One of the basics of Texas Hold’em is understanding card strength. One of the key aspects of winning a game of poker is to be able to make the most correct decisions as often as possible; therefore, selecting the hands you will go to war with is among the first steps.

• 5 Best Texas Hold’em Starting Hands. Texas Hold’em poker has 169 different two-card opening hand combinations. The notion is that if your starting hand is not a pair, then you will be dealt either connected or unconnected cards or a hand that’s either suited or offsuit.
• At the bottom of this page is a comprehensive listing of Texas Hold'em starting hands based on their EV (expected value). Expected value is the average number of big blinds this hand will make or lose. For example: AA from the Small Blind in a $3/$6 game will make, on average, 2.71 times the big.
• (10-10) Ten - Ten: The 10-10 is the only top ten starting hand that does not include a face card. Some believe that a king-jack suited is a better starting hand, but 10-10 rounds off on most Texas Holdem lists. As you can see, a few simple tips can be a real eye-opener when it comes to learning and mastering the game.

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':

• 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%

What Are The Top 10 Starting Hands In Texas Holdemem

• 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

What Are The Top 10 Starting Hands In Texas Holdemas Hold Em

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.

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.

Learn To Play Texas Holdem Poker Using The Top Ten Starting Hands

Some say that to successfully learn Texas Holdem poker it takes much practice, time and lost revenue to master the game. Realistically and truthfully anyone could actually become a holdem poker master in a relatively short time. If anyone really has the determination and time to do so. Are you ready to dive in and master the game of Texas Holdem poker? If the answer is yes, without a doubt, sign me up, or I'm in, then read on to see the basics.

First a brief summary of the game. Texas Holdem poker is played with a standard 52-card deck. Although the game uses a standard deck of cards, it differs from other card games. Texas Holdem uses five community cards which are dealt face up on the middle of the poker table. All players share these cards. The initial starting hand, each player receives two cards from the dealer face-down. No one but the player the cards are dealt to can view these cards. These two face-down cards are known as the hole or pocket cards. After looking at their cards each player can choose to bet and keep the two face-down cards or fold these two cards and remain out of the hand.

The dealer will then burn a card and deal three cards face-up in he middle of the table. This is called 'The Flop'. Each player can then decide to check, bet or fold their five card hand. (Their five cards consist of their two face-down cards and the community cards the dealer just flopped for everyone to see.) After a round of checking, betting and folding the dealer will then burn a card and deal another card face-up in the middle of the table. This card is known as 'The Turn' card.

Again, each player can then decide to check, bet or fold their hand based on the best five-card hand they can muster from the six total cards. All players must consider their two face-down cards and three of the community cards to create a winning poker hand.

After another round of checking, betting and folding the dealer will then discard the last burn card and deal another card face-up in the middle of the table. This card is called 'The River'. Again, each player can then decide to check, bet or fold their hand based on the best five-card hand they can muster from the now seven total cards. All players will then consider their two face-down cards and three of the five community cards to create the best possible poker hand. The player with the best ranked 5-card hand wins the round and rakes the pot.

There are 3 basic poker rules that should be considered when playing Texas Holdem. They are:

1. Your Starting Hand: The two hole or pocket cards is what separates each player. Therefore you must learn the value of these cards and really consider whether you should play the hand or not. If you are dealt an AA (ace-ace) as your pocket hand you will have a much greater chance of winning the hand. If you were dealt a starting hand of 7-2 then you would have the least chance of wining the hand. So, the number one rule is to stay in (bet or call) with good starting hands and get out (fold) with lower cards. We'll talk about the top ten starting hands here in just a bit.

2. Patience: Always, always be patient. Texas Holdem can be frustrating when you keep getting dealt low starting hands. The key to the game is to remain patient. Stay disciplined and keep folding low starting hands until you receive a good starting hand. You will fold more often than you play. However, if you play patient and smart you will win more than you lose. It's not difficult to realize that if the betting in a particular round is increasing higher and higher each time
but your cards are always on the low side you must fold.

3. Playing Position: With Texas Holdem a players place and position at the deal could help the players advantage. Players seated in a 'late position” (furthest from the button) has a greater advantage Late position players can see and consider all the moves (checks, bets, and folds) of all players prior to making a decision. With little observation and a keen eye a player can learn if there so, so starting hand is worth seeing the next card or not.

Many experts agree that the greatest poker book ever written is a book by the legend Doyle Brunson. Every beginner poker player should read this book from cover to cover to learn the strategies of Texas Holdem and other popular poker games. The book is called 'Super System, A Course In Power Poker.' It's a must.

The key to becoming a strong Texas Holdem poker player is to learn which pocket or hole cards are the best to play and which ones are not. Knowing the top TEN best starting hands while playing Texas Holdem is the best place to start. There are many disagreements over which starting hands are the best. The deputes are due to starting position, style of play, and an individuals skill level. However, mathematically you can't get better than these.

1. (AA) Ace-Ace: A pair of aces, also known as bullets, pocket rockets, and on occasion American Airlines, is the best starting hand for Texas Holdem, bar none.

2. (KK) King-King: Second is a pair of kings, referred often to Cowboys and King Kong.

3. (QQ) Queen-Queen: A pair of queens ranks third on the list and is most referred to as Ladies and sometimes Bitches.

4. (AK-s) Ace-King (suited): This is where many begin to disagree. The suited ace-king, known as Big Slick is ranked number four by most professionals in the Texas Holdem community.

5. (AQ-s) Ace-Queen (suited): The Big Chick, suited A-Q is also known as Little Slick and ranks 5th on the list.

6. (JJ) Jack-Jack: The pair of jacks Fishhooks, Captain Hook, or just Hooks slides in at number six on the Texas Holdem list.

7. (KQ-s) King-Queen (suited): The Royal Couple king-queen suited is the seventh most powerful starting Texas Holdem starting hand.

8. (AJ-s) Ace-Jack (suited): The appropriate nickname of Blackjack is sometimes called Ajax ranks eighth.

9. (AK) Ace-King (offsuit): This is the only non-pocket pair offsuit that is on the Texas Holdem list. The fact that it's the two top cards holds weight.

10. (10-10) Ten - Ten: The 10-10 is the only top ten starting hand that does not include a face card. Some believe that a king-jack suited is a better starting hand, but 10-10 rounds off on most Texas Holdem lists.

As you can see, a few simple tips can be a real eye-opener when it comes to learning and mastering the game. Begin playing free online poker at sites like Partypoker.com. The repetition of seeing patience and the use of the top ten hands will build confidence quickly. Good luck and 'Shuffle Up And Deal!'

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What Are The Top 10 Starting Hands In Texas Holdemhold Em

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