Top 10 Poker Hands Pre Flop
Poker is all about maximising your gains from big hands (and bluffs) while minimising your losses when you’re behind. However, regardless of how well you play through the post-flop period of your game, it is your pre-flop hand selection which will determine how successful you will be.
The pre-flop sets up your play for the rest of the round similar to how a first serve in a tennis match ets up the rest of that point. If you make poor hand selection in no limit holdem pre-flop then it’s very likely that the rest of your game will suffer and you’ll be caught out in awkward situations.
With regards to hand selection, a number of professional poker players such as David Slansky, Phil Hellmuth and Dan Harrington have all proposed their own starting hand charts based on your table position. However each of these strategies differs slightly since the playing style of each of these players differs. Dan Harrington is one of the most well known TAG tournament poker players, whilst Phil Hellmuth tends to mix up his game between TAG and LAG.
- Pocket aces is the best starting hand in poker. When you’re dealt pocket aces you’ve got the best hand pre-flop, period. One of the best things about pocket aces is that you dominate other strong starting hands like KK, QQ and JJ so there’s huge potential to win a massive pot.
- Be very selective with your starting hands. Nothing is more important than choosing the correct.
- See full list on rakeback.com.
Premium Hands – AA, KK, QQ and AK
This list of the top 10 best starting hands for Texas Hold 'em is a good place to start learning. Do keep in mind, however, that there is some disagreement over which hands are the best, and it does depend in part on your skill level and style of play. Also, a great starting hand can turn bad quickly with the wrong community cards.
These top four hands (AA, KK, QQ, AK) are the best 2% of pocket cards that you can be dealt in No Limit Holdem. Whenever you’re dealt these hands you’ll want to raise them up or be happy committing your entire stack into the pot pre-flop.
The chances are that you’ll be ahead of your opponent pre-flop with any of these hands. This means that you’ll want to built the pot as large as possible pre-flop and get rid of any limpers who’re trying to see the flop cheaply. If you’re first to act then make an open raise of around 3-4 BBs however if someone has already raised in front of you then you’ll want to re-raise them around 3x their opening raise. Bear in mind that if you have a premium pair such as KK and get called by a lower pocket pair (e.g. 55) then you’re still an 80% to 20% favourite.
Mid Pocket Pairs (77 – JJ), Broadway Cards and High Suited Connectors
Mid pocket pairs (77 – JJ) and high suited connectors (e.g. JQs/KQs) are very strong hands especially in 6-max cash games however because they are not as strong and can easily be dominated by premium hands listed above you’ll naturally want to play them a little slower.
From late position, pocket pairs including JJ become excellent 3betting hands. The value of these hands increases in late position (e.g. LP/CO) since you can recognise weaknesses and get maximum information/reads at the table. You’ll also have a positional advantage in all of the future betting rounds since you will be last to act.
These hands are also excellent hands to semi-bluff with early on since they are strong enough to get called with, have good implied odds for hitting a monster on the flop, but at the same time they are weak enough for you to be satisfied with everyone folding around and giving you the blinds. Although you can raise/bluff these hands from late position, I personally recommend limping with them from early position since they are much harder to play from EP – MP.
Low Pocket Pairs, Suited Aces and Suited/Non-Suited Connectors
These are your “marginal” sets of pre-flop hands. Low pocket pairs (22 – 66), suited aces and non-suited connectors are essentially limping hands with some 3bet value from position. They are also excellent hands for 3betting light with. Of course they are not very strong in totality, but the implied odds from these hands gives them a lot of value on weak tables where you get to regularly see the flop cheaply.
The advantage of playing non-suited/suited connectors such as 56o is that these middling cards tend to hit a lot of flops. You’d be surprised by just how often you’ll hit mid-pair or a straight draw with a hand like 109o or 56s in no limit holdem. By exercising good pot-control with these types of hands you’ll have a good deal of success with them.
With regards to calling 3bets with these hands I would be very inclined to fold them. The majority of the time these types of hands require favourable pot-odds to be profitable to play (meaning 2 or more players in the pot with deep stacks behind them). If you get re-raised with these hands then you’re better off folding (unless you’re short-stacked in a tournament in which case you’ll just want to shove all-in).
Junk Hands – 72o/58s/92o etc…
Any hands not already covered will be considered junk hands and you’ll want to throw them away. For new players in particular, it’s really important that you don’t both limping with junk hands such as 72o since the odds will always be against you. Sure, you might be able to catch a flop such as 772 but the chances of this happening means that in the long term you’ll be bleeding chips and diminishing your bankroll playing these sorts of hands.
Top Ten Worst Starting Holdem Poker Hands
Everyone knows that pocket aces are the best starting hand in a game of no limit texas holdem poker, but are you familiar with what the worst hands are?
Join me as we go on a trip to the land of Texas Fold’em.
1) 7-2
72 is the #1 worst hand of them all. This is based on the fact that you can not make a straight with both cards and if you hit a flush you will have a very low flush at that. Even if you pair one of these two hole cards you are at worst hitting bottom pair with below average kicker, or at best top pair with bottom kicker.
2) 8-2
This hand suffers from the same inadequacies at 72u, however you have an 8 instead of a 7. Which makes things slightly better. But not by much. The only time you will be in front pre-flop is if you are playing against someone having a pop with 72u.
3) 8-3 & 7-3
You are unable to make a straight with 8-3. With 7-3 you are looking for a miracle flop to be in with any chance of winning the pot.
4) 2-6
Even if you make your straight you will not be able to guarantee you have the best hand. Players with suited connectors like 67 will make sure you lose a lot of chips. If you find yourself playing this hand against 4 other players you will only ever win around 10% of the time.
5) 2-9, 3-9, & 4-9
The only positive quality about these hands is the 9. If you pair your 9 on the flop (unlikely), you will have a middling pair but with an awful kicker. The best way to lose a lot of chips is to play a second-best hand, and that is exactly what will happen if you play any of these card combinations.
6) T-2
The legendary Doyle Brunsen hand made famous by him winning two WSOP bracelets with this hand. But do not be fooled. T2 is NOT a good hand. Do not play this hand unless you have the skill and experience of the legend that is the Brunsen. Or unless you like to lose money.
7) 9-5
95 is also known as the “Dolly Parton”. Maybe because of the song, but mostly because it’s ugly trash. Don’t play hands that have special names, or are your “favourite” hands. You should be selecting your starting hands based on strong cards and your table position. Hand selection based on the name of your hole cards is very, very stupid.
8.) 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 3-6…
Any two low unpaired unsuited cards will rarely win unless you catch that dream flop. But odds are never ever in your favour to see a flop in the hope that you might hit it. For every one time you do hit a full house on the flop with these kinds of cards, there will be 100 times where you miss. Fold these hands. Even if on the small blind, even if you are getting value. If you do connect with the flop in some way, chances are it will be a trouble hand and before you know it you won’t be able to get away and you will find yourself pot comitted.
9) Face card (K, Q, J) + low card, unsuited
This is one of the more common mistakes made by beginners to the game. Picture cards by themselves are not worth anything. Put them with another card of the same rank and you’ve got a playable hand. But hands like J4, Q2, K3 are all Texas Fold’em hands. Even if you do pair your paint, chances are you will be outkicked at the showdown.
Top 10 Poker Hands Pre Floppy
10) Ace + low card, unsuited
Best Pre Flop Hands
Another common beginner mistake to avoid is playing a raggy ace. That is an ace with a low kicker. Ok, so its not too bad heads up, and if you flop two pair against someone with AK then you are laughing, but this will not happen often enough to make it profitable to play. If someone is raising pre-flop in front of you, then your best strategy is to fold. Even if you do hit your ace on the flop, chances are someone else has too and more often than not they are playing with a much stronger kicker.