Good Texas Holdem Hands

Posted : admin On 4/9/2022
Good Texas Holdem Hands Average ratng: 6,0/10 7429 votes

As a default I'd probably be raising around 25% of hands on the cutoff, which comes out to pretty much any pair, any suited ace, A9o+, any broadway (face cards), any suited connectors, as well as. Generally speaking, the best starting cards in Texas Hold’em are the good cards of their type, rather than good cards overall. For example A2 is a pretty good starting hand based on chance of winning if all cards are dealt to the river.

In Texas Holdem, starting hands are two cards that each player is given by the dealer at the beginning of the game. These two cards determine your fate in the game based on whether they are good or bad. The combination of these two cards is not usually pre-planned as the dealer shuffles the cards then issues the starting hands face-down. A regular 52-card deck has almost 1,350 starting hands, good, moderate and bad. Discussed below are the worst and best starting hands in a Texas Holdem poker card game.
The worst and weakest starting hands are; One, 2-7 starting hand of different suits for example, 2 of spades and 7 of hearts. With such a hand, you are guaranteed to lose the game even if you are a professional player. The best thing you can do is to discard the cards and give up the game. If you decide to continue the game, the smartest move would be to place very low bets. Two, 2-6, 2-8 and 2-9 of different suits are the second-worst starting hands in a Texas Holdem poker card game.
These hands cannot take you anywhere in the game as they are far away from getting a shot at winning the game. The best thing to do is to fold and wait for the next game. Three, 3-6, 3-7, 3-8 and 3-9 of different suits are the third weakest and worst starting hands. If you are issued any of these pairs and continue to play the game, you will definitely lose. To stop yourself from having a bad day, the best thing would be to withdraw from the game as early as possible. Four, 4-7, 4-8 and 4-9 of different suits are the fourth-worst starting hands.
If you get any of these as your starting hands, there are about zero chances of winning the game. To save yourself time and money, the best thing would be to quit that game. Five, 9-5 and 5-8 of different suits are the fifth weakest starting hands that are guaranteed to steer you to a loss in the game. The top-ranking and the strongest starting hands are;
A-A starting hand of either the same or different suit. This hand guarantees you the top position in the game without opposition hence you should stake high. K-K starting hand of the same or different suit is the second-best starting hand. Apart from the A-A, no other starting hand stands a chance against the K-K. If you start the game with this hand, you will definitely win because the chances that another player has a stronger hand than this are zero to none.
Q-Q starting hand of the same or different suit is the third-best and is strong enough to steer you to victory. A-K is the fourth-best starting hand that gives you a real chance of winning the game. J-J starting hand is the fifth-best starting hand. Being the fifth out of 1,350 starting hands is a big deal, therefore, you should stake high as this hand is strong enough to make you win the game if you make smart moves.
From the above information, it is clear that the bad and weakest starting hands are definitely losing hands. The good and strongest hands are winning hands and if you get a good hand you should take control and win the game with less opposition. Also, at one point or the other, you might find yourself with a weak hand that guarantees you a loss hence you should fold.

Introduction

The following table ranks the top hands in an 8-player game. This table assumes that all players stay in until the end.

Good Texas Holdem HandsExplanation of column headings.
  • Cards: Initial two-card hand.
  • Probability of win: Probability that this hand will win, or tie for the win.
  • Average win: This is how much the player will win on average, including his own bets, if the player does win. This is less than 8 because sometimes the player will have to split the pot.
  • Expected value: This is how many units the player can expected to win (positive) or lose (negative) with this hand. For example if the player had a pair of aces and contibuted $1 to the pot then the player could expect to have a net win of $2.09.
  • Probability: Probability of getting this hand to begin with.
  • Additive probability: Probability of getting this hand or any stronger hand to begin with.

Initial Hold'em Hands in Rank Order for 8-Player Game

Good Texas Hold'em Hands Chart

CardsProbability of WinAverage WinExpected ValueProbabilityAdditive Probability
Pair of A's39.05%7.942.0990.45%0.45%
Pair of K's33.26%7.921.63280.45%0.9%
Pair of Q's28.71%7.881.26280.45%1.36%
A/K suited26%7.670.99530.3%1.66%
Pair of J's25.13%7.840.97050.45%2.11%
A/Q suited24.51%7.60.86280.3%2.41%
K/Q suited23.72%7.610.80430.3%2.71%
A/J suited23.41%7.530.76160.3%3.02%
Pair of T's22.32%7.790.73950.45%3.47%
A/K unsuited22.68%7.610.72640.9%4.37%
K/J suited22.66%7.530.70730.3%4.68%
A/T suited22.55%7.450.68030.3%4.98%
Q/J suited22.1%7.520.66220.3%5.28%
K/T suited21.87%7.470.6330.3%5.58%
Q/T suited21.38%7.450.59360.3%5.88%
J/T suited21.26%7.440.58130.3%6.18%
A/Q unsuited20.98%7.510.57650.9%7.09%
Pair of 9's19.89%7.810.55270.45%7.54%
K/Q unsuited20.31%7.520.52810.9%8.45%
A/9 suited20.28%7.390.49810.3%8.75%
A/J unsuited19.7%7.410.46070.9%9.65%
K/9 suited19.5%7.420.44660.3%9.95%
A/8 suited19.66%7.320.43860.3%10.26%
K/J unsuited19.1%7.430.41830.9%11.16%
Pair of 8's18.19%7.790.41640.45%11.61%
T/9 suited19.18%7.380.41620.3%11.92%
Q/9 suited19.03%7.410.41070.3%12.22%
J/9 suited18.96%7.40.40320.3%12.52%
A/5 suited19.29%7.210.39140.3%12.82%
A/7 suited19.12%7.260.38830.3%13.12%
Q/J unsuited18.67%7.410.38320.9%14.03%
A/T unsuited18.74%7.310.37050.9%14.93%
A/4 suited18.86%7.230.36380.3%15.23%
A/6 suited18.62%7.220.34480.3%15.54%
A/3 suited18.41%7.260.3360.3%15.84%
K/T unsuited18.18%7.330.33280.9%16.74%
K/8 suited18.05%7.330.32340.3%17.04%
Pair of 7's16.85%7.770.3090.45%17.5%
Q/T unsuited17.83%7.320.30440.9%18.4%
J/T unsuited17.86%7.30.30410.9%19.31%
A/2 suited17.86%7.280.29970.3%19.61%
T/8 suited17.68%7.320.29490.3%19.91%
Q/8 suited17.51%7.340.2850.3%20.21%
J/8 suited17.44%7.330.27920.3%20.51%
K/7 suited17.57%7.270.27770.3%20.81%
9/8 suited17.31%7.380.27680.3%21.12%
K/6 suited17.17%7.230.24130.3%21.42%
Pair of 6's15.84%7.750.22820.45%21.87%
K/5 suited16.83%7.20.21170.3%22.17%
8/7 suited16.38%7.350.20330.3%22.47%
K/4 suited16.44%7.220.18690.3%22.78%
9/7 suited16.2%7.330.18680.3%23.08%
T/7 suited16.3%7.260.18270.3%23.38%
Q/7 suited16.22%7.250.17560.3%23.68%
A/9 unsuited16.27%7.20.17110.9%24.59%
J/7 suited16.07%7.260.16620.3%24.89%
K/3 suited16.06%7.260.16530.3%25.19%
Pair of 5's14.93%7.730.15420.45%25.64%
7/6 suited15.66%7.330.14810.3%25.94%
K/2 suited15.7%7.290.14460.3%26.24%
Q/6 suited15.85%7.20.14170.3%26.55%
T/9 unsuited15.71%7.210.13320.9%27.45%
K/9 unsuited15.62%7.240.13080.9%28.36%
8/6 suited15.37%7.30.12230.3%28.66%
Q/5 suited15.56%7.170.11580.3%28.96%
Pair of 4's14.31%7.760.11030.45%29.41%
J/9 unsuited15.34%7.220.10810.9%30.32%
6/5 suited15.12%7.320.10670.3%30.62%
Q/9 unsuited15.27%7.230.10440.9%31.52%
A/8 unsuited15.55%7.10.10370.9%32.43%
Q/4 suited15.16%7.20.09160.3%32.73%
9/6 suited14.99%7.260.08910.3%33.03%
5/4 suited14.74%7.320.07890.3%33.33%
T/6 suited15.03%7.180.07850.3%33.63%
Pair of 3's13.83%7.80.07820.45%34.09%
7/5 suited14.74%7.290.07410.3%34.39%
Q/3 suited14.81%7.240.07210.3%34.69%
J/6 suited14.92%7.170.06910.3%34.99%
Pair of 2's13.49%7.830.0570.45%35.44%
Q/2 suited14.46%7.280.05240.3%35.75%
A/5 unsuited15.1%6.950.04890.9%36.65%
A/7 unsuited14.94%7.010.04730.9%37.56%
J/5 suited14.66%7.130.04540.3%37.86%
6/4 suited14.07%7.330.03060.3%38.16%
8/5 suited14.22%7.240.03030.3%38.46%
J/4 suited14.28%7.160.02220.3%38.76%
A/4 unsuited14.63%6.960.01840.9%39.67%
5/3 suited13.71%7.330.00490.3%39.97%
J/3 suited13.92%7.20.00230.3%40.27%
A/6 unsuited14.39%6.9500.9%41.18%
T/8 unsuited14.07%7.11-0.00020.9%42.08%
K/8 unsuited14.01%7.09-0.00590.9%42.99%
9/5 suited13.81%7.19-0.00660.3%43.29%
T/5 suited13.98%7.09-0.00920.3%43.59%
A/3 unsuited14.15%6.99-0.01110.9%44.49%
9/8 unsuited13.73%7.18-0.01370.9%45.4%
J/2 suited13.59%7.24-0.01540.3%45.7%
7/4 suited13.48%7.28-0.01870.3%46%
J/8 unsuited13.68%7.11-0.02780.9%46.91%
T/4 suited13.64%7.11-0.03040.3%47.21%
Q/8 unsuited13.6%7.11-0.03310.9%48.11%
4/3 suited13.09%7.37-0.03510.3%48.42%
T/3 suited13.3%7.15-0.0490.3%48.72%
A/2 unsuited13.54%7.01-0.05070.9%49.62%
K/7 unsuited13.48%7-0.05570.9%50.53%
6/3 suited12.85%7.33-0.05870.3%50.83%
8/4 suited12.98%7.22-0.06260.3%51.13%
T/2 suited12.95%7.19-0.06820.3%51.43%
5/2 suited12.5%7.33-0.08390.3%51.73%
8/7 unsuited12.79%7.13-0.08770.9%52.64%
9/4 suited12.71%7.16-0.09080.3%52.94%
K/6 unsuited13.02%6.94-0.09720.9%53.85%
4/2 suited12.08%7.38-0.10790.3%54.15%
7/3 suited12.25%7.27-0.11010.3%54.45%
9/3 suited12.37%7.19-0.11080.3%54.75%
9/7 unsuited12.54%7.09-0.11140.9%55.66%
T/7 unsuited12.55%6.98-0.12380.9%56.56%
9/2 suited12.03%7.24-0.12870.3%56.86%
K/5 unsuited12.65%6.88-0.12980.9%57.77%
7/6 unsuited12.08%7.09-0.14330.9%58.67%
8/3 suited11.88%7.19-0.14520.3%58.97%
3/2 suited11.49%7.43-0.14540.3%59.28%
6/2 suited11.62%7.32-0.14920.3%59.58%
Q/7 unsuited12.22%6.95-0.15110.9%60.48%
J/7 unsuited12.18%6.97-0.15140.9%61.39%
K/4 unsuited12.21%6.9-0.15790.9%62.29%
8/2 suited11.57%7.23-0.1630.3%62.59%
8/6 unsuited11.7%7.04-0.17670.9%63.5%
K/3 unsuited11.79%6.94-0.18180.9%64.4%
6/5 unsuited11.51%7.07-0.18650.9%65.31%
Q/6 unsuited11.81%6.87-0.1890.9%66.21%
7/2 suited11.19%7.24-0.18970.3%66.52%
K/2 unsuited11.41%6.98-0.20350.9%67.42%
5/4 unsuited11.12%7.06-0.21490.9%68.33%
9/6 unsuited11.22%6.97-0.21820.9%69.23%
Q/5 unsuited11.46%6.82-0.21910.9%70.14%
7/5 unsuited11.07%7-0.22490.9%71.04%
T/6 unsuited11.18%6.83-0.23610.9%71.95%
Q/4 unsuited11.03%6.84-0.24540.9%72.85%
J/6 unsuited10.94%6.8-0.25620.9%73.76%
6/4 unsuited10.39%7.05-0.26770.9%74.66%
Q/3 unsuited10.63%6.88-0.26790.9%75.57%
8/5 unsuited10.47%6.92-0.27570.9%76.47%
J/5 unsuited10.64%6.73-0.28370.9%77.38%
Q/2 unsuited10.26%6.93-0.2890.9%78.28%
5/3 unsuited10.04%7.04-0.29360.9%79.19%
J/4 unsuited10.22%6.76-0.30910.9%80.09%
9/5 unsuited9.97%6.82-0.32060.9%81%
7/4 unsuited9.73%6.95-0.32380.9%81.9%
T/5 unsuited10.06%6.65-0.33080.9%82.81%
J/3 unsuited9.83%6.81-0.33120.9%83.71%
4/3 unsuited9.38%7.08-0.3360.9%84.62%
J/2 unsuited9.46%6.86-0.35120.9%85.52%
T/4 unsuited9.66%6.67-0.35540.9%86.43%
6/3 unsuited9.08%7-0.36420.9%87.33%
8/4 unsuited9.12%6.84-0.37660.9%88.24%
T/3 unsuited9.28%6.72-0.37670.9%89.14%
5/2 unsuited8.73%7-0.38920.9%90.05%
T/2 unsuited8.93%6.76-0.39620.9%90.95%
9/4 unsuited8.76%6.71-0.41260.9%91.86%
4/2 unsuited8.3%7.06-0.41380.9%92.76%
7/3 unsuited8.41%6.88-0.42190.9%93.67%
9/3 unsuited8.4%6.74-0.43380.9%94.57%
9/2 unsuited8.04%6.8-0.45310.9%95.48%
3/2 unsuited7.67%7.12-0.45430.9%96.38%
6/2 unsuited7.79%6.94-0.460.9%97.29%
8/3 unsuited7.96%6.73-0.46460.9%98.19%
8/2 unsuited7.61%6.77-0.48440.9%99.1%
7/2 unsuited7.28%6.77-0.50730.9%100%
Total7.20100%

Methodology

This table is the result of a random simulation of 25,729,704,000 games and assumes all players stay in until the end of the hand.

Best Texas Holdem Hands

The following table shows my power rating for each initial 2-card hand in a 8-player game. The numbers are on a 0 to 40 scale. Basically, you should only play hands that are dark green, blue, or purple. Of course you should be more be more liberal in late position and picky in early position.

Use the top table if you have a pair, the middle table if your cards are suited, and the bottom table if your cards are unsuited. Except for a pair,look up your high card along the left and your low card along the top.

Inside Links

Best Texas Holdem Hands In Order


List Of Texas Holdem Hands

Written by: Michael Shackleford