Article - Starting Hand Rankings Texas Holdem Starting Hand Rankings - All 169 from Best to Worst Images for ranking of poker hands preflop Determining Preflop Hand Strength in Poker - 888 Poker 11 Nov 2006 A guide for all preflop hands in Texas Hold'Em Poker.
• Psychology has a part to play, but a solid understanding of probability will serve you well at the poker tables.Take in the top hands This might sound like a given, but you need to actually understand what hand beats what when playing Texas Hold'em.
• Continue to place cards on the table in this manner until you have set up the table cards as you want (you may have any combination of known and unknown cards set) Click the 'Calculate Odds' button and see the results appear in the results window To clear the table and to start again, click the 'Clear Table' button Results:
• #2 - Straight Flush - Five cards in a row, all in the same suit.
• Effective Pre-Flop Play Understanding Texas Hold'em Poker Starting Hand Odds:

1. Here you can select suit combinations for any of your selections from the previous tab.
2. The player counts the number of cards that will improve his hand, and then multiplies that number by four to calculate his probability of catching that card on either the turn or the river.
3. Poker Math & Probability By Gerald Hanks The main underpinning of poker is math – it is essential.
4. Remember:
5. You look down and see A-A and instead of raising you decide to flat call.

When two players have paired hands, the lowest pair wins the pot

Poker is all about how you approach the game, so you're going to need to combine a poker odds calculator with an extensive knowledge of the game. It's true that you may hit a set, and it's possible that you have the implied odds to make up for the one bet that you put in now, but what if you get raised preflop, and you end up being only three to the flop?

So they might say something like “preflop I’m going to defend the top 25% of hands whatever happens” 22+, A2s+, K8s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T8s+, 97s+, 86s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s, ATo+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo (Note that the top 25% of hands looks like this – preflop ranges are sometimes represented in this format so it’s useful to be familiar with it). * Simple control over your seat with the choice of four position settings.

- Poker Forums For example, when I see pocket 2s vs AK, it's 51% vs 49%. Slots Classic Beer Kaufen Suited connectors and low pairs are good candidates for this – they can either flop big or not at all.

#4 - Full House - Also called a Full Boat. Anyone can 3-bet with AA, KK, AK and QQ – you’re doing that for value, and if that’s all you’re doing it with (i.e.

If you're looking for a tool to find out which poker hand wins in any pot, check out our Which Hand Wins Calculator . Are the chances of making a pair on the flop. Regras De Poker Texas

After you cards land in front of you make sure you pause for about 5-15 seconds and watch the other player's reactions to their cards before you look your action. There poker hands preflop odds are a couple of reasons for this.The provider of this tool does not guarantee the accuracy of the results and accepts stop gambling spells no liability for any loss that may occur as a result of the use of this tool.

Get Started Online Poker Bonus Offers Americas Cardroom 100% up to $1,000 Get 100% up to $1,000 initial deposit bonus!Deuce-to-Seven Lowball (also known as Kansas City Lowball ) Poker hands ranking in Deuce-to-Seven Lowball are essentially ranked in the opposite direction of traditional poker hands. Win :By calculating pot odds in various scenarios you get a 'behind-the-cards' perspective as to why experienced players act the way they did and secure a mountain of chips. | roulette alcolica dove comprarla https://www.tightpoker.com/poker_hands.html Poker Hand Rankings - Texas Holdem Starting poker hands preflop odds Hands Chart Complete ranking of poker hands for texas hold'em.

Do I need to memorize poker hand rankings to play?

As you can see, suited cards don’t make flushes very often.K♥ K♠ T♣ T♦ 9♥ for Two Pair, Kings and Tens with a Nine kicker Player B: EpiPhone Casino Vs EpiPhone Sheraton Ii This would be a move where you choose one of the very strongest hands in the above range (think A-A, K-K and Q-Q) and call UTG and then re-raise when some raises you.

While we advocated raising only 8% of hands in full ring games from UTG, you could increase this to 12%-15% of hands if it appears that no one else at the table is keen to play. Now, Roulette Pro Europa Casino ordinarily, this would not mean much to me.

The poker hands preflop odds action isn’t over napoleons casino sheffield christmas yet. Winstar Poker Tournament Winners You’ve created a situation where you know where you are and your opponent doesn’t. The nights are drawing in, it’s raining outside, and it’s time to do some maths. Blackjack Marketing Agency

• - Click the >Preflopper RAZZ< Button above PreFlopper - The Pre Flop Poker Calculator How should i play my Poker Starting Hands?
• Texas Holdem Heads-Up Preflop Odds 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.
• As you can see, suited Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom 2019 Schedule cards don’t make flushes very often.
• Employ Logic Seeing as it’s impossible to simply create a list of the hole-cards in order of strongest to weakest, we will have to accept that poker is a game of dynamic decision making.

15%-30% - A hand in the 15th to 30th percentile BBMM - two big (A,K,Q,J) and two middle (T,9,8,7) ZZLL - two small (6,5,4,3,2) and two low (A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) cards NNWW - two non-low (K,Q,J,T,9) and two wheel (A,2,3,4,5) cards AsBsAhBh - ace-big of spades and ace-big of hearts * * | Ks - any two hole cards and Ks up *s *s | Ks - two spades in hole with Ks up Js Qs | Ks - Js, Qs, Ks Js Qs Ks - Also Js, Qs, Ks - no pipe needed if all cards exact J Q | Ks - any jack and queen with Ks 9+ 9+ | Ks - two cards nine or higher with Ks 9+s 9+s | Ks - two spades nine or higher with Ks 88-QQ | Ks - 88, 99, TT, JJ, or QQ with Ks 22-AA, *s *s| Ks 2c Ts - pair, trips, or flush draw on fifth street 22-AA, *s *s| Ks 2c Ts 8h | *d, *h - Red card flashed on river B M | Ks - a big (A,K,Q,J) and middle (T,9,8,7) card with Ks Z L | Ks - a small (6,5,4,3,2) and 'low' (A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) card with Ks N W | Ks - a 'no-low' (K,Q,J,T,9) and wheel (A,2,3,4,5) card with Ks * * | Ks - any two hole cards and Ks up *s *s | Ks - two spades in hole with Ks up Js Qs | Ks - Js, Qs, Ks Js Qs Ks - Also Js, Qs, Ks - no pipe needed if all cards exact J Q | Ks - any jack and queen with Ks 9+ 9+ | Ks - two cards nine or higher with Ks 9+s 9+s | Ks - two spades nine or higher with Ks 88-QQ | Ks - 88, 99, TT, JJ, or QQ with Ks 22-AA, *s *s| Ks 2c Ts - pair, trips, or flush draw on fifth street 22-AA, *s *s| Ks 2c Ts 8h | *d, *h - Red card flashed on river B M | Ks - a big (A,K,Q,J) and middle (T,9,8,7) card with Ks Z L | Ks - a small (6,5,4,3,2) and 'low' (A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) card with Ks N W | Ks - a 'no-low' (K,Q,J,T,9) and wheel (A,2,3,4,5) card with Ks A35 - An Ace, a three, and a five JJ4 - Two Jacks and a four **6 - Two random down cards and a six 9- 9- 4 - Two down cards nine or lower and a four 3+ 3+ 9 - Two down cards three or higher and a nine (T- 7- 4) - Three DIFFERENT ranks - a ten or lower, a seven or lower, and a four Use parentheses to force ranks to be all different. Cookies help https://blegeren.webs.uvigo.es/?gblb45=rolex-oyster-perpetual-datejust-roulette us deliver our services.

Select any possible set of suited cards, offsuit cards, or pocket pairs. Poker is not blackjack, a game in which similar hand-ranking guides are sometimes used to inform players’ decisions about how to play.

Conclusion A strong knowledge of poker math and probabilities will help you adjust your strategies and tactics during the game, as well as giving you reasonable expectations of potential outcomes and the emotional stability to keep playing intelligent, aggressive poker. Over on the left-hand side of the grid we have the offsuit combos.

The strength of our preflop holding depends on the scenario we face, and the many different situations we can find ourselves in. Gambling Regulatory Authority Mauritius Of course, position matters for a second reason as well:

Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+! You don’t want to hit your Ace with A-9 if your opponent has called your 3-bet with a better Ace.

The percentage of simulated rounds the player has tied with other players Odds:

1. POST REPLY How do you calculate pre-flop starting hand percentages?
2. Raise with A-A, K-K, A-Ks, Q-Q, A-K, J-J, A-Qs, A-Qo, or A-Js.
3. “Automated” play Poker can often be a data and calculation intensive game, especially if you choose to address the table in a manual fashion.
4. Https://www.paulphuapoker.com/best-pre-flop-poker-hands/ Best Pre Flop Poker Hands | Best Hands In Poker Pre Flop | Paul Phua The best pre flop poker hands can make your eyes light up.
5. - Poker How to Avoid Pre-Flop Mistakes – Preflop Poker Strategy - CardsChat Texas Holdem Preflop Odds Texas Holdem Poker Odds - Pre Flop Hand Type Frequencies Poker Calculator – Texas Holdem Poker Odds Calculator - 888 Poker Holdem Odds and Probability Holdem Pre Flop Odds Holdem Post Flop Odds Ax | Kx | Qx | Jx | Tx | 9x | 8x | 7x | 6x | 5x | 4x | 3x | 2x | Start Hand | To Flop Poker odds calculate the chances of you holding a winning hand.

5-4-3-2-A is also known as the wheel, and it is the lowest possible straight. AA** - A hand in the top fifteen percent of hands EXCLUDING those blegeren.webs.uvigo.es with two aces ('!' is the difference operator) (88**, (99** & *s*s**)) !

Know your chances of winning a hand against one or many opponents in Texas Hold'em. There are no guarantees but, in the long run, using this kind of statistical information can give you a real edge over players that don't realize what they're missing out on.

Each poker deck has fifty-two cards, each designated by one of four suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades) and one of thirteen ranks (the numbers two through ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace). Hints for Winning At Slot Machines T&C's apply. Pokerwoche Casino Velden

22 Apr 2015 Charts ranking the 169 different starting hands in Texas hold'em can be very intriguing, when playing preflop, while {8-Clubs} This is especially true if the pair you have is low, because there could be other pairs around the table that have a higher hand ranking in Texas Holdem. We’ve essentially focused on the strength of one preflop starting hand relative to another preflop starting hand.

With all his hands! Poker Texas Holdem Para Celular Gratis That means the move needs around a 60% chance of working to break even. Mermaid Slot Machine Splish Splash

• Poker Hand Rankings & The Top 20 Best Texas Hold’em Hands December 13, 2017 / Rory Corrigan / Poker Strategy We’ve compiled a list of poker hands from highest to lowest to help you get started.
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• The immediate upshot of this seems to be that you should fold a lot of your marginal hands when out of position to a raise.
• And in good position, this is even easier.
• Lists and charts of the top ten percent of preflop holdings in Hold'em poker, In Texas Hold'em, there are 169 unique combinations of preflop starting hands you can be looks like, you will be able to recognize what 3% looks like and 20%.
• You can then further constrain your selection based on suits by clicking the tab.So when players act aggressively pre flop – signaling a strong hand like A Q, A Holdem Odds and Probability Holdem Pre Flop Odds Holdem Post Flop Odds Ax | Kx | Qx | Jx | Tx | 9x | 8x | 7x | 6x | 5x | 4x | 3x | 2x | Start Hand | To Flop All Top Poker Hands (Ranked High to Low) - Best Texas Hold'em - top169 preflop hands in Texas Hold'em ranked!
• Using a poker calculator you'll see that 8% of hands equates to:

This is an assumption that intuitively makes sense and seems logical, but is actually incorrect.Grathwohl Keith Hawkins 'The Camel' Keith Sloan 'Bendigo' Kieran Walsh Lee Davy Lisa Florup Marcel Luske Mark Strahan Marty Wilson Matthew Hilger Michael '007' Lang Mick McCloskey Mike Lacey Mob Articles Neil Channing 'Bad Beat' Neil Johnson Nicholas Wealthall Nick Ferro Nolan Dalla Padraig Parkinson Paul Jackson 'Actionjack' Paul Zimbler 'The Marbella Kid' Peter Hellekalek Phil Hellmuth Phil Shaw Press Releases Pro Tips Rich Prew Richard Liu Rob Thomas Robbie Strazynski Robert Butt Robert Yong RobGibraltar Rolf Slotboom Ryan Bushell Sarah Bilney SikTilt Poker News Simon Galloway Simon Trumper 'Aces' Stephen Bartley Stephen McClean Steve Hall 'A Brit in Vegas' Steve Lipscomb Tim Huber Tips From the Full Tilt Pros Tony Bloom Unknown Poker Player Vicki Mead Vicky Coren Warren Wooldridge Will Tipton World Team Poker Zachary Elwood Corporate Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Information Initiatives Sportify Poker Gaming Player Index Global Poker League GPL中国 | 中国扑克联盟 American Poker Awards European Poker Awards Global Poker Conference Poker Calendar HoldemX Power Up Poker Global Poker League Teams LA Sunset Las Vegas Money Makers Montreal Nationals New York Rounders San Francisco Rush Sao Paulo Metropolitans Berlin Bears Hong Kong Stars London Royals Moscow Wolverines Paris Aviators Rome Emperors Our website uses cookies to make your experience on our website better. Tamale Festival Casino Del Sol The jugar al poker online gratis minijuegos hands are ranked from strongest to weakest.Poker Guides on CardsChat Strategy Guides poker hands preflop odds There's no point in playing if you don't win. The strongest starting hand in poker, pocket aces are a strong pre-flop favorite over any other two cards and a 4:1 favorite over almost any hand.While there are six different ways to get pocket aces — , , — you're equally happy no matter what suits the cards are. Html5 Slot Machine Script

Multiply your number of outs by 2, then add 2 to get your odds of hitting it

• Because the hand above has two spades–the 8♠ and the 5♠–only one of them counts, making this a three-card hand of 5♠-4♣-3♦.
• The Later, The Better It isn't just our opponent's position that plays a big role in our decision making.allMessages, short_url:
• You can also set the number of poker players according to the table you´re playing at.
• Your opponent bets $5.Certainly, getting it wrong is bad for your stack.
• Get your opponent to make mistakes (according to the fundamental theorem of poker).
• With experience, you will also learn how to adjust to different conditions at the table.Relative Strength If we were to indicate the strength of a preflop holding very roughly, then typically the further up the grid you go, and the more you go to the left, the stronger the preflop holding will be.
• How you open up more and more speculative hands at the late positions?

• The best option is likely to fold here.
• So maybe the Ace of Spades and a Queen of Hearts.
• Once you have given cards to all the players you want to hand out cards to, you can click into the center to start dealing into the flop.
• Hopefully, you'll be closer now to understanding why that is.This information and data will allow you to exert a tighter grip on the action, making your play more effective in the process.

The most advanced Poker Odds Calculator on the web

• Players don't play poker in a vacuum; Understanding Texas Hold'em Poker Starting Hand Odds:
• 15%-30% - A hand in the 15th to 30th percentile BBMM - two big (A,K,Q,J) and two middle (T,9,8,7) ZZLL - two small (6,5,4,3,2) and two low (A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) cards NNWW - two non-low (K,Q,J,T,9) and two wheel (A,2,3,4,5) cards AsBsAhBh - ace-big of spades and ace-big of hearts AsKsTdTh - ace of spades, king of spades, ten of diamonds, and ten of hearts AA** - any hand with at least two aces AA**, KK** - any hand with at least two aces or two kings (',' is the union operator) AA** & KK** - any hand with two aces AND two kings ('&' is the intersection operator) AAKK - another way of writing the above 15% !But this would involve making a certain assumption; that the strength of a hand is always based on its pot equity.
• This so called 'drawing Roulette Likelihood hand.' It's true that it's considerably weaker than AA, but it's far from helpless.
• Especially when suited.Here you can select suit combinations for any of your selections from the previous tab.

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However, this is a move you should use sparingly Slot De Tarjeta De Memoria and only if you're certain that someone behind you is aggressive enough to isolate your limp with a raise. When you’re relatively deep in the small or big blinds (let’s say 30BBs or more) different strategies Training To Become A Casino Dealer have to be used to combat the opponent who’s raising too light from late position.

In slotomania slot machines gratis gioca qui a poker hands preflop odds high card or one pair hand tie-breaker, both players can sometimes have the same kicker. The nCr function on most scientific calculators can be used to calculate hand frequencies; entering nCr with 52 and 5 , for example, yields as above. 'I had bad pot odds, but I decided to gamble on a gutshot.Hold'em Poker Odds Calculator - Cardplayer Poker Calculator – Texas Holdem Poker Odds Calculator - 888 Poker Poker Odds Calculator | Odds of Winning w/ Any Poker Hand #1 FREE Poker Odds Calculator - For Texas Hold'em, Omaha & More!

1. For instance, a coin flip has two possible outcomes:
2. Top 10 Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em Poker 1. Upswing Poker Home Log In Access the Poker Training Products Meet the Pros Poker News, Strategies & Tips Postflop Game Plan The Poker Lab Poker Lab Testimonials Back Advanced Poker Training PLO Lab Advanced Heads-Up Mastery Brains vs AI Challenge:
3. Poker Guides on CardsChat Strategy Guides There's no point in playing if you don't win.
4. When you turn your cards over, you find to your dismay that your opponent has a bigger kicker and wins the pot.Once those are set proceed in the same manner to fill in the flop and turn cards.

The chances he will get a fold from both blinds is: With loose opponents, Cheyenne Wyoming Gambling this is easy.

7. It's only ace-high, and you're unlikely to win the hand unless you actually pair up somewhere down the line - yet the recommendation is to raise it.Click the start button..

Even that super-aggressive Scandi is playing value poker most of the time (I’m serious: The odds against you flopping a poker hands preflop odds set with a hand like 55 are pretty bad; about 7.5-1 petit casino st julien chapteuil against.

By calculating pot odds in various scenarios you black halo jackie o dress bloomingdales get a 'behind-the-cards' perspective as to why experienced players act the way they did and secure a mountain of chips. poker hands preflop odds You can also set the number of poker players according to the table you´re playing at.

h*h** - any hand with at least two hearts X% - Hands in the Xth percentile or better

1. Full Tilt Poker Odds Calculator Have you ever been playing on your favorite online poker site and given (or even taken) a bad beat and wondered, 'What are the odds?' Well, our state-of-the-art Poker Odds Calculator will help you figure out just that.
2. Once the calculator has all of this information, click into the center to address the flop, from there you'll be presented with the odds needed to read the table.
3. And even against a large field of opponents, AK will still win more than its fair share of the pots.
4. The Wolfram Mathworld site has detailed odds on all the poker hands to get you clued up.
5. Even though this hand is not a standard open-raise, we can make an exception in this case in an attempt to exploit weaker opponents.
6. Recently I was playing $1/$2 Limit Texas Hold'em online and I noticed something striking about one of the players at my table.

With this starting hands EV chart, you now have statistical rankings of each Hold'em hand. If you are happy with your selected cards, click OK below.After studying this player I began to notice that he was not the only one at the table poker hands preflop odds making these mistakes and that's when I thought to myself that there are many people who craps tipping dealer simply do not know how to play their hands pre-flop.

Adjusting to the table you're playing.The best hands to play in Texas Holdem are:. Lake Charles Casinos Pet Friendly If he calls, the new pot is now $100 and his $10 call makes up 10% of the new pot.5-Card Omaha Hi 5-Card Omaha Hi/Lo Hold'em Omaha Hi Omaha Hi/Lo Razz Stud Hi Stud Hi/Lo syntax: Heads or poker hands preflop oddshow to make side slot stove tails.Reverse floating .Loose players are like that after all. Casino Legal Age Macau

1. Helping you step up to the table and deliver an all-around performance, here are a few ways that you can improve your game.
2. AllMessages, short_url:Ever wonder who is the best poker player in the world?
3. Six Grosvenor Casino Sunderland Food Low Any unpaired hand with 6 as the highest card.
4. Poker probability - Wikipedia Poker probability - Wikipedia 20 Texas Hold'em Poker Odds & Statistics You Should Know What are the chances of making your flush with two suited cards Poker Odds for Dummies - #1 Beginner's Guide to Poker Odds Poker Overview 06:So, determining the poker outs is basically figuring out what the odds are of finding the card to complete the hand you're aiming for.

Pro poker odds calculator. The poker odds calculators on let you run any scenario that you see at 20 Hold'em Poker Odds & Statistics to Improve your Poker Game.

Truthfully the odds aren't *exactly* 50/50 in these scenarios but they are close enough that they are considered a coin flip. Im Taking Nasty Craps What are pot odds and poker outs?

Absolutely, CardsChat's poker odds calculator is mobile friendly. American Roulette Bets Hardly. Desert Diamond Casino Anjelah Johnson

The flop had come Q-high, which would have given me top pair, top kicker, probably costing me at least $20. In a game that measures profit by a few big bets per 100 hands played, saving 5 big bets on a read is pretty great. Conclusion Now look at a starting hands chart again. Knowing your odds of winning at any point in a hand is a good base of understanding but poker is a game of incomplete information and you won't have access to your opponent's actual hand to make your decisions. Zasady Gry W Holdema

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One of hold’em’s most crucial decisions is, do I see the flop or don’t I see the flop? In this lesson we’ll examine the importance starting hand selection and what factors you need to consider before deciding whether to hold’em or fold’em.

There are 169 different two card starting hand combinations in hold’em poker. This number assumes, for the sake of argument, that is the same as , or any other suited combination. If you are not dealt a pair, then your starting hand will either be suited or unsuited, and either connected or unconnected (gapped). This means your starting hand will fall into one of the following five categories:

• Pairs – e.g. , ,
• Suited connectors – e.g. , ,
• Connecting cards – e.g. , ,
• Suited unconnected cards – e.g. , ,
• Unconnected cards – e.g. , ,

Unconnected cards might be one, two, three-gapped, or more. The bigger the gap, the less chance you have of hitting a straight. For example, if you hold 73, then you’d need a flop of 456 for the straight. But holding T8, you could flop a straight with 9JQ or 679.

The Best Starting Hands in Hold’em

Let’s start by talking about the best starting hands, which are often referred to as ‘premium hands’. There is some disagreement amongst poker players as to which starting hands are the best, but few would dispute the value of the first of our three main groups, Aces and Kings.

Group 1: AA, KK

These two starting hands are the major players in hold’em. It’s not often you’ll get dealt Aces or Kings. In fact you get either Aces or Kings once in every 110 hands, so it’s not nearly as often as we’d like. Aces are by far the best possible starting hand in hold’em, closely followed by Kings. However, you should be aware that even Aces or Kings can get cracked, and they don’t play too well against multiple opponents. This means you should definitely be raising pre-flop to narrow the field. Extra caution is necessary when playing Kings, because if an Ace falls on the flop then you’re losing to anyone who has a single Ace in their starting hand. While they are very strong hands which most players love to get, they are certainly not unbeatable.

Group 2: QQ, JJ, AKs

Queens and Jacks are great starting hands, and with either of these, you can usually be confident you have the best starting hand. Of course they are dominated by Aces and Kings, but they’re a favourite against all other starting hands. While Queens and Jacks will occasionally run into a player holding either Aces or Kings, it doesn’t happen too often. Play these cards strongly, and always look to raise with them.

Ace-King is known throughout the poker world as Big Slick, and when suited it’s often called Super Slick. While it isn’t a ‘made hand’, unlike a pair, it offers great potential. It’s only a big underdog to Aces and Kings, and even pairs like Queens and Jacks are only slight favourites. The beauty of AK (suited or unsuited), is that it dominates so many other hands like AQ, AJ, AT, and so on. These types of hands are the ones that players usually end up pushing all-in with late in a tournament.

Group 3: TT, AK, AQs, AJs, KQs

This next group of starting hands is also a strong bunch. You should definitely be looking to raise pre-flop with any of these hands too. We’ve already talked about the power of AK, but starting hands like AQs, and AJs, are also very strong and often run into weaker Ace-X combinations. Even though these are all strong starting hands, and most of the time you’ll be winning pre-flop, you have to be careful – particularly a hand like KQs, which you can easily fold to a re-raise.

Suited Cards

You’ll often hear novice players responding to questioning of why they played a particular starting hand with the line “well, because they were suited”. Some suited cards are worth playing and it’s certainly better to start with suited cards than unsuited cards. However, the odds of flopping a flush is 1 out of 118 hands (0.8%) with two suited cards, and you’ll only make a flush after the river around 6.5% of the time. Don’t fall into the trap of playing any two cards just because they happen to be suited – it doesn’t make a big enough difference to make junk hands valuable.

Kicker Issues

The word ‘kicker’ means the smaller of your two cards. Some players play a hand if it contains an Ace with any other card (such as an Ace with a 3 kicker), and this type of play ultimately cost players money and tournaments. For example, let’s suppose a player calls with A6 and the flop comes A83. What does the player do? bet? call? raise? call a big raise? go all-in? What if the flop comes Q63? The player has middle pair – which is very hard to play. Hey, the flop could come A6X – the player has two pair, Aces and sixes but this happens only 1 out of 49 hands (2%). Until you learn when and how to play Ace junk (AX) go slow with it. One good thing about A junk and K junk, is that you do not need to play these hands to learn when they may be profitable. Let experience from other hands and study be your teacher.

Table Conditions

Hold’em starting hands can be a complex subject because every situation is different. If you were to ask a professional poker player, “should I call, raise, or fold this hand pre-flop?” his response would almost certainly be “it depends!” Here are some of the main reasons why it depends:

The Number of Players

The value of certain starting hands is very dependent upon the number of players at the table. Certain starting hands are always going to be under threat against a table of nine or ten players, but the value of these same hands increases when there are fewer players. A starting hand like KJ might be vulnerable against a full table of players, but is considered a strong hand if there are just a few other players.

Position

Your position on the poker table will be a major factor in deciding which starting hands you should play. The later your position in the betting order, the better – because you get to decide what to do after most of your opponents have acted. We’ll talk much more about the importance of position throughout our lessons on Pokerology, but as a first step please see our lesson on the value of position. Playing position can elude us at first because it is a part of poker that lends itself to be exploited through experience. However, you must quickly realize that your position at the table should heavily influence the choice of starting hands that you play. Until a player has a feel or grasp for positional play, just believe and follow some of the suggestions on the subject.

A Raised Pot

Whether or not a pot has been raised should be a very important factor in your decision to play a particular starting hand. Your selection of starting hands should change when the pot has been raised by a reasonable player. If there has been a raise and a re-raise before you’re due to act, then you should only consider playing with a very strong hand. Of course this will also depend on the personality types of the other players and whether the game is very loose or passive.

Starting Hand Charts

When you first start playing poker it can be helpful to use a starting hand chart as a point of reference. We’ve created a couple of starting hand charts that can be used by beginners. Please click on the following links to view these charts (they will open in a new window):

Each of these charts loads as a PDF, meaning they be viewed on screen, bookmarked or better still, can be printed and studied offline.

Beginners can treat starting hand charts as the gospel, but once you know enough about the game to recognize appropriate opportunities, you can deviate because your adjustment may represent a more profitable play. Our starting hand charts are a guide, not a set of intractable rules. There is no such thing as a perfect starting hand chart, because every game is different and there are many variables at work. Game texture and table conditions can’t be measured and included into a neat formula.

There are many factors that may encourage you to tighten or loosen your play from our guidelines. If you have a starting hand that’s not listed on the chart, then there’s a good reason – it should almost always be mucked. But as in all poker decisions the phrase, “It depends” comes to mind. However, before you decide to deviate from our guidelines, have a reason for taking such an action.

Conclusion

Don’t fall into the trap of playing any two cards. Most poker players want to play hands and as a beginner it’s very easy to be seduced by suited cards or picture cards, or any two-card holding that contains an Ace of a King – but if you play hold’em correctly, you’re going to be selective and toss away the vast majority of hands you’re dealt.

Poker Hand Range Calculator

When you gain more poker playing experience you can begin to open up your range of starting hands – but until then, proceed with caution and only play the best hands. Loose, promiscuous play will get you into trouble and is the downfall of many players.

In future lessons we’ll expand much more on the topics discussed in this poker lesson and get you to think beyond the actual cards you’re dealt. We also have hours of video footage covering starting hand selection for both no-limit and fixed-limit hold’em – so depending upon your preference, be sure to check them out!

By David Sasseman

David lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and has played over a million hands online and many thousands of hands in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Las Vegas casinos.

Poker Starting Hand Range Chart Poker

Holdem Poker Starting Hands Chart