Texas Hold'em Hole Cards
Hold 'Em - How To Play Your First Two Cards
By Unknown Author (passed on to us by a reader)
This article makes a couple of initial assumptions. First, you
know how to play poker, and you have a basic understanding of Texas
Hold 'Em. Second, that you are interested in improving your
level of play. Third, that the majority of readers will play low
limit ($3-$6 up to $10-$20) hold 'em games more frequently than
no-limit, million-dollar pots covered on ESPN. This advice is meant
to be both useful and practical.
A lot has been written about the hole cards in Hold 'Em, because
there aren't that may combinations, at least not compared to the
rest of the game. There are strict guidelines as to what hands to
stay on, what hands to raise on, and what hands to fold on. This
is both good and bad. The good news is that everyone who can read
knows that the best starting hands are as follows: AA, KK,QQ, JJ,
AK suited (IN THAT ORDER). The bad news is that a lot of people
share identical information, which takes away the edge one might
have.
Hold 'Em is a game of deception. You try to convince your opponents
that your hand has a different value to its true value. You need
to know the true value of your hand if you're going to play this
game well, and then you need to disguise that value. If your opponents
fold when you have the nuts it is as great a loss to you as when
they call your bluff, or you finish second. That's a lesson not
many people appreciate. You must maximize your wins and minimize
losses. Everyone understands the second part. They tell you of their
bad beats. But the reality of a lot of losing sessions is that you
didn't pull in big pots when you did win. Sometimes, that's not
up to you. Everyone might fold and leave you with no one to play
against. But often it is up to you, and knowing which hole cards
to play, and how to play them, is crucial.
Part 1: Ranking All Starting HandsWe're going to rank every starting
hand by grouping them. Like most decent poker writers we are indebted
to the work of Sklansky and Malmuth. We suggest you buy their books
immediately!
The earlier your position (the closer you sit to the big blind)
the fewer hands you should play. We recommend playing hands in the
first 3 Groups, regardless of where you sit. Use judgement though.
If you're sitting in a no-limit game with KQ suited and you're raised
all in by a good, aggressive player, it is probably best to fold.
If you're on the button you should usually play all the hands in
the first 5 Groups. All hands are ranked in descending order of
value:
First Group: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs (s=suited)
Second Group: TT, AQs, AJs, AK, ATs
Third Group: 99, KQs, JTs, QJs, AQ
Fourth Group: KJs, 88, T9s, AJ, KQ, 98s, KTs
Fifth Group: 77, A9s, 87s, KJ, QJ, 76s, JT, 65s, AT
If you do not have a starting hand shown and you have poor position
you should fold. Obviously if you have 66 and you're sitting in
the big blind you can play, unless there has been more than one
raise in a limit game. You must know these groupings before we can
proceed to analyze starting hands more rigorously.
A
GREAT PLACE TO START PLAYING TEXAS HOLD'EM IS PARADISE POKER
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