Texas Holdem Poker Best Hand Ever
Doyle Brunson’s WSOP Main Event Winning Hands The World Series of Poker was only in its seventh year in 1976, yet it featured one of the most memorable hands of all time. While heads-up in the Main. Known affectionately as American Airlines, pocket rockets, or simply the bullets, a wired pair of aces is the top starting hand in all of Texas holdem. As you can see, bringing aces to battle against nine random hands gives you nearly a one third chance of winding up the winner.
Decision-making is the key to success in poker, and Texas Hold’em is not an exception. As the saying goes, you gotta know when to hold’em and when to fold’em. This is particularly important at the start of the game.
The pre-flop phase is where you lay the groundwork for the latter stages. If you do well, you will have easier decisions. This is why every Texas Hold’em strategy starts with your pocket hands and what ranges to play from each position.
There is a lot of context and a lot of aspects to consider. However, there are situations when folding a certain pocket hand before the flop is simply impossible. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Pocket Aces
Quite an obvious start, but it doesn’t get any better than that when it comes to starting hands in Texas Hold’em. The aces are always a favorite, and the only way you won’t be ahead is if you face the other two.
This is why you can’t really fold aces; it’s like burning money. Whether it’s a tournament or a cash game, you can’t let go. Every other action might be correct under certain circumstances.
You could limp them and play it tricky. You could raise to make the pot bigger or even push if you believe you could get all the chips in the middle. However, you can’t fold.
Okay, technically, I’ve seen theoretical scenarios where it would be correct to fold aces.
For ExampleIf you’re playing a satellite and you will certainly get a ticket if you keep folding. Still, someone has to actually eliminate the short stacks at some point, and what better hand to do so than pocket aces?
I’ve been playing poker for more than 10 years now and have never folded aces pre-flop. And frankly, I don’t think I ever will. I suggest you to follow suit unless you want to anger the poker gods out there. It’s downright insulting to them when someone folds pocket aces.
Texas Holdem Poker Best Hand Ever Seen
Pocket Kings Against an Aggressive Maniac
Okay, so next in line is the second-best pocket hand in Texas Hold’em – two kings. It’s a monster before the flop and way ahead against pretty much any other hand beside two aces. It dominates lower pairs 4 to 1, which is why this starting hand is so powerful.
Still, there are situations in Texas Hold’em when it is considered a good idea to fold your kings before the flop.
For ExampleIf there are a bunch of players all-in, or a super nitty opponent’s play is just screaming he has aces.
There’s nothing wrong with considering the fold as an option under certain circumstances. However, there is one particular spot where you shouldn’t ever fold pocket kings, and that’s when you’re facing an aggressive maniac.
You all know the kind. People who are raising, re-raising, and going all-in pretty much every single hand. Usually, they don’t really care about the money and are simply looking for action. Or they could believe they are some kind of poker prodigy that can do whatever they want and bluff everyone out of the hand.
You can expect some weird bluffs with weak hands and downright ridiculous moves from such maniacs. This is the reason you should never, ever fold kings against them. You are always ahead against their range, period.
Okay, you might eventually face aces, but that would be a total coincidence, and so rare that’s is not worth considering. Simply put your chips in the middle of the table without thinking too much. The cowboys will do the rest
Any Two Cards from the SB in a Limped Family Pot
This one is a bit different and doesn’t really come from the hand you have, but from the particular situation. Imagine the following: you are on the small blind and the whole table before you has limped. You have the chance to see a flop for half a blind against tons of people.
The pot odds you get are so good that you should play any two pocket cards. Also, the implied odds are exceptional. If you hit something really big, it’s almost certain that someone will get hooked. After all, everyone at the table is involved.
Sure, there’s a chance the big blind might spoil the hand for everyone and raise, but you will rarely see it happen. Even if you consider this, you still get good odds, and even the worst hands are worth a shot.
So when this happens, don’t be too strict. If there’s a time to play garbage like 8-2 offsuit, this is it. Embrace the moment, as you can potentially win a large pot with a tiny investment. And on top of that, you can do it with pocket cards you wouldn’t normally play. If that’s not fun, I don’t know what is!
Any Two Against a Raise When You Saw the Hand of Your Opponent
Okay, before I proceed, I should clarify something. Don’t try to see what your opponent has. At least don’t make an effort to do it; it’s close to cheating and considered rude on the poker table.
However, if the other player is careless enough to reveal his hand without noticing, you should take advantage. After all, one of the most important rules in poker is that you are on your own. The other players are on the table to take your money, so you should protect yourself.
So, if someone is not doing that, it’s not immoral to take advantage. If you happen to see his cards, you have a great opportunity to take on him after the flop. Such an information changes the whole hand and gives you an enormous advantage.
You could win by hitting the better hand or bluff the guy under the right circumstances.
When you know what your opponent has, no hand is too weak. You should call his raise even with the likes of 3-9 and 2-8. Simply put, your pocket hand doesn’t really matter and you shouldn’t fold.
When You Have 2-7 and There’s a 2-7 Challenge Going On
We all know that 2-7 offsuit is considered the worst starting hand in Texas Hold’em. Statistically, that’s not quite true, but that’s a topic for another time.
A lot of people in live games like to have some fun and go for the 2-7 challenge. You will see it in home games and sometimes in live casinos when the whole table agrees. It’s interesting to note that it was part of the High Stakes Poker TV show.
If you haven’t heard about this side game, it’s pretty simple. If you manage to win a hand with 2-7, each player on the table is obliged to give you some money, usually ten or even twenty big blinds. It doesn’t really matter how you win; it could be by bluffing or by reaching a showdown.
Such a side bet makes the game very interesting. It’s sometimes hard to distinguish if you are facing aces or 2-7. The dynamics are completely changed, and this is the reason a lot of people love it.
It also changes the math behind the weakest hand in Texas Hold’em. As you could imagine, the added value is crucial. You will be able to take half a buy-in or even a full one, depending on the particular agreement. This makes 2-7 impossible to fold under any circumstances.
Final Words
As you can see, Texas Hold’em is flexible, but there are situations where the correct decision is obvious. You should always play these hands, as there is value for the taking. Even if you feel like this is one of the very rare cases when folding is correct, trust me, that’s not true.
The Top Texas Holdem Poker Starting Hands
Every Poker player knows that you don’t play every hand you’re dealt. But, how do you know which hands to play and which to fold?
Best Starting Hands in Texas Holdem Poker to Play
How do you know which starting hands to play?
This is a question that every poker player, amateur or professional, should always be prepared for at the start of every hand, fundamental to poker strategy. You do not want to play every hand, you must know when to fold. If you know which starting hands to play, you can conduct the game in your favour.
Learn Texas Holdem Poker
Here are the Top 10 Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em Poker-
- AA – Pocket Aces or Bullets is the strongest starting hand in poker. Play Strongly, But bear in mind – even though it’s is the best starting hand, you will be left with only one pair if the board doesn’t improve.
- KK – Pocket Kings or Cowboys – The second-best starting hand after Aces. But if an Ace turns up post-flop, you will lose to anyone holding a single Ace in their starting hand.
- QQ – Pocket Queens or Ladies – the third best starting hand with a winning probability of 80% pre-fop.
- JJ – Pocket Jacks or Fishhooks – Pre-flop, it has a 78% chance of winning and is still a still a very strong hand. Be mindful of opponents.
- AKs – Big Slick – Ace King suited is the top unpaired starting hand to have in a game of poker. Also called Anna Kournikova or Kalashnikov (AK rifle) by recreational players
- Ts – TNT or Tension. The nickname for Pocket Tens is because having a pair of tens pre-flop is tense because of the high chance of overcards.
- AQs – Big Chick – Ace Queen suited is another hand with the potential to win the pot.
- AKo – Big Slick – Ace King off-suits also rank high in the chart and is capable of winning at least 40% of the time against any other hand (except aces or kings).
- AJs – Armani Jeans – Ace and Jack suited is better than most other hands. However, if an opponent raises from early position, proceed with caution.
- KQs – Marriage – King and Queen suited is a strong hand that can end up a making Royal Flush.
Other Possible Hands–
- Suited Connectors (98s, 76s, T9s)
- Offsuit Connectors (T9o, 98o, 54o, JTo)
- Suited Gappers (97s, T8s, KJs)
*s refers to suited cards (of the same suit)
*o refers to off-suited cards (of different suits)
There are a possible 169 non-equivalent starting hands (ignoring specific suits) in a standard 52-card deck in Texas Hold’em Poker. So, here’s a chart with detailing the win percentage of Texas Holdem starting hands-
A | K | Q | J | T | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| A | 85% | 68% | 67% | 66% | 66% | 64% | 63% | 63% | 62% | 62% | 61% | 60% | 59% |
| K | 66% | 83% | 64% | 64% | 63% | 61% | 60% | 59% | 58% | 58% | 57% | 56% | 55% |
| Q | 65% | 62% | 80% | 61% | 61% | 59% | 58% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 54% | 53% | 52% |
| J | 65% | 62% | 59% | 78% | 59% | 57% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 52% | 51% | 50% | 50% |
| T | 64% | 61% | 59% | 57% | 75% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 51% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 47% |
| 9 | 62% | 59% | 57% | 55% | 53% | 72% | 53% | 51% | 50% | 48% | 46% | 46% | 45% |
| 8 | 61% | 58% | 55% | 53% | 52% | 50% | 69% | 50% | 49% | 47% | 45% | 43% | 43% |
| 7 | 60% | 57% | 54% | 52% | 50% | 48% | 47% | 67% | 48% | 46% | 45% | 43% | 41% |
| 6 | 59% | 56% | 53% | 50% | 48% | 47% | 46% | 45% | 64% | 46% | 44% | 42% | 40% |
| 5 | 60% | 55% | 52% | 49% | 47% | 45% | 44% | 43% | 43% | 61% | 44% | 43% | 41% |
| 4 | 59% | 54% | 51% | 48% | 46% | 43% | 42% | 41% | 41% | 41% | 58% | 42% | 40% |
| 3 | 58% | 54% | 50% | 48% | 45% | 43% | 40% | 39% | 39% | 39% | 38% | 55% | 39% |
| 2 | 57% | 53% | 49% | 47% | 44% | 42% | 40% | 37% | 37% | 37% | 36% | 35% | 51% |
Top Texas Holdem Starting Hands You Should Pray For
Quick Basics:
- Every player is dealt two cards face down
- Five community cards are placed on the table (whose value is shown as the round progresses).
- All players try to make the best five-card combination from among the board and personal cards and bet on the same.
- Best hand at the end of the round is declared the winner(s) and wins the pot.
It’s only by knowing how to master the basics do you become a poker player who is taken very seriously by his/her opponents. Learn more about the basics of poker-
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