Bonesnap

Percentage that before the flop, no one else hold:

An Ace (10 handed game)	13.4%
An Ace if you do (10 handed game)	25.3%
An Ace if you don’t (10 handed game)	15.6%
An Ace (5 handed game)	41.3%
An Ace if you do (5 handed game)	58.6%
An Ace if you don’t (5 handed game)	48.6%

Hand Odds

 

The table below list the odds that you will be dealt:

 

Hand	Odds
AA	220-1
Any pair in the pocket	16-1
AK (suited)	331-1
AK (not suited)	110-1
Any two suited cards	3.25-1
Any pair or an Ace	3.91-1
At least one Ace	5.7-1
Any 2 suited & connected	26.6-1

169 Ranked Two Card Hold’em Hands

In Texas Hold’em there are exactly 1326 different ways you can be dealt any two cards in the deck. Considering the Jack of hearts and the 2 of diamonds (Jh2d) is same hand as the Jack of diamonds and 2 of hearts (Jd2h) then there are 169 possible combinations of hands.

The hand table below list all 169 combinations, hand ranking, and percent to win against a table of 9. On the web you’ll see a variation of hand rankings. Some sites and pros rank AK higher than pocket tens and vise versa. The list below is most likely outdated but I still use it for a reference. In the future I’ll try to feed in the hand combinations into PokerStove and see what kind of rankings they have. Also, any additions, comments, mistakes, or updates please email me.

 

Rank	Hand	Win %
1	AA	31.00%
2	KK	26.00%
3	QQ	22.00%
4	Aks	20.20%
5	JJ	19.10%
6	AQs	18.70%
7	KQs	18.10%
8	AJs	17.50%
9	KJs	17.10%
10	TT	16.80%
11	AKo	16.70%
12	ATs	16.60%
13	QJs	16.60%
14	KTs	16.10%
15	QTs	15.80%
16	JTs	15.80%
17	99	15.30%
18	AQo	14.90%
19	A9s	14.60%
20	KQo	14.40%
21	88	14.20%
22	K9s	14.20%
23	T9s	14.10%
24	A8s	13.90%
25	Q9s	13.80%
26	J9s	13.80%
27	AJo	13.50%
28	A5s	13.40%
29	77	13.40%
30	A7s	13.40%
31	KJo	13.20%
32	A4s	13.20%
33	A3s	13.10%
34	A6s	13.00%
35	QJo	12.90%
36	66	12.80%
37	K8s	12.80%
38	T8s	12.70%
39	A2s	12.70%
40	98s	12.60%
41	J8s	12.50%
42	ATo	12.40%
43	Q8s	12.40%
44	K7s	12.20%
45	KTo	12.20%
46	55	12.20%
47	JTo	12.10%
48	87s	12.00%
49	QTo	12.00%
50	44	11.90%
51	22	11.90%
52	33	11.90%
53	K6s	11.80%
54	97s	11.70%
55	K5s	11.60%
56	76s	11.50%
57	T7s	11.50%
58	K4s	11.40%
59	K2s	11.30%
60	K3s	11.30%
61	Q7s	11.20%
62	86s	11.20%
63	65s	11.10%
64	J7s	11.10%
65	54s	10.90%
66	Q6s	10.90%
67	75s	10.70%
68	96s	10.70%
69	Q5s	10.60%
70	64s	10.40%
71	Q4s	10.40%
72	Q3s	10.40%
73	T9o	10.40%
74	T6s	10.30%
75	Q2s	10.30%
76	A9o	10.20%
77	53s	10.20%
78	85s	10.10%
79	J6s	10.10%
80	J9o	10.00%
81	K9o	9.90%
82	J5s	9.90%
83	Q9o	9.80%
84	43s	9.80%
85	74s	9.70%
86	J4s	9.70%
87	J3s	9.60%
88	95s	9.60%
89	J2s	9.50%
90	63s	9.50%
91	A8o	9.40%
92	52s	9.30%
93	T5s	9.20%
94	84s	9.10%
95	T4s	9.10%
96	T3s	9.10%
97	42s	9.00%
98	T2s	9.00%
99	98o	9.00%
100	T8o	8.90%
101	A5o	8.90%
102	A7o	8.80%
103	73s	8.80%
104	A4o	8.70%
105	32s	8.70%
106	94s	8.70%
107	93s	8.50%
108	J8o	8.50%
109	A3o	8.50%
110	62s	8.50%
111	92s	8.50%
112	K8o	8.50%
113	A6o	8.40%
114	87o	8.40%
115	Q8o	8.30%
116	83s	8.20%
117	A2o	8.20%
118	82s	8.10%
119	97o	8.00%
120	72s	7.90%
121	76o	7.90%
122	K7o	7.90%
123	65o	7.60%
124	T7o	7.50%
125	K6o	7.50%
126	86o	7.40%
127	54o	7.40%
128	K5o	7.10%
129	J7o	7.10%
130	75o	7.00%
131	Q7o	7.00%
132	K4o	7.00%
133	K3o	6.90%
134	96o	6.80%
135	K2o	6.80%
136	64o	6.80%
137	Q6o	6.60%
138	53o	6.60%
139	85o	6.30%
140	T6o	6.30%
141	Q5o	6.30%
142	43o	6.20%
143	Q4o	6.10%
144	Q3o	6.10%
145	74o	6.00%
146	Q2o	6.00%
147	J6o	5.90%
148	63o	5.70%
149	J5o	5.60%
150	95o	5.60%
151	52o	5.60%
152	J4o	5.50%
153	J3o	5.40%
154	42o	5.40%
155	J2o	5.30%
156	84o	5.30%
157	T5o	5.20%
158	T4o	5.00%
159	32o	5.00%
160	T3o	5.00%
161	73o	4.90%
162	T2o	4.90%
163	62o	4.70%
164	94o	4.70%
165	93o	4.50%
166	92o	4.50%
167	83o	4.30%
168	82o	4.20%
169	72o	4.00%

 o – offsuit
 s – suited

If you’re new to the game of  Texas Hold’em there is one sure way to increase your chances of winning a pot. That is only entering a hand with a “Premium Hand”.

 What is a “Premium Hand” you might ask?

 Basically, it consists of the tops rated starting cards that has been shown to statically beat a majority of the other cards pre-flop.

 Here is the list:

A-A

K-K

Q-Q

J-J

T-T

A-K

That’s basically it in a nutshell. However, depending on whom you talk to or what you read; the above starting hands will slightly change.

In my experience, if you sit around the table and wait on one of those hands you’ll most likely never enter a pot. So, here are a few variations of the list above:

A-A

K-K

Q-Q

J-J

T-T

A-K

9-9

8-8

7-7

 

Or

 

A-A

K-K

Q-Q

J-J

T-T

A-K

A-Q

A-J

9-9

8-8

7-7

 

By limiting that hands you enter only to premium hands you will vastly increase your success as a hold’em player. This is the most basic step a beginning hold’em player can do to improve there game.

On a side note:

You can go rounds and rounds with out ever getting a starting hand. That’s just cards. Roughly 221 times (I think that’s the number) will you ever be dealt A-A. So, if you are an individual that lacks the patience to wait on decent starting hands then poker might not be for you.

However, later on I will write an article that will discuss how to expand your starting hand criteria depending on the situation you are in.

 

 

 

 

I have played various forms of poker all my life. A few years back when Texas Hold’em was in it’s prime a few folks came to house and taught me how to play it. However, not playing for real money or really understanding the game lead me to just simply pass of the game and move on to something else.

 

Then I was invited over to a friend’s house that was having a Hold’em Tourney that had a $20 dollar buy-in and winner take all. I never played that style or even had and idea what to expect.

 

It didn’t take me long to figure out that when I had a great hand like flopping a full house (which I did) or trips that the 9 other people at the table couldn’t possible have any good cards that would keep them in. Yet, time and again when I had a strong hand (and I didn’t even know it) I’d get called to the river every time.

 

I busted out several folks and then the game turned ugly. Just by sheer observation I would fold crap hands and keep my high cards. By doing that I limited my losses but when I hit the flop I’d bet big and usually take down a pot because people were chasing straights or flushes with out knowing what the odds were. So, people started calling me a cheater and bitching about me winning. It climaxed to the point that I actually felt bad and just pushed all in on a marginal hand. I got beat and left the table.

 

I told myself I wouldn’t do that again. Then my nephew invited me over for a tourney he was hosting. I must say, it was 100% more pleasurable and a lot of fun. From that point on I was hooked.

 

I started reading articles on the internet and buying books at ½ price books. There was so much theory on a game that I though was based on nothing but luck.

 

Now, when I look back at the really first bad experience I realize a few things:

 

1. By sheer chance I was playing tight by entering pots with a premium hands and folding trash hands. I had no clue this is what I was doing.
2. Everyone (including myself) didn’t have a clue about how to play the game. That’s why everyone ALWAYS chased to the river.
3. There were a lot of bad beats I was dishing out (and not on purpose) that everyone remember them. This put them on tilt and targeted me.
4. I was completely %100 stupid for just pushing all in to get out of there.

 

Anyway, I have a new respect for the game and love playing. However, when starting out I had no clue what I needed to do, how to play certain situations, nothing. So, I’ve read, read, read.

 

I am not going to say I’m a good player because I’m not. I’m an average player who knows just a little bit more than someone who knows nothing. Yet, I will say out of the countless articles and books I’ve read, I’ve managed to pick apart basic play procedures that should help beginners out. I’ll post articles on my blog and look forward to comments and discussions about them.