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. The player's 'playing hand', which will be compared against that of each competing player, is the best 5-card poker hand available from his two hole cards and the five community cards. Unless otherwise specified, here the term hand applies to the player's two hole cards, or starting hand.

Essentials[edit]

There are 1326 distinct possible combinations of two hole cards from a standard 52-card deck in hold 'em, but since suits have no relative value in this poker variant, many of these hands are identical in value before the flop. For example, A♥J♥ and A♠J♠ are identical in value, because each is a hand consisting of an ace and a jack of the same suit.

Therefore, there are 169 non-equivalent starting hands in hold 'em, which is the sum total of : 13 pocket pairs, 13 × 12 / 2 = 78 suited hands and 78 unsuited hands (13 + 78 + 78 = 169).

These 169 hands are not equally likely. Hold 'em hands are sometimes classified as having one of three 'shapes':

This is compared to only 169 starting hands in Texas Hold'em, or 2,652 if we include the suits. Omaha has 100x more starting hand combinations than Texas Hold'em, and, therefore, starting hand charts like the top 30 below can't be used as a strict guide. It is here merely to illustrate the principles of good hand selection in Omaha. Starting Hands You can see seven cards in a complete hand of Texas Hold’em but you will only see two at the very beginning: your concealed “hole cards”. The strength of your starting hand determines whether you should enter the pot at all. Strong starting hands win against weaker hands in.

• Pairs, (or 'pocket pairs'), which consist of two cards of the same rank (e.g. 9♠9♣). One hand in 17 will be a pair, each occurring with individual probability 1/221 (P(pair) = 3/51 = 1/17).

Alternative means of making this calculation

First Step

As confirmed above.

There are 1326 possible combination of opening hand.

Second Step

There are 6 different combos of each pair. 9h9c, 9h9s, 9h9d, 9c9s, 9c9d, 9d9s. Therefore, there are 78 possible combinations of pocket pairs (6 multiplied by 13 i.e. 22-AA)

To calculate the odds of being dealt a pair

78 (the number of any particular pair being dealt. As above) divided by 1326 (possible opening hands)

78/1326 = 0.058 or 5.8%

• Suited hands, which contain two cards of the same suit (e.g. A♣6♣). 23.5% of all starting hands are suited.

Probability of first card is 1.0 (any of the 52 cards)Probability of second hand suit matching the first:There are 13 cards per suit, and one is in your hand leaving 12 remaining of the 51 cards remaining in the deck. 12/51=.2353 or 23.5%

• Offsuit hands, which contain two cards of a different suit and rank (e.g. K♠J♥). 70.6% of all hands are offsuit hands

Offsuit pairs = 78Other offsuit hands = 936

It is typical to abbreviate suited hands in hold 'em by affixing an 's' to the hand, as well as to abbreviate non-suited hands with an 'o' (for offsuit). That is,

QQ represents any pair of queens,

KQ represents any king and queen,

AKo represents any ace and king of different suits, and

JTs represents any jack and ten of the same suit.

Limit hand rankings[edit]

Some notable theorists and players have created systems to rank the value of starting hands in limit Texas hold'em. These rankings do not apply to no limit play.

Sklansky hand groups[edit]

David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth^[1] assigned in 1999 each hand to a group, and proposed all hands in the group could normally be played similarly. Stronger starting hands are identified by a lower number. Hands without a number are the weakest starting hands. As a general rule, books on Texas hold'em present hand strengths starting with the assumption of a nine or ten person table. The table below illustrates the concept:

Chen formula[edit]

The 'Chen Formula' is a way to compute the 'power ratings' of starting hands that was originally developed by Bill Chen.^[2]

Highest Card

Based on the highest card, assign points as follows:

Ace = 10 points, K = 8 points, Q = 7 points, J = 6 points.

10 through 2, half of face value (10 = 5 points, 9 = 4.5 points, etc.)

Pairs

For pairs, multiply the points by 2 (AA=20, KK=16, etc.), with a minimum of 5 points for any pair. 55 is given an extra point (i.e., 6).

Suited

Add 2 points for suited cards.

Closeness

Subtract 1 point for 1 gappers (AQ, J9)

2 points for 2 gappers (J8, AJ).

4 points for 3 gappers (J7, 73).

5 points for larger gappers, including A2 A3 A4

Add an extra point if connected or 1-gap and your highest card is lower than Q (since you then can make all higher straights)

Phil Hellmuth's: 'Play Poker Like the Pros'[edit]

Phil Hellmuth's 'Play Poker Like the Pros' book published in 2003.

Best Starting Poker Hands To Play

Statistics based on real online play[edit]

Statistics based on real play with their associated actual value in real bets.^[3]

Nicknames for starting hands[edit]

In poker communities, it is common for hole cards to be given nicknames. While most combinations have a nickname, stronger handed nicknames are generally more recognized, the most notable probably being the 'Big Slick' - Ace and King of the same suit, although an Ace-King of any suit combination is less occasionally referred to as an Anna Kournikova, derived from the initials AK and because it 'looks really good but rarely wins.'^[4][5] Hands can be named according to their shapes (e.g., paired aces look like 'rockets', paired jacks look like 'fish hooks'); a historic event (e.g., A's and 8's - dead man's hand, representing the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was fatally shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876); many other reasons like animal names, alliteration and rhyming are also used in nicknames.

Notes[edit]

1. ^David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth (1999). Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN1-880685-22-1
2. ^Hold'em Excellence: From Beginner to Winner by Lou Krieger, Chapter 5, pages 39 - 43, Second Edition
3. ^http://www.pokerroom.com/poker/poker-school/ev-stats/total-stats-by-card/^{[dead link]}
4. ^Aspden, Peter (2007-05-19). 'FT Weekend Magazine - Non-fiction: Stakes and chips Las Vegas and the internet have helped poker become the biggest game in town'. Financial Times. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
5. ^Martain, Tim (2007-07-15). 'A little luck helps out'. Sunday Tasmanian. Retrieved 2010-01-10.

Strong starting hands win against weaker hands in at least three times out of four. The next five cards can be used by all the players, so if you start with A♣K♣ and your opponent has A♠8♣, the latter probably has to hit an eight to win. (They can also make a straight or a spade flush, but the chances are relatively slim.)

In the above example, if the flop comes A♥9♣3♦, both players would have a pair of aces, making the hands seem equally strong. But A♣K♣ is actually significantly stronger and will win this hand 90% of the time.

In order to have the better showdown hand as often as possible, you should have the better starting hand as often as possible too. An accurate idea of the value of your starting hand is vital when deciding whether to enter the pot. You will combine its value with various other factors to determine how to progress.

Let’s cover the difference between good and bad starting hands.

Paired Hole Cards

If your hole cards form a pair, known as a “pocket pair”, then you already have a hand one step up the hand rankings ladder.

Pocket pairs can often win a hand of Texas Hold’em without improvement, however this largely depends on the size of your pocket pair. If you are holding aces, your opponent has to make at least two pair in order to beat you. Furthermore, if the board brings a third card of the same rank, you have made three of a kind, or a “set”.

Small pocket pairs can be dangerous if they do not improve. Another player would only need to match one hole card with a bigger community card to make a higher pair.

Plainly, the biggest pocket pairs often qualify as monster hands, but smaller pairs can be considered speculative at best.

Evaluating Unpaired Cards

On average, you will be dealt a pocket pair just once every 16 hands, so you will need to figure out another method to assess hand strength.

Ask yourself these questions:

What rank are my cards?

The most important advantage is having higher unpaired cards than your opponent, as you have a higher chance of winning if you hit a pair (or if nobody hits a pair). For example, A♥K♣ holds a very strong lead over Q♠J♣ before the flop, and the worse hole cards have to improve from the start.

It is also definitely better to have two high cards than only one because you will also have a good “kicker” to your hand.

Are my cards the same suit?

Having “suited” cards is the next most important consideration. Starting with two cards of the same suit gives you a significantly higher chance of making a flush, as you’ll only need three cards of the same suit as your hole cards to make a flush.

Additionally, you can be more comfortable when you’ve made a flush with only three consistuent cards on the board. With four of the same suit on the flop, you have to consider the strength of your card in that suit, as a better card of the same suit in your opponent’s hand will win against yours.

Number Of Starting Hands In Holdem Poker

Are my cards of a similar rank?

This is less valuable than a flush but can be a decisive factor nonetheless, as you’ll have a better chance of completing a straight with closer-ranked cards. The closer they are, the more opportunities you have to make a straight. If they are not close at all, you’ll need four cards to complete. Similar to suited cards, needing just three cards to make a hand is preferable to four and less likely to be beaten at showdown.

Poker Starting Hands To Play Card Game

Two high cards of the same suit which connect, or “suited connectors” combine to give many chances to win. Ace-king suited, for example, is the strongest holding outside of a pocket pair. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the lowest cards you can have without improved chance of a straight or flush is seven-two offsuit – the weakest hand in poker.

Poker Starting Hand Odds

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