Which Starting Hands to Play

In this video we’re going to have a look at an introduction to Starting hands. This is going to give you a basic understanding of what is and what isn’t playable. If you haven’t watched the video on table position, it’s only a short video, go back and watch it now because I will be referring to position a lot.
I am going to try and keep this simple, because it can become a very complicated topic. I just want you to get a basic understanding at this point and we’ll cover some different ways of playing these hands and some more advanced starting hands in the advanced strategy series. I’m not going to cover too much strategy in this video I just want you to understand how playable certain hands are in relation to your table position.

Pocket Pairs

Firstly, we’ll cover pocket pairs. Pocket pairs are when you get dealt of the same 2 cards. A lot of players over rate pocket pairs and refuse to fold them – even low pairs, which can be a disastrous mistake.

The best hand you can be dealt in poker before the flop is AA. This falls into the category of high pocket pairs. The high pocket pairs are A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and maybe even J-J. With these hands you should raise the pot from any position because they are considered very strong hands.

A standard raise is 3 to 4 times the big blind (if the big blind is $1, we’ll raise $3 to $4) – we’ll cover this in a later video.

The next batch of pocket pairs are the middle pairs – 10-10 9-9, 8-8, 7-7. With these hands you should just check in early and middle position and raise from late position.

All the other pairs – 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3 & 2-2 are considered low pocket pairs and you can call with these hands in any position and hope to flop a set. If you don’t manage to flop a set, throw these hands away if someone bets. When you are starting out in poker, never pay more than the minimum bet to see these hands – if someone raises the pot, fold straight away.

Ace King

AK suited or unsuited – is called big slick. This is a powerful hand and is definitely playable from any position and usually warrants a raise. Be careful not to fall in love with this hand because if you don’t manage to pair either of your cards all you have is ace high.

AQ, AJ and A10

These are also very playable hands, but you should be wary of being beaten by and ace with a higher kicker. You can raise with AQ and AJ from any position, although they are better hands in later position.

A9 through A2

Novice players tend to see an ace in their hand and think they’re onto a winner, but you have to be very careful playing A9 through A2. If you’re cards are suited, you might want to try to see the hand for cheap and try to flop a flush (the chances of this are mathematically very slim). If you have an unsuited weak ace, even in late position, I would suggest you just muck it. There are always exceptions to the rules and we’ll cover there in another video.

Face cards

Hands like KQ, KJ, QJ may look like great hands, but in reality they aren’t that strong and should be thrown away in early position. You can call with these hands in middle position and call or raise from late position.
Face card + weak kicker.

Hands like K-8, Q-10, J-9 may be playable depending on a lot of different factors. I’m trying to keep it simple here, so I’ll give you some simple rules to follow:

  • Early position – throw these cards away,
  • A face card with anything less than a 9 – throw it away,
  • So we’re only playing face cards with a 9 or higher in middle to late position,
  • Suited connectors,
  • Suited connectors are cards like 78 suited or 56 suited. These cards are worth seeing for cheap if possible – don’t pay too much to see a flop with a hand like this. These cards are good because if you do flop something like a straight, the strength of your hand will be hidden,
  • Don’t play anything lower than a 56 suited &
  • Try to see these hands for cheap.

Suited cards

People seem to put a lot of weight on suited cards. Suited cards are great because you have the chance of flopping a flush. The truth of the matter is that suited cards aren’t as strong as people like to think they are. Hands like K2 suited or A4 suited may be playable from late position in hope of flopping a flush or a flush draw, but be careful of flopping a pair and playing it because your kicker is so weak.

Patience

Poker is first and foremost a game of patience.

If you don’t get in any of the hands I have just mentioned or if you’re not in the correct position – just fold. You’ll save yourself some very difficult decisions and a lot of money if you wait for a good starting hand.

You may have to wait a while for good cards in poker, but it’s very important not to get impatient and make a move with horrible cards – especially when you’re starting out. As you progress through this course we’ll cover other ways of playing these hands and how to bluff properly.