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Texas Holdem Starting Hands
By Robert Marinelli, Fri Dec 9th
The first thing a Holdem player should learn is which cards areworth playing, and which should be folded. Many beginningplayers stay in a hand with cards that have little or no future,and it ends up showing in there chip count. Remember that no two cards alone can be unbeatable, and oncethe flop falls things that once looked good may no longer beworth pursuing. Still, to give yourself the best chance tosucceed, play only the premium hands. The best starting hands are: Large Pairs - Aces, Kings, Queens,Jacks. Even pairs of tens and nines and eights are high qualitystarting hands. Play them.
Aces with suited High Cards - When you get an Ace with a K,Q,J,or even a ten, many good things can happen. You already havehigh card. If a flush comes, you'll have the best possible onebecause of your ace. High straights, and even a straight flushis possible with these cards. Play them. Suited Faces Cards and Tens - While it's nicer to have an ace inthe hole, suited face cards are playable hands. They hold a lotof potential including high pair with a strong kicker,straights, and flushes. Aces with unsuited High Cards - Aces with an unsuited partnercan
still give you top pair with a high kicker, or a highstraight. Because other players may also have an ace, thestrength of the second card in your hand is important. If twoplayers tie, that second card, or 'kicker' will decide thewinner. This is why A-10 is a playable hand, and A-6 is not.(A-10 can also turn into a high straight). So while aces arehighly sought after, do not feel the need to play every hand inwhich you are dealt an ace.King with Face Card - A King with a Queen, or with a Jack is aplayable hand. But, it is not as strong as you may think. Still,two face cards rank high enough that seeing the flop is often agood idea. These are the strongest starting hands in a Texas Holdem game.Other hands are playable depending on the circumstances at thetable, but beginners may want to stick to playing only thesepremium hands until they understand the game more fully. Playingthese hands will not guarantee that you will be a winner. Pokerdoesn't work that way. Even pairs of Aces get beaten. But, ifyou want to win a pot, finding any of the cards listed on thechart in your hand is a good place to start. |
