Poker Hands: Best and Worse Starting Hands in Texas Holdem
Poker hands are determined by the rank of each card's numerical value and the card's suit. This can lead to situations in which two or more hands may have the same exact ranks (e.g., "A-8" and "K-8" are both pairs of eights). In these cases, the hand with the higher rank will win.
For this article, we'll be taking a look at what starting hands will give you an advantage when playing Texas Holdem poker . . .
If you're new to poker or want to improve your game, it's important that you know which hands give you an advantage. Not only will this help you increase your earnings, but it will prevent you from throwing away money on what are usually considered bad starting hands.
Before we get started, I want to make a point to mention that the following hands are ranked based off of Hold'em. If you're playing Omaha or Stud poker, the ranking of each hand may change.
We'll start with our weakest hands (the ones that give us the least advantage) and move towards our strongest starting hands (what most people refer to as "the nuts").
If at any point during this article we mention a "suited" hand, it means that all cards are in the same suit.
Blank
You've heard of a "blank" hand, but have you ever heard of a "blank hand in poker"? Or, for that matter, blank hands in the same poker game? I'm here to tell you all about it . . .
The hand that gets called with a pair of jacks or better is known as the blank. The blank is also called an open pair because it's considered more dangerous than any other open-ended starting hand. Despite this danger, there are times when the blank gives you the best starting hand. Here's why . . .
The blank has a starting rank of 3 (a pair of jacks or better), which is better than any other pair (e.g., two pairs, three of a kind, etc.). You can expect to win 5.67% of the time when playing the blank.
Looking at poker, it's not hard to see why this hand is called the "blank." There are no cards in the deck that would make it a stronger starting hand (e.g., A-8-4-3 is not as strong as A-A but not as strong as K-K). Therefore, we've got an advantage here—if we're dealt this hand, we have a real chance at winning.
The thing to remember with the blank is that you won't win every time. In fact, if you're playing against experienced players, you're likely to lose more times than not. However, when you do win, it's going to be a big pot—sometimes even bigger than the table limit.
High Card (Unsuited)
It's very possible that your hand may end up being a high-card hand. More often than not this is due to being dealt one of the lowest ranking hands in the deck (e.g., Q-9 or K-10). This doesn't mean they aren't any good though . . .
In fact, there are some hands that are considered "even" hands, meaning they can beat either high-card or low-card hands. One of the best examples of this is the hand I'm about to show you right now . . .
It's true that you won't have any suited cards (which are almost always better than unsuited cards), but this hand almost guarantees that you'll never be beat by another high-card hand. Since it's a three of a kind, it ranks above all other high-card hands. Therefore, it has a 5% advantage over the high card and the same 2% advantage over low card hands.
Another thing to note about this hand is that it has a straight draw. This means that you'll have outs to make a straight if you get dealt the right cards. There are also times when you'll make an inside straight with this hand, which would turn the straight into a flush. Either way, it's all about reading the board and making the right moves at the right time.
High Card (Suited)
I've already told you that suited cards are better than unsuited ones and I think we're seeing a trend here . . .
Just like our last example, this is a three of a kind—only it's not quite as strong as our previous one (only 2% better). However, when you have a three of a kind and you're suited, the odds of winning are still in your favor.
This is especially true when you're dealt one of the lowest-ranking hands (e.g., two threes, three nines). When this happens, it's almost inevitable that your opponent will fold. This gives you an advantage since there's no way he can beat you with his highest three-of-a-kind hand.
Even Chairs (Unsuited)
Now this hand is not as strong as our other examples . . .
Despite the name (and its rather unfair title), this is one of the best starting hands in Texas Holdem poker. It's also one of my favorites.
The reason why I love it so much is because both players get "even" hands. You get a pair (A-A, K-K, 10-10, etc.) and your opponent gets a pair too (A-K or 10-9). What that means is that if you're dealt two pairs or two threes, you'll have perfect information about what cards your opponent has.
If you take this into consideration, it's very likely that you'll win the hand. This is due to the fact that when the board doesn't have many high cards (e.g. A-J-9-6), it's rather hard for your opponent to make a straight or two pair (and a full house is almost impossible).
Even Chairs (Suited)
This is another one of my favorite hands, but isn't as strong as our previous example . . .
This hand is exactly the same as our "Even Chairs" hand, only it has more powerful cards. As you can see, this hand ranks above the high card (unsuited) and even beats the even chairs in most cases. Even though we've got a pair and an open-ended straight draw, we have less of an advantage than in our last example.
Conclusion
This article was intended to not only help you understand the ranking of starting hands, but also to give you an idea of which hands are worth playing. After all, we're here to win money while having a lot of fun.
No matter what kind of hand you're dealt, there are strategies that can help you win more often than not—it's just a matter of knowing how to play each hand.