Texas Holdem Starting Hands Ranking Chart
- Texas Holdem Starting Hands Ranking
- Texas Holdem Starting Hands Ranking Chart Printable
- Texas Holdem Hand Chart
Texas Holdem Heads-Up Preflop Odds. This table was created by enumerating through every possible board and opponent hole card combination for each of the 169 texas holdem preflop starting hands.
A lot is placed on the starting hand in Texas Hold-Em. Professional’s will tell you to play less hands and the less (but better) hand’s that you play will give you more money for your value. There are a few way’s to determine these values. Texas Holdem Poker Strategy; 6 Max Starting Hands; 6 Max Starting Hand Charts. The 6 Max game is a very popular 6 Player game that is available when playing Online Poker. This is typically a very aggressive and fast game. When starting out in the 6 Max game, it is recommended to err on the side of playing too tight, then loosening as you get a. Limit hand rankings. Some notable theorists and players have created systems to rank the value of starting hands in limit Texas hold'em. These rankings do not apply to no limit play. Sklansky hand groups. David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth assigned in 1999 each hand to a group, and proposed all hands in the group could normally be played. Below you'll find a list of Texas Hold'em starting hands organized by relative strength.The following charts contains every 2-card possible combination you can be dealt in Texas Hold'em. Each hand is followed by its long-term winning percentage (out of 100, of course) against a specific number of opponents holding random cards.
Choosing your starting hands wisely can make the difference between winning and losing in poker. This is especially true when you can't depend on your poker skills to help you out after the flop in more difficult situations (yet). Many beginning poker players will come to realize this quite early on in their poker career and they subsequently start to look for a guaranteed formula towards proper starting hand selection: they need the best starting hands chart available to beat the game, or so they think…
Texas hold'em starting hand charts
Starting hand charts offer an overview of common situations regarding your position at the poker table and/or the action in front of you and tell you which starting hands to play and how for every situation. They're easy to read and easy to use.
It isn't anything else but logical that the first time poker player resorts to charts as a quick fix for their leaks. Many beginning poker players have such big leaks in their game caused by improper starting hand selection that the use of a starting hands chart can improve their game significantly.
However, there are some shortcomings associated with starting hands charts. They lead to a very straightforward and predictable game; they don't take into account all of the aspects of the game that are important for starting hand selection; they can't offer a solution for all the different scenarios you will encounter at the poker table and above all, they don't make you think for yourself.
Proper Texas hold'em starting hand selection
Proper starting hand selection goes beyond the use of charts. It is the result of a true understanding of 'starting hand strength'. What factors other than position and the action in front of you influence the strength of your Texas hold'em starting hands and why? What are strengths and weaknesses of the different starting hands? Knowing the answers to these questions will most likely also result in an insight in the best way to play certain hands.
Take for example a starting hand like 6♦7♦. Now, imagine that you're at a full ring game in late position and there's a raise with two callers in front of you. A starting hands chart would probably tell you that you should either fold or call.
And that's it.
If however you would truly understand the strength of a starting hand like 6♦7♦ then you would know that 6♦7♦ is a great hand because it is both connected and suited and therefore has a higher probability of hitting straights and flushes when compared to hands other than suited connectors. You would also realize that, despite it being a suited connector, the chance of really flopping something great with this starting hand is still very slim. You would therefore be looking to see cheap flops; to avoid the possibility of someone raising/re-raising you pre-flop and to be in a position to win a lot of money for when you do hit to make up for the times when you miss and have to fold (high implied odds).
In this case you would not only see that there are already three players in the hand with a full stack, but also that the initial raiser has a very strong range because he is tight and raised from early position. You also know that the players who are still left to act behind you are passive and are therefore unlikely to make a re-raise in which case you would certainly have to fold and lose the initial call. You just know that this is an excellent opportunity to play the hand. Because you realize you are facing a strong range of hands from your opponents you also know what to look for after the flop. You don't want to hit just a top pair or a gutshot straight draw. You are looking for combo draws which give you at least around 40% equity when all the money goes in on the flop. You are looking to hit two-pair or better and you also realize that hitting the flush and getting it all-in in pots with many players will sometimes only result in seeing your opponent show a higher flush. In addition you would also have a betting strategy in mind: you know that if you hit what you are looking to hit, you should bet big to get value and to protect your hand. You would have a plan for the rest of the hand from the moment you see your cards and decide to play them; a plan that takes many more aspects into consideration than just the action in front of you and your position; a plan that goes way beyond the use of a simple starting hands chart and will therefore get you further in the end.
Starting hand selection charts - conclusion
Proper starting hand selection is a very important aspect towards playing winning poker. Starting hand selection is more than just selecting hands based on your position and the action at the table. It is about making a plan for the rest of the hand considering all possible aspects involved. Although starting hands charts can offer a quick solution for beginning players to improve their starting hand selection, taking the time to really learn and understand this aspect of the game will certainly be more beneficial in the long run.
Many beginning poker players look at a starting hands chart as an easy and guaranteed formula towards proper starting hand selection. Do you?
Further reading at First Time Poker Player:
Further reading across the internet:
- PlayWinningPoker - Training Wheels of Fortune - Poker Starting Hand Charts
Knowing what beats what in poker or Texas Hold’em is an important early step in learning the game. To help you out, I have provided for you an attractive printable or downloadable “cheat sheet” for both 5 card hand rankings as well as top 24 pre-flop starting hands.
Poker hands ranked from best to worst:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pair
- One Pair
- High Card
To make things easier on you, I have included some handy charts that can be used to reference during play or even printed out.
Poker Hand Rankings Chart
Never forget what beats what again. Feel free to save this to your phone/tablet/computer or print the chart out.
Click below to download a high-quality PDF that includes a printable copy of both the showdown and pre-flop hand rankings.
The Top 24 Hold’Em Starting Hand Rankings
To help you out, I have also included the top 24 no-limit hold’em starting hands to give you a further idea of what beats what in poker. I based this list on both raw equities as well as post-flop playability.
I have used over 10 years of experience in both tournaments and cash games to compile this info. You get to benefit from my hard work!
How These Hands Were Determined
I took a look at a few of the pre-flop hand ranking charts out there and, while most appeared to get it right for the most part, there seemed to be something off.
The thing is, everyone always does pretty well on the top 5 or 6 hands. However, after that things get a bit murkier
So, what really matters when it comes to weighing hand strength? I decided to take a close look at the problem. Using the knowledge I’ve gained over the past few years, I tried to come up with a better way of codifying hand rankings.
Determining the Overall Playability of Each Hand
I decided to go about it from a logical standpoint. When deciding whether to play a hand or not, what are the factors a strong player considers before acting
So, I decided that there are basically two main factors to consider in determining the strength of a particular pre-flop hand. And, since equity is the tool we use to rank the value of hands I just had to figure out what type of equities matter most and then apply it to each factor
Once I was able to define which equities to consider, it just took a bit of math.
1. Pre-Flop Equity
The first equity I decided to factor in is a hand’s raw pre-flop equity. I mean, sometimes you need to get all-in before the flop, right?
Of course, some hands will get all-in more frequently than others but for the sake of simplicity, raw equity against a strong range will give us a decent enough metric to come up with a comparative ranking.
2. Post-Flop Equity
Secondly, we need to factor in how a hand does post-flop. There’s no doubt, that certain hands play much better after the flop than others.
To calculate how well a hand does after the flop I looked at what post-flop hands tend to get all-in most of the time in a post-flop scenario. This includes the strongest made hands, including top pair and better, as well as strong draws.
Once I was able to figure out what hands are likely to get all-in, I just had to figure out the equity of every hand versus that range on a random flop.
Compiling the Final List
Doing these kinds of calculations by hand would be extremely difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, there is a software program called Cardrunner’s EV that does the math for me.
After I figured out both the raw pre-flop equity and the likely flop equity of each hand, I just used excel to average them. That data was used to compile the rankings.
Here are the final equity percentages:
Which Poker Starting Hand Ranges Should I Use?
Knowing which hands to open raise is important to your success. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
Free Basic Poker Strategy Charts
I have built charts that provide you profitable opening ranges from every position. As a bonus, the charts also include what to do at every decision point possible for playing a 20 to 40 big blind stack
The guide will give you an excellent starting point for playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em and will get you off on the right foot by allowing you to play fundamentally sound poker right now!
FAQ
What if my opponent and I have the same hand at showdown ?
If more than one player has the same hand then you have to follow the tie-breaker rules to determine the winner.
If two or more players have a flush or straight
In the case where two players have a flush or straight, the person who has the highest card in their hand wins. For example, T9876 beats 76543.
If two or more players have a full house
In the case of multiple full houses, the player with the highest “trips” as part of their full house wins. For example, TTT22 beats 555AA.
What if two or more players have the same pair or two pair?
Texas Holdem Starting Hands Ranking
If multiple players have exactly the same two pair, the highest kicker is used to determine the winner. For example, JJ66Q beats JJ66T.
The same process is used for one-pair. The next highest kicker is used. If that is the same, you use the next highest kicker. So on and so forth until the tie is broken. For example, AAK85 beats AAK84.
Who wins if more than one person has the same high card?
Similarly to one pair and two-pair hands, you use the next highest kicker to determine the winner. You keep moving on to the next kicker until a winner is determined. For example, KT763 beats KT753.
Which is better, trips or two-pair?
Three of a kind beats two-pair. It also beats a pair and high card.
Which is better, a flush or a straight?
A flush beats a straight. It also beats three of a kind, two pair, a pair, and high card.
What is the worst hand in poker?
The worst hand against multiple players is 72 offsuit. The worst hand heads-up is 32o.
What are the odds of getting a Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em?
A royal flush is extremely rare. You can only expect to get a royal flush once every 650,000 hands. That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. Personally, I have played well over 5 million hands and have only had one royal using both cards.
Texas Holdem Starting Hands Ranking Chart Printable
Final Thoughts
Texas Holdem Hand Chart
I hope this article has helped you learn more about how hand rankings work in poker. If you want to learn about basic poker strategy, be sure to check out my detailed no-limit hold’em basic tutorial.