Knowing the strength or weakness of your starting hand (your hole cards) in Hold'em is one of the most important parts of playing Poker successfully.
As a new player correctly selecting which hands to play and which to lay down even BEFORE the flop is probably the single most effective way to minimise your loses.
Understanding exactly what possibilities your hand has will also gets you in the correct mindset if your faced with difficult decisions after you've seen the flop or when another player puts you to the test.
Following the tips below on general hands types there is a list of starting hand combinations from best to worst - Most novice players will rank at least some of the starting hands incorrectly.
Many players will bet them incorrectly or fall in love with a hand that in most situations really isn't as good as they think it is.
Importantly understanding your postion (link) in relation to hand selection is really the key to winning and not losing at hold'em - certain hands arn't playable if your first to act but if your on the button (dealer) then you have alot more playable hands.
Pairs - (pocket pairs)
These are a good start and they will always encourage you to get involved.
Chances of getting dealt pocket pair - roughly once in 16 hands. Obviously the higher the pair the better off you are (at least before the flop).
Dont write off a couple of ducks (22) - suddenly they look damn fine if the flop comes Q27 - your gona get plenty of action from someone with a Queen especially if they've got an ace or made 2 pair (then you gota hope they dont get lucky - bet and sound them out).
Pairs are great but watch out with low pairs if they dont make trips on the flop you need to be realistic about there value - otherwise endlessly calling big bets with a pair 8's or less is going to hurt.
medium pairs - 99, 10 10, JJ (hooks) are better - they have alot more possibilities than low pairs - if the flop comes down rag low cards you're a little more confident with an over pair (a pair higher than any of the cards on the board). You need to be careful though its always possible someone else has a higher over pair or over cards - and dont forget they might just have made trips off that innocent looking 2 on the end.
the big boys QQ, KK, AA -
you've got a hand - make 'em pay to play - but be careful playing them
too slow can let someone catch up fast and you'll have trouble laying them down - remember its always the 2nd best hand that costs you your stack.
too fast and everyone will think you take them for idiots ... and fold
to maxmise your profit on these big starting hands you need to judge your opposition - play them hard but if they're tight players they're not going to bite unless you've been taking down pots on bluffs and they get sick of it.
There isn't a definative answer on how to play AA but make 'em pay to play and if the flop shows a scary draw - dont wait - bet them off - better to take the pot down early than find your greed cost you half your cash.
Ace Kicker
AK, AQ, AJ, A10 can all be playable hands and you should win money on them - but you can also get you into a whole world of trouble with 'em too.
If they're suited you've really got something worth looking at. AK is a good hand - 5th best if its suited, but it's 9th best if it isn't - remember that
going down to ace - small kicker (9 or lower) really these can be accidents waiting to happen, even if they're suited - good hand if your disiplined - if your a bit of an action junky this is probably where your losing chips
a) you hit your ace - now you've got to be worried about your kicker
b) you pick up a couple of your suit - your still 2-1 dog to make your flush
hands like these really do change their value depending on your position and on how many players are at the table / tournie.
2 cards 10 or higher
a couple of paint or picture cards including tens are another hole in loose players games. If their suited this makes a big difference as you've instantly increased your outs (cards that could make or improve your hand).
Otherwise continuously betting on any two high cards hoping to hit something is just giving your money away. Unconnected unsuited high cards eg. K 10 off are the worst temptation you can get - your prob better off with 10-J suited
why ? with 10-J suited (suited connectors - see below)
a) you've got a decent chance at a straight because they're connected
b) you've got a chance at a flush becuase they're suited
c) more impotantly - you've got far more chance of seeing your in trouble with it than 10 K and chasing a lost cause.
Suited Connectors
Playing suited connectors like 78 hearts you are hoping for a favourable flop to make you either a straight or a flush
these are speculative hands - now when it comes off you can do well but you can also get sucked in betting all the way to the end on a lost cause. If these sort of cards are your weakness remember your going to see them (and
tempted) a whole lot more often than you'll see AA.
Again position (link) is the key to these sorts of hands. Dont play them really in anything other than late position (last 2-3 to act on full table).
Everything else is a 4king waste of a bet!
If you stick to the playable hands above and select them based on your postion (link) you will have roughly 50 possible starting hands (link) to work with.
Have a look at some of them ... 3-2 suited ?? would you really want to be playing some of them - not really - so dont make it any harder playing all the other junk regardless of what postion your in.
As soon as you start including junk like unsuited interconnected disconnectors to your game - like 3-9 off or 7-10 off you really are asking for trouble - your a fish and you deserve to lose over the long term
Suited interconnected discounnectors are all junk - dont think - just fold.
7-2 off is statistically the worst hand in poker - it isnt possible to make a straight on the flop, even flopping 345 your still short, it's unsuited - no chance of a flush and its the lowest possible numerically too.
Starting Hands Ranked
Hands are ranked in order best to worst
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