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?

The very best starting hand in Texas Hold'em. Fun fact: the hand with the highest odds of beating aces in a one-on-one match-up is 6-5 suited (22.51% vs 77.49%). Your best Texas Holdem hands will be made by using your hole cards and the five cards in the middle to make the best possible five card poker hand. Not sure what the best hands are? You can visit the poker hands page here for more information! So, for example, if you have 9-9 and the shared cards are 9-9-A-5-2 you have four-of-a-kind.

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.

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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–

What Is Best Hand In Texas Holdem

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%

What Is A Good Hand In Texas Holdem