 In Texas Holdem, it is important to have good starting hand selection. Starting hand selection is simply choosing the good hands over the bad, and thus folding the bad hands when you get them. This is important because it prevents you from entering pots with sub-standard hands, which could eventually lead to you losing a lot of money in the process. It is true that any hand can win in Texas Holdem (or poker in general for that matter), but it is also true that some hands will win more than others. So if we stick with the good hands, then we should see better results in the long run.
Good Texas Holdem starting hands are typically hands like big pocket pairs and big connecting cards. So some of the top starting hands would be AA, KK, QQ, AKs. The little ‘s’ indicates that the cards are suited, which will increase the value of the cards because it makes it more likely that they will be able to make a flush compared to if the cards were not suited. This is obviously the top tier when it comes to starting hands, and if we were to only ever be dealt these starting hands we would be making a lot of money. In fact, if we folded every other hand that we were dealt and only played these hands, there is a fair chance that we would be winning money in the long run. But this would only work at the lower limits where other players probably wouldn’t be aware that we only play premium hands.
If we only ever played with this elite group of cards, we would be folding numerous hands along the way waiting to be dealt them and missing out on other opportunities to win money. Even though these are the cream of the crop when it comes to starting hands, there are still other great hands out there that can win us a lot of money in the long run if we play them. Such hands are AK, AQs, AJs, KQs, JJ, TT. This gives us another 6 starting hands that we can play with, increasing the number of pots that we will be entering. Although these are not as good as the first set of premium hands mentioned, they are still great starting hands that should help us to win money. Now if we stuck with this set of 10 starting hands, then we should definitely by on the right track to winning some money from poker. So for any player new to the game you should try your best to stick to the following hands (suits just for illustration):
A A |
|
K K |
|
Q Q |
|
A K |
(suited) |
| AQ |
(suited) |
| JJ |
|
| KQ |
(suited) |
| AJ |
(suited) |
| AK |
|
| TT |
|
Starting hand selection is key because it helps to save us from sticky situations post flop, especially if we are new to the game. Say for example we are not exercising very good starting hand selection and we decide to call a raise with KT. The flop then comes K82 giving us top pair, which looks like a very strong hand. Our opponent bets into us and we decide to call, because after all we do have top pair. The turn comes a 4, and our opponent bets once again. Still, we have top pair and we call seeing as we are still happy with the strength of our hand. The river comes a 7, and our opponent bets into us one final time. We make the call with our top pair thinking we might still have the best hand, but our opponent turns over KQ. He also has a pair of Kings but he has the higher kicker, so he takes down the pot.
This is an all too common problem for poker beginners, and it could have been so easily avoided by being a little stricter with our starting hand selection. Having top pair is great, but all so often an opponent can easily beat it with a better kicker. This is why it is important to have two big cards instead of one, because the size of our kicker can play a vital role in determining who the winner of the pot will be. So don’t be tempted to call raises or enter pots with hands like A4 or K7, because they will just get you into more trouble than they are worth. Make sure that you are the one with the better kicker every time and take the money from the players that are entering the pots with weaker hands than you.
It is actually reasonable to bring down our starting hand requirements if we have good position. Position will give us an advantage over our opponents if we are last to act, so we do not necessarily have to have such a strong hand to play with because will be obtaining information from the way our opponent plays because they will be acting first. This information and knowledge of our opponent’s hand from the way they play will compensate for the fact that our starting hand is a little weaker than normal. However, we still have to be prepared to fold as having position does not guarantee that we will win the hand, it simply gives an advantage. It is advised that you only enter pots with weaker hands in position once you have become a little more experienced.
Evaluation
As you continue to play poker and gain experience from the game, it is a good idea to start expanding your starting hand requirements and experimenting here and there. However, if you are new to the game it is strongly advised that you stick to the big cards so that you give yourself the best opportunity to win money from poker. Remember that if you are entering pots with nothing, then you should be expecting to leave with nothing. So don’t be tempted to enter a pot with any old hand because it looks good or it is suited, it will probably land you in trouble. Stick with the big hands and you won’t be going too far wrong.
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