The best poker starting hands

In order to make real money at Texas Holdem, you need to know exactly which starting hands are playable, and which ones will lose you money. It is the most important decision you will need to make in a poker game. There are 169 possible starting hands, more than half are considered unplayable and should be folded.

Here is a list of playable starting hands, if you don't start with any of the combinations here, you should fold, because you wil probably lose.

Any Pair - A pair is always playable. Of course the higher the pair, the better your odds:

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22

Ax, Kx, Qx, Jx, and Tx Suited

Note: Suited means that both cards are of the same suit. When you have one of these starting hands, you have the potential for high pairs, trips (three of a kind), a flush, straights, and straight flush:

 

AKs, AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8s, A7s, A6s, A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s KQs, KJs, KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4s, K3s, K2s QJs, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, Q7s, Q6s, Q5s, Q4s, Q3s, Q2s JTs, J9s, J8s. J7s, J6s, J5s, T9s, T8s, T7s, T6s

Ax, Kx, Qx, Jx, Tx Unsuited

Note: These hands all have the potential for high pairs or straights. Remember, only play unsuited cards with a combined value of 21 or higher.

 

AK, AQ, AJ, AT, A9 KQ, KJ, KT, K9 QJ, QT, Q9 JT

9x and Lower Suited

Note: These hands are called suited connectors. When you have two suited cards that are consecutive or one-gapped (one card in between them) they have potential for play for their straight and flush possibilities:

98s, 97s, 96s, 87s, 86s, 85s, 76s, 75s, 65s, 64s, 54s, 53s, 43s

Every one of these starting hands has at least a 10% chance of winning in a game of 10 people.