Strongest starting hands in Texas Hold’em Poker

Although strong Ace hands that aren’t AK can be worth playing some players fall into the trap of playing any hand with an Ace. Trouble starting hands for novice players are A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7, A-8, and A-9. If another opponent also has an ace with a better kicker, than you only have 3 outs to make a better online pokerhand.

AA – Aces

Pocket aces, the strongest starting hand in Texas Hold’em poker. Raise.

KK  – Kings

A pocket pair of kings. Raise.

QQ – A pair of queens.

Play similar to AA, however, two or more people go all-in, fold. The odds of someone having a bigger pocket pair that has you crushed is pretty likely.

AK suited – AK offsuit

Strongest drawing hand requires a preflop raise to start building a pot. If you hit a pair, you will have top pair top kicker, a very strong hand.

JJ – A pair of jacks

If the flop comes with cards of higher value and there is a lot of action – fold.

AQ suited –  AQ offsuit

Raise in any position to  continue to play on the flop.

AJ – Ace Jack, A10 – Ace ten

Limp from early position. Raise from middle and late positions. If there was a raise in front of you from a tight player – fold.

KQ – King Queen

Limp in early positions, and raise from middle positions. Fold against an early position raise from a tight poker player.

TT – 10 10 – Pair Of tens

A pocket pair of tens. Raise from any position.

Pairs of 2's – 9's

Limp from any position. You can also call a smallish raise for set mining potential. Note, however, the weaker the pair, the less the chance you have to win the poker hand.

KT, QJ, QT, JT

If someone limped, call. If the action has folded around to you in late position at the poker table – raise.

Poker Hands (ascending order):

• High Card : If none of the players have at least a pair in their hand, then the winner is the poker player who has the highest ranked non pair poker hand.
• One Pair : Two cards of the same rank. If two players have the same pair, then additional cards are compared starting with the highest ranking card.
• Two Pair : Two pairs of cards of the same rank. When two players have a two pair hand, the winner is determined by the hand that has the highest ranked pair.
• Three of a kind : Three cards of the same rank. If a player has a pocket pair and another card of the same rank comes on the board, this combination is called a set. If the board has a pair of cards, which coincide with the players' hole cards, this combination is called trips.
• Straight : Five consecutive cards, regardless of suit. If straights have two players, the winner is determined by the highest card straight.
• Flush : Five cards of different ranks, but the same suit. Seniority is determined by the highest ranking card.
• Full House : A hand that consists of a combination of pairs and three of a kind. Seniority is determined by the highest ranked three of a kind.
• Four of a kind : Any four cards of the same rank. If two players have the same four of a kind hand, the winner is determined by the kicker (the highest fifth card).
• Straight Flush : The second best hand in Texas Hold’em is five consecutive cards of the same suit. The winner is determined by the highest card.
• Royal Flush The best poker hand in Texas Hold’em is five consecutive cards of the same suit from ace through to ten.