Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem

1. In the poker game of Texas hold 'em, a starting hand consists of two hole cards, which belong solely to the player and remain hidden from the other players. Five community cards are also dealt into play. Betting begins before any of the community cards are exposed, and continues throughout the hand.
2. Follow these hand charts and learn how to play your starting hands at Texas Holdem. The charts below will give you a great starting point on how to play your starting hands. For all of you beginners, we recommend consulting these charts will playing online. We provide 4 separate charts depending on where you are seated relative to the dealer.
3. The best starting Texas Holdem poker hands are called premium hands. While the definition of a premium hand varies from one poker expert to the next, a solid core of hands that are considered the best by everyone are AA, KK, QQ, AK, and JJ.
4. Unless you're completely unfamiliar with poker or you've been living under a rock, you.

• Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem Rules
• Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem Hold Em
• Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem Players

Texas Hold'em: a game in which it is easy to learn the basics, but considerably harder to master. For now, let's cover a basic part of the game - starting hands.

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

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.

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.

There are over one hundred possible starting hands in Texas Holdem. That's just if you take unique combinations. Start taking into account suit, and the number increases dramatically.

Statistically speaking, you're just as likely to get any one of these starting hands as any other, though there are certain hands you'd much rather get than others. Also, in terms of game theory, some opening hands are a lot more interesting than others. You know what you're going to do with a pair of aces. Do you know what you're going to do with ace-two though?

Unfortunately, it's impossible in place to go through the strategy of every opening hand in poker, we can highlight a certain number of more interesting hands. I've chosen five hands from the list of possible hands to discuss below in greater detail. You are likely to run into them if you play often enough, and their relative strengths present interesting challenges.

1 – Pair of Twos

Congratulations… You have a pair. Aren't you lucky?

Sure. Go ahead and start grumbling now because of all the pairs you have. This one is undoubtedly, statistically the worse pair you can have. Yes, it will beat any hand that doesn't have a pair, but how often are you likely to have any opponents that don't have anything and stay in the game?

The answer is not that many. Don't worry, though, starting off with a pair of twos isn't as bad as you think if one of two things are true:

1. You have position
2. There aren't many people at the table

According to computer models, you are dead even to win with a pair of twos in straight-up play and you will win about a third of the time in a three-player game. Your odds of winning drop off pretty dramatically from there, however. The only thing that could save you, though, is position.

In a lot of ways, a pair of twos is like a stealth attack. As your opponents survey the board and try to figure out what you have, they're probably not thinking you have pocket twos. So, if you draw into a set or even manage to get three, four, five, six on the board, there's a chance you can sneak up on the others and win some money.

Still, to win with this hand more often than not, you need to know what the other players are going to do. That's why you need position. If you find that everyone else is betting aggressive, there's a good chance your twos are no good, so get out of the hand. If, however, everyone is lukewarm, you might have some money to make.

Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem Rules

If you're in a game with any more than three people and you don't have position, fold and fight another day. If you do have position, call any modest bets or make a medium bet of your own. If someone comes at you hard and raises or re-raises, unless you are working their tells, fold and get them in the next hand.

After the flop and each subsequent card, take the pulse of the table. If someone starts to bid more aggressively and you didn't get a third two, you shouldn't be out too much money.

After the last card is dealt and no one feels good about their cards, you have to decide how aggressive you want to be. My advice is to always keep things on the low to moderate side of bidding (think fractions of a pot). Even if someone missed their draw, you might be able to get money from them if you bet lower amounts than getting too aggressive in the end.

2 – Pair of 10s

In some ways, a pair of 10s is going to be like a pair of twos. There are a lot more hands that pocket 10s will beat than pocket twos, but there are a bunch of hands that you'd probably rather have.
Then again, this is poker, and you have to play the hand you were dealt and, surprisingly, pocket 10s are a lot better than you might think. In head-to-head play, pocket 10s win about three-fourths of the time and rarely wins less than 20% of the time, no matter the number of opponents.

On the other hand, pocket 10s don't beat a lot of hands that people are likely to keep. Also, 10s can appear at the end, middle, or beginning of a straight, so you need to be careful that if you get a set of 10s, that someone else didn't just complete a straight and are now set to take you down.

Therefore, you really have two options with pocket 10s and how you play them is up to you and your playstyle. If you like to play tight or are light on chips and you have more than two opponents, toss the 10s. You'd do better not taking the risk.

If you're in the mood to get risky or you have a fewer number of opponents, play 10s like they were much better cards. Be aggressive, make the table think you're sitting on a gold mine, at least until the flop. If you get your set and there's no obvious straight draw, keep playing aggressively.

If you don't get that set, you can still play tough because you do have good cards, and you should be able to scare off the table with them if you bet from a position of strength.

3 – King-Queen Suited

King-queen suited is going to win the hand a little over 60% in head-to-head games, but quickly loses its power in larger games. You have the start off a pretty powerful straight and the chance to make two decent pairs.
If you are dealt king-queen suited to start off, you have to at least make a bet preflop and call just about anything unless someone goes all-in or is just being crazy.

The thing you have to remember is that your opening hand is worthless without some help. You need to be dealt another king or a queen while avoiding an ace to have a winning hand. That's what you need to call preflop so that you can see what help the board gives you.

Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem Hold Em

Ideally, you want a queen on the flop with no ace. This gives you the best pair with the second best kicker. Either way, feel free to bet aggressively throughout the hand until an ace shows up. Then, you have to assume that someone has a literal ace in the hole unless their betting shows you otherwise.

One last thing, keep an eye out for a flush. That's one thing this starting hand gives that you can use to your advantage and is another reason to see that flop.

4 – Ace-Two Offsuit

The strategy for ace-two is a lot like the strategy for pocket twos. It's good at small tables or when you have position.

If neither of those two things are true, you might want to consider folding. Yes, it can feel painful to fold an ace, since it's an ace after all. However, there are others at the table who probably also have aces in the hole and chances are, they have better kickers than you.

5 – Queen-Jack Offsuit

Percentage-wise, queen-jack suited wins almost the same amount as king-queen suited. It also has a sharp drop off in its efficiency as the number of players climb.

Still, in a lot of ways, this hand should be played about the same way as king-queen suited except that you don't have the chance to earn a flush draw. You also can't be quite as aggressive with queen-jack as you can with king-queen because jacks are easier to beat than kings.

Still, preflop, bet with confidence. Feel free to call any reasonable opening bet and don't be afraid to call a bet outside your comfort zone so that you can see the flop. Also, don't be afraid to make your own bet preflop, though I wouldn't bet a significant amount because there are several ways to beat you.

Once you see the flop, you have decisions to make. If you didn't flop a pair or aren't set up for a straight, it might be a good time to get out of the hand since your chances of success aren't as high as king-queen. Then again, if no one is betting aggressively, there's no harm in riding the hand out and testing your luck.

Starting Hands To Play In Texas Holdem Players

Conclusion

Hopefully, seeing how these five hands can be played will give you confidence next time you see them. As always, poker is a dynamic game and circumstances can change. The best poker strategy will change from hand to hand, but I think the following strategy will help make you some money if you follow it.