Texas Holdem Starting Hands

February 4, 2008

Texas Holdem Hands

If you want to learn texas holdem and develop a strong strategy it is important to first learn texas hold em hand ranks (what hold em hands beat what) and learn which texas hold em starting hands are the best to have pre-flop.

These are the basics of Texas hold em and it is critical for new players to commit the hand rankings and top starting hands to memory before moving on to anything more advanced in Texas Holdem. Without knowning “what beats what in Texas Hold Em” you will not understand how the game works, and strategy on how to play the game.

Rank of Hands in Texas Holdem

Let’s start with what Texas holdem hands beat which. It is always super important when playing to know what Texas Hold Em hands can beat yours so you can figure out which hand is the ‘nuts’ based on the cards on the board.
Below is a list of Texas Holdem hands in rank from best hand to worst.

Texas Holdem Hand Ranks

Royal Flush
Five cards consisting of the A, K, Q, J, and Ten all of the same suit.
example: Ah,Kh,Qh,Jh, and Ten of h (h=hearts).

Straight Flush
Five cards in sequential order all of the same suit.
example: 4d,5d,6d,7d and 8 of d (d=diamonds).

Four of a Kind
Four cards all of the same rank.
example: K,K,K,K,6

Full House
Five card hand consisting of three cards of one rank, and two cards of another same rank, or three of a kind plus a pair. This is also called a ‘boat’ or a full boat.
example: K,K,K,6,6

Flush
Five cards all the same suit.
example: 3c,5c,9,Jc, and A of c (c=clubs).

Straight
Five cards in sequential order (suit does not matter)
example: 2,3,4,5,6

Three of a Kind
Five card hand consisting of 3 cards of the same rank.
example: 5,5,5,J,7

Two Pair
Five card hand that consists of two cards of the same rank.
example: 5,5,7,7,J

One Pair:
Five card hand that consists of two cards of the same rank.
example: 5,5,7,9,J

One of the best ways to memorize the ranks of hands is just by playing some practice games online. Download Texas Holdem Games for free at a respected online poker room like Full Tilt Poker or PokerStars.com and start playing. There is no charge and you do not ever have to deposit any real money until you are ready.

Based on the above chart of Texas Holdem Hand ranks, you now know that if you have a flush, your opponent(s) will need either a higher flush or better to beat you. Being aware of all possible hands based on the board is a vital skill needed to enhance your Texas Hold Em playing skills, this is called ‘Reading the Board’.

You should ALWAYS try to figure out ‘the nuts’ on every hand. Figure out the nuts, the near nuts and what the future nuts could be on the turn and river. Also you need to understand your common texas holdem hand odds.

Now that you know the best hands according to five-card hand ranks, let’s talk about what are the best two cards to have in your hand during pre-flop betting in Texas Hold Em.

Top 10 Texas Hold Em Starting Hands

In the chart below, we will list out the top 10 Texas hold em starting hands. In this list, you will notice that some starting hands have a “s” next to them, and others may have an “o” next to them. When referring to starting hands in Texas hold em, a “s” means that the two starting cards you hold are suited, and the “o” refers to two starting cards that are off-suit (ie, NOT suited - are of two different suits).

Also, keep in mind that these Texas Holdem hands are ranked based on their worth PRE-flop (before any community cards are on the board). You will want to learn how to bet each of these top 10 starting hands based on your position at the table. For now, let’s focus on learning what the best starting hands are in Texas Hold Em and committing them to memory. Please note we are talking about your individual hole cards.

Ten Best Texas Hold Em Starting Hands

AA (pair of aces)
KK (pair of kings)
QQ (pair of queens)
JJ (pair of jacks)
AKs (ace king suited, big slick)
AQs (ace queen suited)
TT (pair of tens)
AKo (ace king offsuit)
AJs (ace jack suited)
KQs (a king and a queen of the same suit)

Tips to Playing Strong Texas Hold Em Starting Hands

Playing these top ten Texas hold em starting hands properly pre-flop is important to winning more pots with them. You want to raise appropriately and be aggressive to encourage those with weaker starting hands to fold. You may find many players at a Texas Hold em table that will “limp in” with just about any two cards regardless of the starting hand rank those cards may have. These hold em players play their game based on luck as opposed to skill, but they can still beat you if you don’t raise aggressively pre-flop to get them off the pot and to fold.

While Texas hold em strategy changes when you are playing short-handed Texas holdem (just a few players as opposed to a full table), it is always important to represent your strong starting hands with strong pre-flop bets.

You will find that if you base your game on the odds of strong Texas holdem Hands and less on the possible luck of any two cards, you will rake more pots to you in the long run. You will also develop a strong image at the Texas hold em table as a player who only plays premium cards. This is a valuable reputation to have! As your game progresses, you will be able to change up your style of playing your Texas hold em starting hands and become a more feared player at the table.

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