Texas Hold em Starting Hands

Good poker players are selective about their Texas Hold em starting hands. However, if you are not familiar with what beats what in poker, you should do a refresher before going any further.

The foremost requirement to becoming a dominant poker player is to tighten up at the poker table, which means being selective about the 10 best starting poker hands you play.

When playing Holdem remember: You can't play em all!

TIGHT IS RIGHT

At the Holdem table folding should become as natural as breathing. Should be folding 4 out of 5 hands pre-flop. Quite possibly you should fold 2 out of 3 hands on the flop. The stats of a tight aggressive player should reflect something like this..

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

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

POSITION IS POWER

Position at the poker table is strategically important when playing Texas Hold em starting hands. Whenever you decide play specific poker starting hands, you should consider your position at the table.

In early position only play the top poker starting hands, especially if there are many aggressive players to follow afterwards.

Early position gives the player an information disadvantage.

Late 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.

BEST STARTING POKER HANDS

There are 169 Texas Holdem starting hands and half of them are unplayable. The list found below is an easy to read top poker starting hands guide as to which poker hands you should play and for situations which require tight aggressive play.

The hands listed in bold green comprise the top 10 hands, and can be raised and re-raised in any position.
The hands listed in green can be called in early position, and raised in middle and late position.
The hands listed in red can be called in middle or late position.
The hands listed in black should be called in late position only.

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.

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.

A10

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 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.

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