The Top Texas Holdem Poker Starting Hands
Every Poker player knows that you don’t play every hand you’re dealt. But, how do you know which hands to play and which to fold?
Best Starting Hands in Texas Holdem Poker to Play
How do you know which starting hands to play?
Any hand with less than 5 cards is an incomplete hand. In 5-card stud poker, before a betting round starts, the open cards of each player are compared, so that the one with the highest hand can.
Royal Flush is Seen as The Best Hands in Poker to Play The best hand in poker is referred to as The Royal Flush. It’s unbeatable and is made up of broadway/royal cards. AKs – Big Slick – Ace King suited is the top unpaired starting hand to have in a game of poker. Also called Anna Kournikova or Kalashnikov (AK rifle) by recreational players Ts – TNT or Tension. The nickname for Pocket Tens is because having a pair of tens pre-flop is tense because of the high chance of overcards. In Poker, the Ace is the highest card and the 2 card (Deuce) is the lowest. However, the Ace can also be used as a low card, with the value of 1.
This is a question that every poker player, amateur or professional, should always be prepared for at the start of every hand, fundamental to poker strategy. You do not want to play every hand, you must know when to fold. If you know which starting hands to play, you can conduct the game in your favour.
Learn Texas Holdem Poker
Here are the Top 10 Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em Poker-
- AA – Pocket Aces or Bullets is the strongest starting hand in poker. Play Strongly, But bear in mind – even though it’s is the best starting hand, you will be left with only one pair if the board doesn’t improve.
- KK – Pocket Kings or Cowboys – The second-best starting hand after Aces. But if an Ace turns up post-flop, you will lose to anyone holding a single Ace in their starting hand.
- QQ – Pocket Queens or Ladies – the third best starting hand with a winning probability of 80% pre-fop.
- JJ – Pocket Jacks or Fishhooks – Pre-flop, it has a 78% chance of winning and is still a still a very strong hand. Be mindful of opponents.
- AKs – Big Slick – Ace King suited is the top unpaired starting hand to have in a game of poker. Also called Anna Kournikova or Kalashnikov (AK rifle) by recreational players
- Ts – TNT or Tension. The nickname for Pocket Tens is because having a pair of tens pre-flop is tense because of the high chance of overcards.
- AQs – Big Chick – Ace Queen suited is another hand with the potential to win the pot.
- AKo – Big Slick – Ace King off-suits also rank high in the chart and is capable of winning at least 40% of the time against any other hand (except aces or kings).
- AJs – Armani Jeans – Ace and Jack suited is better than most other hands. However, if an opponent raises from early position, proceed with caution.
- KQs – Marriage – King and Queen suited is a strong hand that can end up a making Royal Flush.
Other Possible Hands–
- Suited Connectors (98s, 76s, T9s)
- Offsuit Connectors (T9o, 98o, 54o, JTo)
- Suited Gappers (97s, T8s, KJs)
*s refers to suited cards (of the same suit)
*o refers to off-suited cards (of different suits)
There are a possible 169 non-equivalent starting hands (ignoring specific suits) in a standard 52-card deck in Texas Hold’em Poker. So, here’s a chart with detailing the win percentage of Texas Holdem starting hands-
A | K | Q | J | T | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| A | 85% | 68% | 67% | 66% | 66% | 64% | 63% | 63% | 62% | 62% | 61% | 60% | 59% |
| K | 66% | 83% | 64% | 64% | 63% | 61% | 60% | 59% | 58% | 58% | 57% | 56% | 55% |
| Q | 65% | 62% | 80% | 61% | 61% | 59% | 58% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 54% | 53% | 52% |
| J | 65% | 62% | 59% | 78% | 59% | 57% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 52% | 51% | 50% | 50% |
| T | 64% | 61% | 59% | 57% | 75% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 51% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 47% |
| 9 | 62% | 59% | 57% | 55% | 53% | 72% | 53% | 51% | 50% | 48% | 46% | 46% | 45% |
| 8 | 61% | 58% | 55% | 53% | 52% | 50% | 69% | 50% | 49% | 47% | 45% | 43% | 43% |
| 7 | 60% | 57% | 54% | 52% | 50% | 48% | 47% | 67% | 48% | 46% | 45% | 43% | 41% |
| 6 | 59% | 56% | 53% | 50% | 48% | 47% | 46% | 45% | 64% | 46% | 44% | 42% | 40% |
| 5 | 60% | 55% | 52% | 49% | 47% | 45% | 44% | 43% | 43% | 61% | 44% | 43% | 41% |
| 4 | 59% | 54% | 51% | 48% | 46% | 43% | 42% | 41% | 41% | 41% | 58% | 42% | 40% |
| 3 | 58% | 54% | 50% | 48% | 45% | 43% | 40% | 39% | 39% | 39% | 38% | 55% | 39% |
| 2 | 57% | 53% | 49% | 47% | 44% | 42% | 40% | 37% | 37% | 37% | 36% | 35% | 51% |
Top Texas Holdem Starting Hands You Should Pray For
Quick Basics:
- Every player is dealt two cards face down
- Five community cards are placed on the table (whose value is shown as the round progresses).
- All players try to make the best five-card combination from among the board and personal cards and bet on the same.
- Best hand at the end of the round is declared the winner(s) and wins the pot.
It’s only by knowing how to master the basics do you become a poker player who is taken very seriously by his/her opponents. Learn more about the basics of poker-
Poker Diaries: Online Poker vs Offline Poker – The Similarities, The Differences
Poker Diaries: When To Bet & When To Fold With The PreFlop Range Chart
Poker Diaries: Different Types of Poker Playing Styles & Personality
Poker Diaries: Importance of Playing in Position
Poker Diaries: What Are Outs & How To Calculate Them?
Poker Diaries: What are Pot Odds and Equity?
What Is The Highest Hand In Poker
Seven Card Stud is another version of poker like Hold’em and Omaha. As the name suggests, each player plays with seven cards. The difference is that unlike Texas Hold’em, there are no community cards and the player individually receives seven cards.
Stud Poker – Hand Rankings
The hand rankings for Seven Card Stud are the same as other varieties of poker. Players make the best five-card combination by discarding two cards.
- Five of a Kind: This highest possible combination requires at least one wild card, also known as a joker. A player must have four cards of the same rank and a wild card to make five of a kind. For example, if you have four 8s and a wild card, your best five-card combination is a five of a kind.
- Straight Flush: In a regular game of seven-card stud without wild cards, this is the highest-ranking hand. A straight flush consists of five cards of the same suit in a sequence. An example of the straight flush would be 8, 9, 10, J, Q of diamonds. The highest straight flush is 10, J, Q, K, A of spades, and is known as Royal Flush.
- Four of a Kind: As simple as the name, this hand requires four same ranking cards, such as four Queens or four 5s. The fifth card is a random card to complete the five-card combination.
- Full House: The next highest hand includes three cards of a particular rank along with two cards of another rank. So, you have a full house if you have three Aces and two Queens.
- Flush: A flush requires five cards from the same suit. For example, 8, 5, 10, J, K of clubs.
- Straight: A straight consists of five cards that are in sequence, but not of the same suit. An example of a straight would be 5♣, 6♦, 7♥, 8♥, 9♠.
- Three of a Kind: To make a three-of-a-kind, a hand requires three cards of the same rank. The other two cards can be of any rank.
- Two Pairs: One pair of a particular rank and another pair of another rank is two pairs, for example, 9, 9, 5, 5, A.
- One Pair: Two cards of the same rank with the other three cards from different ranks is the smallest hand.
- No Pair: This is when you have five random cards that do not pair up with each other. They are neither in sequence nor of the same suit and don’t even have the same rank. If all players have cards that make ‘nothing,’ the hands are rated by the highest card in each player’s hand.
The Objective
Each player focuses on winning the pot, which contains the bets made by players in one deal. Similar to other poker versions, the player with the top combination/highest-ranking of five cards wins the pot.
What Is The Highest Hand In Poker Suit
The Deal
The dealer gives out two face-down and one face-up card to every player. The player with the lowest face-up card begins the round of betting. Next, one more face-up card is given to each player before the betting starts. In this round, also known as the fourth street, the player with the highest hand in face-up cards bets first. After that, the dealer gives two more face-up cards, followed by rounds of betting. These are known as the fifth street and the sixth street. The last card is face-down, after which players can make their best five-card combination and continue betting till showdown.
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