The Definitive Resource on the Most Effective Starting Hands in Poker

Your success in poker doesn’t solely depend on how you handle your cards; it begins with the selection of hands you choose to play and your seating position at the table.

This article will provide a deep dive into the intricacies of preflop poker strategies.

We’re here to help you identify which hands to engage with during preflop play and the recommended strategies.

Part 1: Understanding the Variances in Starting Hands Based on Position

We will soon explore optimal hand choices for various positions, but first, we need to clarify why certain hands are not viable from all positions .

In essence, it relates to how actions unfold after the flop.

Action initiates with the first player seated to the left of the button, and it continues around the table until it reaches the player on the button .

QUIZ TIME: Who holds an advantage during each betting phase: the first players to act or the last?

If your answer is the last player to act, you're spot on! They can observe how all the other players proceed before making their own decision, equipping them with a wealth of information compared to others involved in the hand.

Players who act in-position have a wealth of information to inform their betting strategies.

Part 2: Preflop Hand Rankings

Before we dive into the details, let’s discuss the characteristics of a solid starting hand in poker.

As per standard in the ranking of poker hands In general, you should aim to play cards that have the highest likelihood of developing into strong hands. This includes starting combinations that could form a robust top pair, a straight, or a flush.

To create these key hands, target cards that present the best chances for success:

• High Cards: Broadway cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten) are particularly strong. They can often yield solid top-pair hands complemented by a good kicker. However, it’s essential to remember that such hands are prone to losing to stronger combinations, like straights or flushes. The real power of a top-pair hand lies in being called down by opponents holding weaker hands or missed draws.
  
  • EXAMPLE: Consider a scenario with Ace-Ten against Ten-Nine: if a Ten shows up on the board, the Ten-Nine holder is likely to face significant trouble. By calling all the way to the river, they could find themselves outkicked .

Utilize Big Cards to Prevent Being Outkicked

• Suited Hands: These hands offer only 2% more equity compared to non-suited ones, but their true value lies in their enhanced playability. Flopping a flush draw (whether front-door or backdoor) gives you ample reason to keep betting profitably. Betting here earns you fold equity, forcing your opponent(s) to abandon their equity in the hand. For instance, consider betting with a backdoor flush draw when you have three of the same suit on the flop, hopefully hitting the perfect suited turn or river cards to form your ultimate flush. Increasing your bets allows you to boost your overall earnings when opponents fold.
  
• Connected Hands: These hands have the potential to form straights! The more connection there is between your cards, the better your chances of completing a straight. For example, 3-2 suited is preferable to 7-2 suited, even though the latter may have higher preflop equity. The likelihood of 3-2 forming a straight is significantly higher than that of 7-2.

Part 3: “Raising First In (RFI)”

Now we’re getting to the exciting part - figuring out which hands to raise depending on your position.

Before unveiling the master charts, there are several crucial aspects to contemplate.

• Consideration #1: Limp or Raise
  For multiple reasons, if you are the initial player entering the pot (after the action has folded to you), the best move is to raise . This approach is much more advantageous than simply calling the big blind amount (often referred to as 'limping').
  1. You start building a pot.
  2. By raising, you gain the upper hand in the betting rounds.
  3. You could steal the blinds preflop.
  4. It also allows you to mask the range of your hand (as opposed to revealing some hands through limping and some through raising).
     
• Consideration #2: Raise Size:
  A common preflop opening raise typically ranges from 2.2x to 3x the big blind size, though you may observe live players employing larger raises as a strategic move. Their opponents often defend with a broader range than ideal in response to such sizing .
  
  • Generally, smaller raise sizes permit a much wider variety of hands to be played.
  • Conversely, larger raise sizes should come with a tighter hand selection.
    
• Consideration #3: Evaluating the “Toughness” of Remaining Opponents:
  In an exploitative strategy, it's crucial to assess the skills and aggressiveness of the opponents remaining in the hand. This becomes especially significant when deciding whether to raise or fold hands that are borderline according to your preflop charts. For example, if an aggressive player is seated on the button and tends to 3-bet frequently, you’ll likely refrain from opening with weaker hands due to a high probability of facing a 3-bet (a re-raise), which may force you to fold.
  
• Consideration #4: Rake
  The higher the rake, the more selective your starting hand selection should be. Your strategy should prioritize winning larger pot sizes to mitigate the impact of the capped rake, as a smaller number of larger pots means less rake paid. Conversely, targeting numerous small pots can lead to a higher frequency of rake paid, which is less ideal.

Smaller pots = more $$ paid over time

Taking all these factors into consideration, here is your foundational preflop chart . Familiarize yourself with it to effectively determine which hands to play based on your positions .

HOW TO UTILIZE THIS CHART: If you’re in an early position, raise with all of the hands specified . When you're in the CO position, select hands according to the color-coding within the chart .blue hands. From HJ, still raise all of the blue hands, but also add the pinkIf someone has already raised, the hands you choose to play should be significantly tighter. The “gap concept” is relevant here, as it refers to calling only with hands that are stronger than those in your opponent’s starting range.blue , pink , and green , and so on.

Part 4: How to Play “vs RFI”

For instance, consider being on the button facing a raise from an early position player. If we look at a standard 6-max UTG range, it includes ATo+ (which consists of AT, AJ, AQ, and AK). You wouldn’t want to call with ATo from the button, as it wouldn’t be ahead of the other Ax hands in the UTG player's range. However, calling with AQo would be permissible since it beat ATo and AJo.

3-betting with some lower suited Aces can be particularly advantageous, allowing you to potentially force out better Ax hands. Moreover, post-flop, you’ll have excellent playability, whether it’s to hit wheel straights or flushes.

ANSWER:An effective tactic in your poker strategy should also involve SQUEEZING . This refers to a situation where one player raises with others calling behind them.

A squeeze occurs when you re-raise over the top, aiming to win the pot frequently.

Squeeze raises can be highly effective, particularly if you suspect that the initial raiser possesses a notably loose or weak range or if you have a less skilled player or short stack calling behind them.

The original raiser is likely to fold in response to your 3-bet . Meanwhile, the cold caller would typically have re-raised (3-bet) if they were holding a particularly strong hand, making them likely to fold as well.

Part 5: How to Play “vs 3b”

Table Positions: Keep in mind that players' positions at the table impact their continuing ranges. An UTG open-raise is typically quite tight, so a 3-bet from the HJ should use an even narrower range than one might use from the BTN.

• In-Position vs Out-of-Position: A critical factor in whether to continue in a hand is whether you're acting in position or out of position relative to the player who 3-bets. In simpler terms, will you have the advantage of acting last or be forced to act first preflop?
  
• In a position of strength, you can afford to call and see the flop with a broader range of speculative (often suited) hands.
  
• Conversely, if you’re out-of-position, your best bets are either to 4-bet (taking charge) or calling against a 3-bet while maintaining a tighter hand range. This strategy helps make up for the positional disadvantage you face post-flop.
  
  • 4-Betting Strategies: If you’re interested in incorporating 4-betting into your game, be sure to check out our extensive article on the subject:
  • It is advisable to go all-in preflop only with your strongest hands, for example, –
    
• When in late position, it can also be reasonable to shove with hands like JJ and TT. Players sometimes employ 3-bets and 5-bets with AQo as a bluff.
  
  https://www.parquetbinet.com/magazine/strategy/4-betting-strategy

Part 6: Going All-In Preflop

However, be aware that this approach shouldn't be employed too frequently.

• Pocket Aces (AA)
• Pocket Kings (KK)
• Ace-King Suited (AKs - “Big Slick”)
• Ace-King Off-Suit (AKo)
• Pocket Queens (QQ)

For further details on poker hand nicknames, such as “Big Slick” , check out our relevant article on that topic.

Learn about the premier poker hands that are statistically favored to win and understand the optimal strategies for playing them before the flop. This article emphasizes the significance of developing a strong preflop game plan.

The Definitive Handbook on the Top Poker Starting Hands

https://www.parquetbinet.com/magazine/strategy/poker-hand-nicknames

A Comprehensive Guide to the 10 Most Favorable Starting Hands in Poker

In poker, your level of profitability doesn't solely depend on your hand-playing skills; it’s also influenced by the initial hands you decide to play and the positions from which you play them.

Part 7: Stack Size

Part 1: Understanding the Variation of Starting Hands by Position

The above hands have implied odds Shortly, we'll examine which hands are best to play from different positions. However, first, it's essential to explain the limitations of playing certain hands from all positions.

This variation is largely due to the dynamics of post-flop play.

The first round begins with the player directly to the left of the dealer button, and the action rotates clockwise all the way to the player holding the button.

Part 8: How to Play Poker FAQ

QUIZ: Who holds a greater advantage in each round of betting: those who act first or those who act last?

• If you answered the player acting last, you're absolutely correct! They can observe the actions of all other players and decide on their bet accordingly, receiving valuable information that others do not have.
  
  By raising-first-in –
  
  1.    You build the pot.
  2.    Gain initiative.
  Players who act in position are armed with significantly more insights to inform their betting choices.

For this reason, individuals seated at the button are able to adopt a much wider range of playable hands compared to any other place at the table, thanks to their profound positional advantage post-flop.

• To offset the disadvantages of weaker post-flop positions, players in other seats need to play a more selective and tighter range of hands. This concept will be illustrated in the Texas Hold’em Chart below.
  
  Prior to diving deeper, let’s take a moment to consider what characteristics define a solid starting hand in poker.

In general, you should aim to play cards that have the highest potential to generate powerful hands. This might include cards that can form a strong top pair, a straight, or a flush.

• To enhance your chances of making these advantageous hands, opt for cards that yield the best odds of success:
  • Position High Cards: Broadway cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten) represent strong holdings. They have the potential to create formidable top-pair hands with high kickers. While they can still be vulnerable to stronger combinations such as straights or flushes, the true strength of top-pair hands often lies in how they get called by opponents who miss their draws or hold lesser pairs.
  • Range Advantage EXAMPLE: Picture a scenario where you hold Ace-Ten against an opponent with Ten-Nine: if a Ten appears on the board, your opponent is in for a tough time. If they stick around to the river, they’ll likely end up outkicked .
  • Utilize High Cards to Steer Clear of Being Outkicked

Summary – The Bottom Line

Suited Hands: The added equity of suited hands is only about 2% greater than their unsuited equivalents. However, the true advantage of suited hands lies in their versatility during play. Flopping a flush draw (either open-ended or backdoor) provides a strong incentive to continue betting effectively. Through betting, you gain fold equity, allowing you to force your opponent(s) to fold and eliminate their potential winning hand. You should apply pressure with backdoor flush draws that present three of a suit on the flop, hoping to complete your flush with favorable turns or rivers.

Connected Hands: Hands that are connected can lead to the formation of straights . The closer the numbers are on your cards, the higher the likelihood of making a straight. Therefore, 3-2 suited holds more promise than 7-2 suited, as the chances for 3-2 to build a straight are significantly greater. this preflop strategy article Hands with Implied Odds: Such hands demand only a minimal investment into the pot now, but if you hit your draw, the payout can be substantial. For instance, consider entering a hand with baby pairs ; generally, the flop will show 2-3 overcards, complicating your ability to stay in the hand if you are faced with a bet. However, if you do manage to hit a set, especially against opponents holding top pairs or overpairs, the potential for a big pot is substantial.

Until then, good luck on the felt!