Poker Hands To Bet On
Sports Betting Poker 100% up to $1,000 NLOP Free Global Poker Free Gold Coins. Because most passive players tend to three-bet with only their best hands and call with their non-premium hands. In general, you're a strong contender if your starting hand contains: Ace/Ace: the strongest starting hand in the game. King/king, queen/queen, jack/jack: high pairs set you off well. An ace with a face card: sets a good foundation, if the flop works in your favor.
The strength of your starting hand in Texas Hold'em can help you determine your chances of winning, even before the remaining cards are dealt. From a pair of aces — the strongest starting hand — to a 2 and a 7, knowing the strength of your starting hand is an important part of your success at the table. When playing Texas Hold'em you need to know which starting hands are worth staying in with—and which you should fold.
Best Starting Hands
Having a strong starting hand can help you determine your chances of winning even before the flop is dealt. In general, you're a strong contender if your starting hand contains:
- Ace/Ace: the strongest starting hand in the game.
- King/king, queen/queen, jack/jack: high pairs set you off well.
- An ace with a face card: sets a good foundation, if the flop works in your favor.
Beyond these cards, you'll also often be happy to see cards in sequence, particularly the high cards and face cards, and pairs in your starting hand. While some of these hands aren't always deemed the ideal hands, they can sometimes pay off if you're willing to take a risk. Don't forget the added bonus if your cards are all in the same suit, too. A flush, especially a straight flush or royal flush, can often win you the game. Again, the flop will play a major role in just how strong your chances are at winning, so assess carefully and determine how much risk you're willing to take.
The specific sequence of cards and the order in which they rank is an important aspect of the game. Studying up on the best starting hands in Texas Hold'em can help improve your game and your odds at winning the pot.
A strong starting hand might also encourage you to make a strong blind (your first bet).
Worst Starting Hands
When you're dealt your starting hand, some combinations greatly reduce your chances of winning. These are generally low numbers that are not in sequence or matched. You might consider folding early if your two cards are:
- A 2 or a 3, paired with a 7 or an 8: you can't make a straight out of them.
- An ace or a face card with an unsuited low card: you're taking a risk relying on a single high card.
- Two unmatched, unsuited low cards (like 4 and 7, 5 and 8, etc.): you'll rarely win with these.
The strategy of what to hold, and why, takes a bit to master, so studying the worst starting hands in Texas Hold'em, even more, can help you improve your game.
Beginner's Advice
Play only the cards in the 10-best list and always fold those in the worst hands list. Following this strategy may improve your results. However, there's no guarantee that receiving a strong starting hand will take the round, or that a weak starting hand is a definite loss. You never know how the flop may run, and while an unsuited 2 and 4 might seem like one to deal, sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised with a two-pair or even a full house. Study up on the various hands you're aiming for.
How you approach the game will also differ based on the game itself. For example, if you're playing No-Limit Hold 'em, knowing the top No-Limit Hold'em hands can help you better understand how to play them.
As your skill increases, you'll also want to learn how position affects your Hold'em starting hand decisions. The more you learn, the more you'll realize how important your starting hands are to your bottom line. Play the good hands and fold the bad, and you'll be well on your way to becoming an expert at Hold'em.
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One of my students recently played a hand at a $550 buy-in live tournament that illustrates an exploitative play you can make against many players in small-stakes poker games.
With a 55,000 effective stack and blinds at 500-1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante, our Hero raised with J J from first position to 2,500. Everyone folded to the cutoff, a loose, passive player, who three-bet to 8,500.
At this point, Hero can be fairly certain his opponent has a premium hand, probably 10-10+ and A-Q+, because most passive players tend to three-bet with only their best hands and call with their non-premium hands. Given the opponent’s range is quite strong, Hero should not four-bet with J-J, because he will only get action when he is crushed by a better pair or flipping against A-K. Calling from out of position will lead to some difficult post-flop situations, but it is the best course of action given the opponent’s strong range.
Hero called and the flop came 10 8 2. Hero checked and his opponent bet 7,000 into the 19,500 pot.
Although Hero now loses to all of the opponent’s likely pocket pairs, he still beats A-K and A-Q. Given most players will continuation bet this flop with their entire range, Hero should call and see what develops on the turn.
The turn was the 4. Hero checked and the opponent checked behind, likely indicating an unpaired hand, probably A-K or A-Q. The river was the 3.
If the opponent’s range is mostly A-K and A-Q, he will usually check behind on the river, awarding Hero the small pot. Instead of happily collecting the small pot though, Hero should make a bet that can realistically get called by ace high. In this situation, a small bet makes a lot of sense, assuming the opponent will rarely (or never) raise as a bluff, which will usually be the case in most small-stakes games.
Betting small also has the added benefit of saving money when the opponent happens to have a cautiously-played overpair because Hero would have otherwise check-called a larger river bet.
Hero bet 4,500 into the 33,500 pot. The opponent thought for a while and eventually called with A K, giving Hero a nice pot.
While Hero’s 4,500 river bet worked out well, he perhaps left a few chips on the table. Since the pot was 33,500 chips, Hero probably could have bet 6,500, extracting an additional 2,000 chips.
While winning an extra two big blinds may not sound like a big deal, if you miss out on two big blinds every time you are in situations like this, it will add up to a small fortune over your lifetime as a poker player. That said, many players leave the entire river bet in their opponent’s stack, so it was a nice job by my student to extract it. ♠
Poker Hands To Bet One
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player with over $7 million in live tournament earnings, best-selling author of 15 educational poker books, and 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush the games, check out his training site PokerCoaching.com. Click here to try PokerCoaching.com for free.