No Limit Texas Holdem Hands
No-Limit Hold’em Starting Hands Chart (PDF) Fixed-Limit Hold’em Starting Hands Chart (PDF) Each of these charts loads as a PDF, meaning they be viewed on screen, bookmarked or better still, can be printed and studied offline.
- No Limit Texas Hold'em Strategy Tips
- Texas Holdem No Limit Pogo
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- No Limit Texas Holdem Hands S Chart
- No Limit Texas Hold'em Hands Held
- Free Online Texas Holdem Poker
- Best Starting Hands In No Limit Texas Holdem
On this list you’ll find the Top 10 Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em – these are the ones that can make you the most money. (No Limit Hold’em. Texas Holdem Rankings for All 169 Starting Hands. Ever since the early days of Texas holdem poker, players have attempted to analyze and organize the 169 possible two card starting hands found in the game. One traditional way of doing so involves running thousands upon thousands of simulations in which a particular holdem hand is played out.
One of hold’em’s most crucial decisions is, do I see the flop or don’t I see the flop? In this lesson we’ll examine the importance starting hand selection and what factors you need to consider before deciding whether to hold’em or fold’em.
There are 169 different two card starting hand combinations in hold’em poker. This number assumes, for the sake of argument, that is the same as , or any other suited combination. If you are not dealt a pair, then your starting hand will either be suited or unsuited, and either connected or unconnected (gapped). This means your starting hand will fall into one of the following five categories:
- Pairs – e.g. , ,
- Suited connectors – e.g. , ,
- Connecting cards – e.g. , ,
- Suited unconnected cards – e.g. , ,
- Unconnected cards – e.g. , ,
Unconnected cards might be one, two, three-gapped, or more. The bigger the gap, the less chance you have of hitting a straight. For example, if you hold 73, then you’d need a flop of 456 for the straight. But holding T8, you could flop a straight with 9JQ or 679.
The Best Starting Hands in Hold’em
Let’s start by talking about the best starting hands, which are often referred to as ‘premium hands’. There is some disagreement amongst poker players as to which starting hands are the best, but few would dispute the value of the first of our three main groups, Aces and Kings.
Group 1: AA, KK
These two starting hands are the major players in hold’em. It’s not often you’ll get dealt Aces or Kings. In fact you get either Aces or Kings once in every 110 hands, so it’s not nearly as often as we’d like. Aces are by far the best possible starting hand in hold’em, closely followed by Kings. However, you should be aware that even Aces or Kings can get cracked, and they don’t play too well against multiple opponents. This means you should definitely be raising pre-flop to narrow the field. Extra caution is necessary when playing Kings, because if an Ace falls on the flop then you’re losing to anyone who has a single Ace in their starting hand. While they are very strong hands which most players love to get, they are certainly not unbeatable.
Group 2: QQ, JJ, AKs
Queens and Jacks are great starting hands, and with either of these, you can usually be confident you have the best starting hand. Of course they are dominated by Aces and Kings, but they’re a favourite against all other starting hands. While Queens and Jacks will occasionally run into a player holding either Aces or Kings, it doesn’t happen too often. Play these cards strongly, and always look to raise with them.
Ace-King is known throughout the poker world as Big Slick, and when suited it’s often called Super Slick. While it isn’t a ‘made hand’, unlike a pair, it offers great potential. It’s only a big underdog to Aces and Kings, and even pairs like Queens and Jacks are only slight favourites. The beauty of AK (suited or unsuited), is that it dominates so many other hands like AQ, AJ, AT, and so on. These types of hands are the ones that players usually end up pushing all-in with late in a tournament.
Group 3: TT, AK, AQs, AJs, KQs
This next group of starting hands is also a strong bunch. You should definitely be looking to raise pre-flop with any of these hands too. We’ve already talked about the power of AK, but starting hands like AQs, and AJs, are also very strong and often run into weaker Ace-X combinations. Even though these are all strong starting hands, and most of the time you’ll be winning pre-flop, you have to be careful – particularly a hand like KQs, which you can easily fold to a re-raise.
Suited Cards
You’ll often hear novice players responding to questioning of why they played a particular starting hand with the line “well, because they were suited”. Some suited cards are worth playing and it’s certainly better to start with suited cards than unsuited cards. However, the odds of flopping a flush is 1 out of 118 hands (0.8%) with two suited cards, and you’ll only make a flush after the river around 6.5% of the time. Don’t fall into the trap of playing any two cards just because they happen to be suited – it doesn’t make a big enough difference to make junk hands valuable.
Kicker Issues
The word ‘kicker’ means the smaller of your two cards. Some players play a hand if it contains an Ace with any other card (such as an Ace with a 3 kicker), and this type of play ultimately cost players money and tournaments. For example, let’s suppose a player calls with A6 and the flop comes A83. What does the player do? bet? call? raise? call a big raise? go all-in? What if the flop comes Q63? The player has middle pair – which is very hard to play. Hey, the flop could come A6X – the player has two pair, Aces and sixes but this happens only 1 out of 49 hands (2%). Until you learn when and how to play Ace junk (AX) go slow with it. One good thing about A junk and K junk, is that you do not need to play these hands to learn when they may be profitable. Let experience from other hands and study be your teacher.
Table Conditions
Hold’em starting hands can be a complex subject because every situation is different. If you were to ask a professional poker player, “should I call, raise, or fold this hand pre-flop?” his response would almost certainly be “it depends!” Here are some of the main reasons why it depends:
The Number of Players
The value of certain starting hands is very dependent upon the number of players at the table. Certain starting hands are always going to be under threat against a table of nine or ten players, but the value of these same hands increases when there are fewer players. A starting hand like KJ might be vulnerable against a full table of players, but is considered a strong hand if there are just a few other players.
Position
Your position on the poker table will be a major factor in deciding which starting hands you should play. The later your position in the betting order, the better – because you get to decide what to do after most of your opponents have acted. We’ll talk much more about the importance of position throughout our lessons on Pokerology, but as a first step please see our lesson on the value of position. Playing position can elude us at first because it is a part of poker that lends itself to be exploited through experience. However, you must quickly realize that your position at the table should heavily influence the choice of starting hands that you play. Until a player has a feel or grasp for positional play, just believe and follow some of the suggestions on the subject.
A Raised Pot
Whether or not a pot has been raised should be a very important factor in your decision to play a particular starting hand. Your selection of starting hands should change when the pot has been raised by a reasonable player. If there has been a raise and a re-raise before you’re due to act, then you should only consider playing with a very strong hand. Of course this will also depend on the personality types of the other players and whether the game is very loose or passive.
Starting Hand Charts
No Limit Texas Hold'em Strategy Tips
When you first start playing poker it can be helpful to use a starting hand chart as a point of reference. We’ve created a couple of starting hand charts that can be used by beginners. Please click on the following links to view these charts (they will open in a new window):
Each of these charts loads as a PDF, meaning they be viewed on screen, bookmarked or better still, can be printed and studied offline.
Beginners can treat starting hand charts as the gospel, but once you know enough about the game to recognize appropriate opportunities, you can deviate because your adjustment may represent a more profitable play. Our starting hand charts are a guide, not a set of intractable rules. There is no such thing as a perfect starting hand chart, because every game is different and there are many variables at work. Game texture and table conditions can’t be measured and included into a neat formula.
There are many factors that may encourage you to tighten or loosen your play from our guidelines. If you have a starting hand that’s not listed on the chart, then there’s a good reason – it should almost always be mucked. But as in all poker decisions the phrase, “It depends” comes to mind. However, before you decide to deviate from our guidelines, have a reason for taking such an action.
Conclusion
Don’t fall into the trap of playing any two cards. Most poker players want to play hands and as a beginner it’s very easy to be seduced by suited cards or picture cards, or any two-card holding that contains an Ace of a King – but if you play hold’em correctly, you’re going to be selective and toss away the vast majority of hands you’re dealt.
When you gain more poker playing experience you can begin to open up your range of starting hands – but until then, proceed with caution and only play the best hands. Loose, promiscuous play will get you into trouble and is the downfall of many players.
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In future lessons we’ll expand much more on the topics discussed in this poker lesson and get you to think beyond the actual cards you’re dealt. We also have hours of video footage covering starting hand selection for both no-limit and fixed-limit hold’em – so depending upon your preference, be sure to check them out!
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Related Lessons
By David Sasseman
David lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and has played over a million hands online and many thousands of hands in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Las Vegas casinos.
Related Lessons
Related Lessons
It can take years to learn how to become a winning poker player. One of the things that holds most players that back is playing too many hands. Another problem is putting yourself in a situation where you only win a small pot, but lose a larger pot when you take a beating.
The list of no limit Texas holdem trap hands on this page can help you avoid playing hands you shouldn’t play and help you avoid hands that yield lower rewards. After reading this page, I hope you learn something to apply in your next game of poker.
1 – Ace King Suited
Ace king suited is the most dangerous trap hand in no limit Texas holdem. It looks like a great hand before the flop, but it’s not going to win in a showdown unless it improves. It also tends to payout small pots when you do win with it and take big pots when you lose at the showdown.
When you flop a pair of aces or kings, your hand is decent, but you’re way behind a flopped set and you’re not much better off against two pair hands. If you get much action after the flop, the odds are good that you’re still behind.
As you can see by the titles of the sections on this page, many suited hands are dangerous. When you complete a flush with ace king, you always have the best possible flush, and as long as the board doesn’t pair, you have the nut hand.
The problem is that it’s hard to get paid after you hit the flush because your opponents can see that an ace high or king high flush is possible.
Possibly the biggest problem with ace king suited is the inability to fold the hand on the flop. Many players fall in love with the hand before the flop and continue putting money in the pot after the flop even when they don’t improve. When you miss the flop, you simply need to check and fold.
2 – Ace King
The unsuited version of ace king is even more dangerous than the suited version. You often see pros move all in before the flop with ace king on television and videos, so many players think it’s a strong hand. But they miss the context of the situation.
Texas Holdem No Limit Pogo
In a no limit Texas holdem tournament when you need to make a move, usually because of a short stack, getting all in with ace king before the flop is a good play. The only hands that dominate you are pocket kings and pocket aces.
When you have ace king, you hope the flop has an ace or a king, giving you top pair and top kicker. While this is a strong hand, the only way you can usually build a large pot at this point is when you’re behind. When you flop top pair and top kicker and bet, most players are going to fold unless they have you beat or have a strong draw.
3 – Ace Queen Suited
Ace queen suited has the same problems as ace king suited in no limit Texas holdem. It looks good, but when you win the hand, it tends to be a small pot and when you lose the hand, it tends to be a larger loss. So keep that in mind when you’re gambling with real money.
Most of the value derived from ace queen comes when you complete a straight or receive the correct pot odds to draw to a flush. Hitting an ace or a queen on the flop is barely a breakeven play because of the small-win, lose-big dynamic.
4 – Ace Queen
Ace queen is worse than ace queen suited because you don’t have the flush possibilities, so it shouldn’t be played in many situations.
Ace queen looks like a strong hand to inexperienced and weak players. But if you don’t flop a straight or strong straight draw with limited betting action, the hand is dangerous and costly. Even when you flop a pair of aces or queens, you’re weak because an opponent might have a set or two pair.
5 – Ace Little Suited
Many Texas holdem players play any ace suited with their other hole card. They see an ace with the added benefit of being able to complete a nut flush and decide that it has to be a profitable hand. But if you watch what the top players do with this hand, you’ll see that they fold it almost all of the time.
When you complete a flush, you have the nut flush, but everyone else can see the flush possibility so it’s hard to make much more money in the hand. If you flop a pair of aces, you either win a small pot because you have the best hand and everyone folds, or you lose a larger pot because you have a second best hand to a better ace or a set.
It might surprise you, but the most profitable way a hand can work out with an ace and a small card is when you hit a straight with ace five, ace four, or ace three. It’s hard for an opponent to put you on a wheel straight, so you can extract more money from them. The problem is you rarely complete a wheel straight.
6 – King Blank Suited
No Limit Texas Holdem Hands S Images
This is the worst hand on this list. King queen and king jack suited can be profitable, but any other suited king should be folded before the flop. When you enter the pot with a king suited to a 10 or lower, what do you hope to hit on the flop?
No Limit Texas Holdem Hands S Chart
The best you can hope for is a flush with the ace on the board, but when this happens, you’re not going to get anyone to stay in the pot with you most of the time, which limits your upside.
Even if you flop two pair, it’s not the strongest possible hand. King suited is weak, and profitable players don’t play it. It’s not worth ruining your casino bankroll.
7 – Middle Pairs
Middle pairs aren’t as bad as other hands on this list if you play them correctly. Almost the entire value of middle pairs comes from flopping a set. Nearly all of the money you lose with middle pairs comes when you don’t flop a set and stay in the hand.
When you miss the flop, you don’t have a good chance to win the hand, so you should check and fold when this happens.
No Limit Texas Hold'em Hands Held
The other issue some players run into is calling a raise before the flop, hoping to hit a set when the player who raised doesn’t have a deep stack. You need to have the opportunity to win eight or more times the bet you have to call when you hit a set to make it profitable. If the pre-flop aggressor doesn’t have at least eight times the bet in their stack, it’s not worth a pre-flop call.
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8 – Small and Medium Suited Connectors
Some players overvalue small and medium suited connectors because they’ve read that it’s the best type of hand to have against a large pocket pair. While this is the truth if you have to play heads up against a large pocket pair, this is still a weak hand.
When you hit a flush, it’s never the nut flush, and when you hit a straight, it’s rarely the nut straight. When you hit a pair or two pair, it’s also rarely the nut hand. All of these things mean that when you win a hand, it’s likely to be a small pot, and when you lose, it’s likely to be a bigger pot.
9 – Small Pairs
Small pocket pairs can be quite dangerous in no limit Texas holdem play. If you flop a set, it looks like a strong hand. Usually, with a set, you should try to get all in as soon as possible. The problem with small sets is when you lose, you lose a huge pot. Set over set is one of the most painful and costly ways to lose in no limit play.
The other way that small pocket pairs can cost you money is when the flop doesn’t have any high cards. You’re tempted to stay in the hand because the flop doesn’t look dangerous, but your small pair still isn’t likely to win the hand.
Best Starting Hands In No Limit Texas Holdem
When you bet on the flop with a small pair, if you’re ahead, all of your opponents are likely to fold. This lets you win a small pot. But when you bet and are called, the odds are that you’re behind, and you’re going to lose more than you win when everyone else folds.
Conclusion
As you can see from this list, it’s dangerous to overvalue suited cards. Most of the hands on this list also have the problem of winning small pots and losing larger pots. You need to put yourself in the position to lose small pots and win big pots if you want to be a profitable no limit Texas holdem player.