Starting Hand Selection

Starting Hand Selection

Are you being selective enough with your starting hands? This is one of the most common mistakes that new players make. In a nutshell A6 suited in an early position sucks!! That’s right, it’s garbage throw it away. Too many players like to think of themselves as “tight and aggressive” but when it comes down to it, they still play almost any ace “just to see the flop”. Often just seeing the flop causes you to catch your ace or perhaps two pair and you get cracked by the guy holding AK, AQ, Trips, ect.
An important part of mastering Texas Hold’em is learning which starting hands are most playable, and in what position. Every book on Texas Hold’em goes in-depth on starting hands and their rankings.

There are 169 possible starting hands in Texas Hold’em, and at least half are considered to be unplayable. The following list is an easy to read guide as to which hands have the potential to be played. Unlike other starting hand lists, this list does not rank each individual hand by strength, although the list is organized roughly from the strongest hands to the weakest. This list merely serves as a guide as to which hands have the potential to be played, and in what position. Players are strongly encouraged to consult other sources to learn more about starting hand rankings and strategy.

This list is appropriate for situations that require tight play. At most low limit tables, you can shade these hand requirements down a bit and play a bit looser, but you shouldn’t call with hands that are not on this list. Approximately half of the 169 starting hands are on this list, and all of them statistically have at least a 10% chance of winning at a ten-handed table. The hands listed in bold comprise the Top 10 starting hands, and can be raised and re-raised in any position. The hands listed in blue can be called in early position, and raised in middle and late position. The hands listed in orange can be called in middle or late position. The hands listed in white should be called in late position only.

Playable Starting Hands

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

Any 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. Only play unsuited cards with a combined value of
21 or higher.

AK, AQ,
AJ, AT, A9

KQ, KJ,
KT, K9

QJ, QT, Q9

JT, J9

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. Blue
= Call early, raise middle and late.
Orange = Call middle and late. White = Call late
only.

Any starting hand that is not listed above should be folded. You should expect to fold before the flop the majority of the time (In my experience, playing “tight” means you’ll see the flop with approximately 25-33% of the hands you’re dealt). Playing strong hands, depending on position and situation, will increase your winnings and curtail your losses in the long run. Patience is key when it comes to winning in Texas Hold’em. But keep in mind that any starting hand can be beaten. A strong starting hand increases your chances of drawing to a winning hand, but be prepared to fold if your hand does not improve and another player is representing a better hand.