Texas Holdem starting hands
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| Hand | Unraised pott | Raised pott |
AA, KK, QQ |
Raise Call Call Call (* ) |
Reraise Call Fold Fold |
| AKs, AK | Raise | Re-raise |
| AQs, AQ, AJs | Raise | Call |
| AJ | Call or fold (****) | Fold |
| ATs | Call (**) | Fold |
| KQs, KQo | Call | Fold |
| KJs | Call (***) | Fold |
| QJs | Call (***) | Fold |
| (*) Only if the game is not too aggressive and if you also are sure that there will be a few players in the pot. You also play this hand in the first place to get three of a kind at the flop. Otherwise you might as well give up (you are the only one who knows the draws and pot odds you might get though). | ||
| (**) Only if the game is not aggressive. Try to avoid playing opponents who have stronger kicker cards than you. A good opponent who knows how to play starting hands does not always raise with AJ even if he is playing at a late position. | ||
| (***) Only in very loose games where your opponents are not aggressive either. You should in other words know that many players will join the betting round. I regularly disregard these hands and I do not think that it affects my game much. | ||
| (****) Skip if the game is aggressive. | ||
Other comments: These starting hands differ somewhat from for instance the recommended ones in Lee Jones “Winning Low Limit Hold'em" and "Internet Texas Hold'em" by Matthew Hilger. Lee Jones recommendation is that you apart from these hands regularly should play JTs. I look upon QJs and JTs as hands that might cause problems and thereby you might end up in tricky situations as far as suits, straights and pairs are concerned. For beginners I think it is better to skip the trouble as this is cheaper than making bad decisions. This is particularly applicable if you want to play multi-table poker and are in a hurry. AJo is however often worth using to see the flop with if the game is not too aggressive. If nobody raises you know that no opponent has a better un-paired starting hand as most players know they should raise with stronger hands than these. If there is an A at the flop without anybody raising you can probably draw the conclusion that you have the highest kicker card to get AA and the same thing happens if there is a J at the flop. If however somebody raises before the flop you throw away your hand quickly because it will otherwise turn into a problematic hand. This will probably not be a problem if you alradey from the start have decided to throw away AJo completely. Matthew Hilger is also of the opinion that you play QJs. He also wants you to play A8s and A7s if nobody makes any raises. I do not think these last mentioned hands make any big difference except making it harder to make decisions if there is an A at the flop. (I do not doubt that it is possible to play like this and make a small profit but my piece of advice is still – skip!) PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE HANDS ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN USED WHEN PRODUCING THE STATISTICS YOU FIND AT FIXEDLIMITHOLDEM.COM |
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