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Top 10 Worst Starting Hands in Texas Holdem

Sure, you know that a pair of aces are the best hand in Texas Hold’em, but do you know the worst starting hands? Knowing that these hands are almost-always-fold’em hands in hold’em is just as important to improving your poker game and not playing like a donkey.

Some of these “worst hands” are bad in the same way and will lose at about the same rate, so I’ve called them ties, even when one is a slightly better hand.

1. 2-7 7-2 off suit is considered the worst hand in Texas Hold’em. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight (there’s 4 cards between 2 and 7). Even if they are suited, they will make you a very low flush, and if either pairs, it’s an awfully low hand. Because it is the worst, some players will play it for fun and in online games, it is known as “the hammer.”

2. 2-8 This is the same basic problem as above, only you’ve got an 8 instead of a 7. Still pretty bad for a high card. Suited or not, this is a fold’em hold’em hand.

3. 3-8 & 3-7 The 3 makes this hand able to beat the two above it, but with the 3-8 you still can’t make a straight and the 3-7 still, well, just sucks.

4. 2-6 While, if the board gives you a miracle flop of 3-4-5, you will have a straight, someone with a 6-7 will have a higher straight. If you get a flush, someone will probably have a higher flush. Against even 4 players, this hand will lose about 90% of the time. Not good odds.

5. 2-9, 3-9 & 4-9 (tie) The only thing these three hands have going for them over the hands above is the 9. If the 9 pairs, you’ll have a middle pair that could still be beat by anyone holding pocket 10s, jacks, queens, kings, or aces, yet you might be fooled by a board filled with low cards into thinking you have the best hand and losing a lot of money. No straights can fill the gap between these cards, either. Beware.

6. 2-10 This hand has a legendary quality because Doyle Brunson captured two World Series of Poker Bracelets with it. But it’s not a good hand — Doyle Brunson is one of the all-time best in the game and unless you’re a Texas road gambler who’s logged thousands of hours at the table, you shouldn’t try and win with the Doyle Brunson.

7. 5-9 Another hand people play because it’s fun is the old 9 to 5, the “Dolly Parton.” If you’re playing to win, it’s not a good idea to play hands because they have a funny name. That may be how you pick the winning horse in a race, but poker’s a marathon, not a sprint, and over the long term there’s no doubt this hand is a statistical loser.

8. 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 3-6… (tie) All these hands will rarely win, especially unsuited. Toss ‘em. Just toss’em. Yes, even in the little blind. If you see two low cards in the hole, unless you’re in the big blind and you can see the flop for free, fold.

9. Face card + low card (unsuited) One of the most common mistakes I see beginners make is that when they see any paint in their hand, they play it. J-2, Q-3, K-4 whatever — and most of these hands are losers. They’re junk that may win a few pots, but more often will lose you huge cash when you find the other player has a higher kicker and the winning hand.

10. Ace + low card (unsuited) This is another common beginner mistake, playing any ace. Again, it may win occasionally, and heads-up it’s a fine hand, but at a table of 4 or more, this hand shouldn’t be played if there’s a raise in front of you. You’re going to be outkicked a lot with Ace-little, and it’s going to feel like a kick in the junk when the other player shows their higher ace.

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under How to Play Poker 

Top 10 Texas Holdem Starting Hands

To become a good Texas Hold ‘Em Poker player, you have to know which hands you should play and which hands you should fold. You can win with any hand when playing Texas Holdem or poker in general, but some hands win more frequently than others. If you stick with the good hands, then you should see better results in the long run. This list of the top 10 best starting hands for Texas Holdem is a good way to start learning how to become a better player and make some profits.

1. Ace-Ace
The pair of aces, which is also known as “pocket rockets” and sometimes referred as “American Airlines” is the best starting hand you can get for Texas Hold’em poker.

2. King-King
The second best starting hand for Texas Hold’em poker is the mighty pair of kings, which is often referred to as “cowboys” and also “King Kong”.

3. Queen-Queen
Next, we have the pair of queens, which is also known as “ladies.” This pair rounds out the top three best starting hands for Texas Hold’em poker.

4. Ace-King (suited)
Some people tend to disagree with this choice, but I think a suited ace-king, which is often referred to as the “big slick”, is the best pick for fourth place.

5. Ace-Queen (suited)
Often referred to as the “big chick” or the “little slick”, the ace-queen combination in the same suit is our fifth best starting hand for Texas Hold’em poker.

6. Jack-Jack
The pair of jacks, which is often referred to as “hooks” or “fishhooks” by Texas Hold’em poker players around the world, is the next best starting hand.

7. King-Queen (suited)
The royal couple formed by the king and queen in the same suit makes the list as the seventh most powerful Texas Hold’em poker’s starting hand.

8. Ace-Jack (suited)
Nicknamed the “blackjack” for obvious reasons, and sometimes referred to as the “ajax,” the suited ace-jack combination rates eighth in our top 10 list.

9. Ace-King (offsuit)
The ace-king, also know as the “big slick”, is the only offsuit non-pair that makes it into the list of the top 10 best starting hands for Texas Holdem Poker.

10. Ten-Ten
Last but not least is the pair of tens. It should be noted that this is the only starting hand that made it into our top 10 without a face card. Often called as a pair of “dimes.”

Continual Evaluation
As you play poker and continue to gain experience from this fantastic game, you can expand your starting hand selection and experiment a bit. But if you are a beginner it is strongly recommended that you stick to the top 10 list to give yourself the best chance to earn cash from poker. Never forget that if you are entering pots with weak hands, then you should be expecting to lose money. So don’t be tempted to enter a pot with any sub standard hand because it looks good or it is suited, as it will probably land you in some trouble. Stick with the big hands and you won’t go wrong in the long run.

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under How to Play Poker 

Poker Mathematics

Poker is a game of skill, and using the ability to read situations and opponents to give you the advantage in each hand you play. It is also a game of mathematics, where you should be able to calculate the odds of either you or your opponent winning the hand in any situation.

People often ask me if they can win without integrating poker mathematics into your game. While it’s not certain that players who don’t use mathematics will not beat the game, correctly calculating the odds is a useful weapon that will give you the edge over players who don’t use them.

Poker mathematics can be used in many situations, but they are mostly used when a player is on a draw such as a straight draw or a flush. If your opponent makes a bet and you are on a draw, you have two options: call and try to complete the draw with the next card, or fold and give the pot to your opponent. A player who has good knowledge of poker mathematics will always know whether he should call or not, while a player who doesn’t know poker mathematics will hesitate. If the bet is big enough to scare him, there’s a good chance he will fold. But if the bet is small, he will probably call. On the other hand, the player who learned how to use poker mathematics will easily work out the pot odds and act accordingly. Pot odds take into account the amount of money your opponent has bet in relation to the pot and the probability of completing your draw, to help you make the right decision.

Poker mathematics can also be used in a situation of “Expected Value.” For example, what should you do if you are on the river holding a bottom pair and that your opponent bets $8 into a $20 pot? Mathematics can determine whether or not you should call if you can’t tell from the way the hand played out whether your opponent has a better hand than you or not.

So how do poker mathematics work? The first thing you should do is estimate the probability that your opponent is bluffing and has a worse hand than you. For example, if your opponent bluffs 1 time for every 3 times he has the best hand on the river, there is 1 in 4 chance that you’ll have a better hand than him and 3 in 4 chance that you won’t. For every 3 times you lose, you will win 1 time (3-to-1). If you call and end up having the best hand you will win $14 once, but if you call and have the worst hand you will lose $4 three times. So if you called every hand, you would lose $12 (3 times $4) and win $14 after four hands. You would be making a net profit of $2 if you called on the river every time, thus you should make the call.

The explanation above might seem complicated but it’s not. To put it simply, I just said that you should always have better odds of winning than what the pot is giving you. In the example above, you had to call $4 to win a $14 pot, which is $3.5-to-$1. The odds of winning are 3-to-1, so you have better odds of winning than the odds in the pot.

When you use mathematics in poker, remember that your decisions will not have an immediate effect on your winning. Working out the odds in a particular hand and making the right call does not guarantee you will to win the hand. Also, if you lose the hand, it does not mean you have made a poor decision. If you keep making the correct decisions based on odds you will earn more money in the long term. Perseverance is the key, so don’t let short-term results in the have an effect on your correct play decisions. That’s how you’ll become a winning poker player.

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under How to Play Poker 

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