texas hold'em starting hands

When it comes to your starting hands in Texas Holdem, what can I say? You got to know when to Texas holdem and know when to Texas fold'em. You also gotta know when to walk away. If you know and understand these aspects of your Texas Holdem starting hands, you won't have to know when to run!

What is the most important thing I can tell you about any Texas Holdem starting hands? Here's the deal: the vast majority of them are losers; and out of a possible 169 Texas Holdem hands, half of them essentially just cannot be played! When you believe without any reasonable doubt that you have been dealt a losing hand--Texas fold'em! Forget about your foolish pride--after all, there's nothing to be proud about when you play losing hands and watch your chips get scooped away from you! Besides, poker includes a very large element of pure luck. Is it your fault that you were dealt junk? Of course not. Don't think that you can play with junk, either; at least not most of the time. If you're in a late position you just MIGHT be able to deduce that you could go for the Squeeze Play IF you are very experienced and highly skilled. But seriously, people: fold, fold, and fold some more. When you play Texas Holdem, you are going to fold far more than you're going to call or raise. Far, far more.

STATISTICS: WINNERS ARE "OUTTA THERE" MORE THAN THEY'RE "SAFE"

Think about this: in baseball, we make stars out of players who are OUT 70% of the time! If they are out a mere 65% of the time, they will probably wind up enshrined in Cooperstown! You need to get it into your head right now that when you're at the Texas Hold'em table you are going to fold two out of three times on the flop, and even 80% of the time (four out of five) pre-flop. Are you starting to get it? This is poker, my friends. You cannot turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. But you can lose your bankroll very quickly if you are not willing to fold the majority of the time.

You want to be "tight-aggressive" with your Texas Holdem starting hands. Going back to stats-talk, what are a successful player's stats? Take a look:

• 19-23% of the flop seen.
• 6-8% of all hands won.
• 30% when seeing the flop.
• 80-95% showdowns won.

Most top online poker rooms provide stats, so be sure to visit the stats section of your account.

When do you walk away? When you've maxed out your texas holdem bankroll, which I've written about elsewhere.

POSITION IS POWER

It's very simple, as I've written elsewhere. There are positions of power in poker, and they are late. The later you're dealt your starting hand, the later you need to decide whether to call, raise, or fold'em. What this means for you is that in "L" positions you get to watch other players first. You might be able to figure out that everyone's got junk this hand, so you might be able to use that to your winning advantage. But don't think that's the norm!

In early position, only play the top poker starting hands, especially if there are many aggressive players to follow you afterwards. Early position gives the player an information disadvantage.

Late poker position gives the player the advantage, since he can view how his opponents will act before playing a hand. Late position gives the player an information advantage.

SO WHAT ARE THE PLAYABLE TEXAS HOLD EM STARTING HANDS?

Below, I have charted the best Texas Hold em starting hands and the best positions to be in to play--or not to play--a given hand.

Texas Hold'em Starting Hands

A = Ace, K = King, Q = Queen, J = Jack, T = Ten, 2-9 = Card value, x = Unknown card, s = Suited

Pocket Pair - These have high pair, trips (set), full house, or four of a kind possibilities. Raise and reraise with high pairs.

AA

KK

QQ

JJ

TT

99

88

77

66

55

44

33

22

Ax, Kx, Qx, Jx, and Tx Suited - These have high pair, trips, flush, straight and straight flush possibilities. Any Ace, King or Queen suited can be played for flush possibilities, depending on position.

AKs

AQs

AJs

ATs

A9s

A8s

A7s

A6s

A5s

A4s

A3s

A2s

KQs

KJs

KTs

K9s

K8s

K7s

K6s

K5s

K4s

K3s

K2s

QJs

QTs

Q9s

Q8s

Q7s

Q6s

Q5s

Q4s

Q3s

Q2s

JTs

J9s

J8s

J7s

J6s

J5s

T9s

T8s

T7s

T6s

Ax, Kx, Qx, Jx, Tx Unsuited - These have high pair or straight possibilities. Generally, only play unsuited cards with a combined value of 21 or higher.

AK

AQ

AJ

A10

A9

KQ

KJ

KT

K9

JT

J9

T9

9x and Lower Suited - Two suited cards that are consecutive (suited connectors) or one-gapped can potentially be played. These have mostly flush or straight possibilities.

98s

97s

96s

87s

86s

85s

76s

75s

65s

64s

54s

53s

43s

Bold = Raise and reraise. Green = Call early, raise middle and late. Red = Call middle and late. Black = Call late only.

CHUCK THE JUNK

Any of the Texas Hold em starting hands in poker not listed above should be folded. There are couple of things to keep in mind:

• Patience which is key to winning should be a part of your strategies for Texas holdem poker.
• Any of the Texas Hold em starting hands can be beaten.
• Fold if the hand does not improve and another player represents a better hand.

Exit Texas Hold em Starting Hands » Learn Texas Holdem Poker