Top Texas Holdem Starting Hands
Starting Hands - A More Concise List
Determining whether or not to play your hole cards is the most important decision you will make in each hand. Strong starting hands tend to stay strong and get stronger. Weak starting hands tend to stay weak and lose you money. I have provided a list of playable starting hands. Generally speaking, the later you are in position, the weaker the hand you can play, while you need premium hands to play in early position. Also, the more aggressive the betting is, the stronger hand you will need to play. Finally, hand strength is always relative to your opponents. If you are at a table full of conservative players, you may want a very strong hand to tangle in a big pot. On the other hand, I have seen tables at well known fishy sites like PacificPoker.com, where hands in the "playable" list are actually much better than what most of the other players are starting with! Keep these factors in mind when choosing your starting hand and in creating your own starting hand list.
| Legend |
| "s" = suited |
| "o" = unsuited |
Premium Starting Hands
AA, KK, QQ, AKs, JJ
Strong Starting Hands
AQs, AJs, A10s
AKo
KQs
Pair of 10's
KJs, QJs, J10s
AQo, AJo
Pair of 9's
KQo
K10s, Q10s
Playable Starting Hands
Pair of 8's
Jack-9s, 10-9s
Pair of 7's
9-8s, 8-7s
Ace and any other suited card
KJo, QJo, J10o
Barely Playable Starting Hands
Small pairs, 66 and under
Small suited connectors, 45s and up
A10o, K10o, Q10o
K9s, Q9s