Starting hands in Texas Hold'em

By Mark Lasser

A few readers have expressed interest in getting details about starting hands. In some previous columns, I’ve described players as being “donks,” who recklessly play weak starting cards. This week, I want to get into some details about which starting hands are worth playing, which are worth mucking and why.

The focus here is not on the super experienced player who can read other players well and can adjust after the flop. Yes, the guys on ESPN play many starting hands and the pros log 40-60 hours per week for years gauging play after the flop. The young maniacs who play loose may get lucky, but have short-lived poker careers. This advice is meant for the new player and for the occasional player who may visit the casinos once or twice a month.

I remember in some of my computer sciences courses, the lecturers would use the acronym GIGO, meaning “garbage in, garbage out.” In computer code, it meant if you start with bad code, you’ll get bad results. Poker isn’t much different. If you play weak starters, you’ll be less likely to profit from the flops than if you play strong starters. One way to think about this is to ask yourself, “what do I want to flop that will make me the winner?” If the only way you can win is by a miracle flop, like a 772 rainbow with a starting hand of 7-2 off suit, then you shouldn’t play the hand.

The strongest hands to start with in Hold’em are pocket Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks and Ace-King suited, aka Big Slick. If you can isolate the field with a raise so that you are heads up, you are a strong favorite to win with these starting hands, especially against weak players who have wider ranges of starting hands. With this set of cards, you can raise from any position, including from under the gun or the first player after the big blind.

The next strongest hands are pairs of Tens and Ace-Queen suited, Ace-Jack suited, King-Queen suited and Ace-King off suit. For a beginner, I’d also say you can play pairs of Nines, Jack-Ten suited, Queen-Jack suited, King-Jack suited, Ace-Ten suited and Ace-Queen off suit if you are in late position.

I’m often asked by new players why they shouldn’t play hands like Queen-Ten, King-Ten and Nine-Ten. My answer is simple: What are you hoping to flop? If you flop what you want, will you know if you’re good? Let’s say you play Queen-Ten and a Ten flops. You bet from early position and the button three bets you. Is your Queen kicker any good? What if the same thing happens after a Queen flops? Even most straight or flush scenarios don’t give you the nuts. With a flop of Queen-Ten-Jack or Queen-Ten-Ace, you’d have two pair but would they be the best two pair? Would you be drawing to six outs to a full house against a made straight?

I hate having that much doubt after a flop. I like the stronger hands because they will often be strong enough to win if both players catch air on the flop and they’ll usually be the nuts when you connect. The other thing that’s good about the strong starting hands is they can work for both straight and flush draw. If you make a straight and can also river a flush, you could be dominating another player with a weaker flush draw or only a straight draw. The bi-directionality of these hands give you more options to win after the flop.

Mark B. Lasser is Denver writer and international poker player. He regularly plays in Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Nevada. You can hear him talk about gambling and casinos every Friday at 5 p.m. on KEZW AM 1430. Readers can send questions and comments to him at ColoradoPokerMark@comcast.net.