Texas Holdem Starting Hands Ranking

1. Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart
2. Texas Holdem Starting Cards
3. Texas Holdem Pocket Card Rankings

Introduction

The following table ranks the top hands in a 3-player game. This table assumes that all players stay in until the end.

Explanation of column headings:

In most variants of 6 Plus Hold’em, however, all the streets and betting are the same as in normal Texas Hold’em. Starting ranks and pot odds will be covered soon, but first up, learning the slightly different hand rankings is a must -if you don’t know what wins and loses you’re in big trouble! Below we have a list of poker hands and their ranking for Texas Holdem, starting with the strongest hand possible, and working our way down to the weakest of hands: A Royal flush is 10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit, this is the strongest hand in poker.

• Cards: Initial two-card hand.
• Probability of win: Probability that this hand will win, or tie for the win.
• Average win: This is how much the player will win on average, including his own bets, if the player does win. This is less than 3 because sometimes the player will have to split the pot.
• Expected value: This is how many units the player can expected to win (positive) or lose (negative) with this hand. For example if the player had a pair of aces and contibuted $1 to the pot then the player could expect to have a net win of $1.20.
• Probability: Probability of getting this hand to begin with.
• Additive probability: Probability of getting this hand or any stronger hand to begin with.

Initial Hold'em Hands in Rank Order for 3-Player Game

Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart

Cards	Probability of Win	Average Win	Expected Value	Probability	Additive Probability
Pair of A's	73.78%	2.99	1.2034	0.45%	0.45%
Pair of K's	69.21%	2.99	1.066	0.45%	0.9%
Pair of Q's	65.29%	2.98	0.9475	0.45%	1.36%
Pair of J's	61.57%	2.98	0.835	0.45%	1.81%
Pair of T's	58.02%	2.98	0.7272	0.45%	2.26%
Pair of 9's	54.08%	2.97	0.6084	0.45%	2.71%
A/K suited	51.77%	2.94	0.5221	0.3%	3.02%
Pair of 8's	50.46%	2.97	0.4986	0.45%	3.47%
A/Q suited	50.56%	2.93	0.4824	0.3%	3.77%
A/K unsuited	49.28%	2.93	0.4462	0.9%	4.68%
A/J suited	49.49%	2.92	0.4461	0.3%	4.98%
K/Q suited	48.28%	2.93	0.4128	0.3%	5.28%
A/T suited	48.5%	2.91	0.4121	0.3%	5.58%
A/Q unsuited	48.01%	2.93	0.4045	0.9%	6.49%
Pair of 7's	47.02%	2.97	0.3945	0.45%	6.94%
K/J suited	47.22%	2.92	0.3772	0.3%	7.24%
A/J unsuited	46.84%	2.91	0.3652	0.9%	8.14%
K/T suited	46.24%	2.91	0.3436	0.3%	8.45%
A/9 suited	46.16%	2.9	0.3366	0.3%	8.75%
K/Q unsuited	45.61%	2.92	0.3318	0.9%	9.65%
A/T unsuited	45.79%	2.9	0.3289	0.9%	10.56%
Q/J suited	45.55%	2.91	0.3256	0.3%	10.86%
A/8 suited	45.31%	2.88	0.3058	0.3%	11.16%
Pair of 6's	43.77%	2.96	0.2958	0.45%	11.61%
Q/T suited	44.59%	2.9	0.2932	0.3%	11.92%
K/J unsuited	44.46%	2.91	0.293	0.9%	12.82%
A/7 suited	44.32%	2.87	0.2719	0.3%	13.12%
K/9 suited	43.88%	2.89	0.2689	0.3%	13.42%
J/T suited	43.44%	2.9	0.2582	0.3%	13.73%
K/T unsuited	43.42%	2.9	0.2576	0.9%	14.63%
A/9 unsuited	43.25%	2.88	0.2473	0.9%	15.54%
A/5 suited	43.59%	2.85	0.2431	0.3%	15.84%
Q/J unsuited	42.76%	2.9	0.2406	0.9%	16.74%
A/6 suited	43.19%	2.86	0.2348	0.3%	17.04%
Q/9 suited	42.25%	2.89	0.2193	0.3%	17.35%
A/4 suited	42.7%	2.85	0.2161	0.3%	17.65%
A/8 unsuited	42.31%	2.87	0.2136	0.9%	18.55%
Q/T unsuited	41.73%	2.89	0.206	0.9%	19.46%
K/8 suited	41.91%	2.88	0.2048	0.3%	19.76%
Pair of 5's	40.7%	2.95	0.2017	0.45%	20.21%
A/3 suited	41.8%	2.85	0.1901	0.3%	20.51%
J/9 suited	41.11%	2.88	0.1844	0.3%	20.81%
K/7 suited	41.19%	2.86	0.1786	0.3%	21.12%
A/7 unsuited	41.25%	2.85	0.177	0.9%	22.02%
K/9 unsuited	40.88%	2.88	0.1769	0.9%	22.93%
J/T unsuited	40.58%	2.89	0.171	0.9%	23.83%
A/2 suited	40.86%	2.85	0.163	0.3%	24.13%
T/9 suited	40.38%	2.88	0.1617	0.3%	24.43%
Q/8 suited	40.28%	2.87	0.1564	0.3%	24.74%
K/6 suited	40.29%	2.85	0.1483	0.3%	25.04%
A/5 unsuited	40.46%	2.83	0.1458	0.9%	25.94%
A/6 unsuited	40.04%	2.84	0.1374	0.9%	26.85%
Q/9 unsuited	39.2%	2.87	0.1262	0.9%	27.75%
K/5 suited	39.51%	2.84	0.122	0.3%	28.05%
J/8 suited	39.14%	2.87	0.1219	0.3%	28.36%
A/4 unsuited	39.45%	2.83	0.1155	0.9%	29.26%
K/8 unsuited	38.75%	2.86	0.1079	0.9%	30.17%
Pair of 4's	37.42%	2.95	0.1026	0.45%	30.62%
T/8 suited	38.46%	2.86	0.1004	0.3%	30.92%
K/4 suited	38.63%	2.84	0.0956	0.3%	31.22%
Q/7 suited	38.33%	2.85	0.0937	0.3%	31.52%
J/9 unsuited	38.05%	2.87	0.0908	0.9%	32.43%
A/3 unsuited	38.5%	2.83	0.0879	0.9%	33.33%
K/7 unsuited	37.96%	2.84	0.0792	0.9%	34.24%
9/8 suited	37.74%	2.86	0.079	0.3%	34.54%
Q/6 suited	37.7%	2.84	0.0712	0.3%	34.84%
K/3 suited	37.78%	2.84	0.0712	0.3%	35.14%
T/9 unsuited	37.36%	2.86	0.0692	0.9%	36.05%
J/7 suited	37.21%	2.85	0.0605	0.3%	36.35%
Q/8 unsuited	37.09%	2.85	0.0585	0.9%	37.25%
A/2 unsuited	37.47%	2.82	0.0579	0.9%	38.16%
K/6 unsuited	37%	2.83	0.0469	0.9%	39.06%
K/2 suited	36.91%	2.83	0.0464	0.3%	39.37%
Q/5 suited	36.93%	2.83	0.0455	0.3%	39.67%
T/7 suited	36.51%	2.85	0.0394	0.3%	39.97%
J/8 unsuited	35.94%	2.85	0.0237	0.9%	40.87%
9/7 suited	35.95%	2.84	0.0223	0.3%	41.18%
Q/4 suited	36.08%	2.83	0.0203	0.3%	41.48%
K/5 unsuited	36.15%	2.82	0.0183	0.9%	42.38%
8/7 suited	35.65%	2.84	0.0134	0.3%	42.68%
Pair of 3's	34.33%	2.94	0.0087	0.45%	43.14%
T/8 unsuited	35.26%	2.84	0.0026	0.9%	44.04%
J/6 suited	35.33%	2.83	0.0009	0.3%	44.34%
Q/3 suited	35.22%	2.83	-0.0042	0.3%	44.65%
Q/7 unsuited	35.01%	2.83	-0.0082	0.9%	45.55%
K/4 unsuited	35.19%	2.81	-0.0104	0.9%	46.46%
J/5 suited	34.79%	2.82	-0.0182	0.3%	46.76%
9/8 unsuited	34.55%	2.84	-0.0185	0.9%	47.66%
T/6 suited	34.64%	2.83	-0.0194	0.3%	47.96%
Q/2 suited	34.4%	2.83	-0.0279	0.3%	48.27%
Q/6 unsuited	34.33%	2.82	-0.0326	0.9%	49.17%
9/6 suited	34.08%	2.83	-0.0357	0.3%	49.47%
K/3 unsuited	34.26%	2.81	-0.0374	0.9%	50.38%
8/6 suited	33.88%	2.83	-0.0416	0.3%	50.68%
J/7 unsuited	33.86%	2.83	-0.0422	0.9%	51.58%
7/6 suited	33.85%	2.83	-0.0424	0.3%	51.89%
J/4 suited	33.95%	2.82	-0.043	0.3%	52.19%
Q/5 unsuited	33.48%	2.81	-0.0607	0.9%	53.09%
T/7 unsuited	33.19%	2.82	-0.0626	0.9%	54%
K/2 unsuited	33.34%	2.81	-0.0642	0.9%	54.9%
J/3 suited	33.14%	2.82	-0.0659	0.3%	55.2%
T/5 suited	32.81%	2.81	-0.0768	0.3%	55.51%
9/7 unsuited	32.6%	2.82	-0.0799	0.9%	56.41%
Pair of 2's	31.4%	2.93	-0.0804	0.45%	56.86%
8/7 unsuited	32.33%	2.82	-0.0881	0.9%	57.77%
Q/4 unsuited	32.55%	2.8	-0.0886	0.9%	58.67%
J/2 suited	32.33%	2.82	-0.0891	0.3%	58.97%
6/5 suited	32.21%	2.82	-0.0923	0.3%	59.28%
9/5 suited	32.24%	2.81	-0.0927	0.3%	59.58%
T/4 suited	32.22%	2.81	-0.0945	0.3%	59.88%
7/5 suited	32.1%	2.82	-0.0962	0.3%	60.18%
8/5 suited	32.06%	2.81	-0.0979	0.3%	60.48%
J/6 unsuited	31.85%	2.81	-0.106	0.9%	61.39%
Q/3 unsuited	31.63%	2.8	-0.115	0.9%	62.29%
T/3 suited	31.42%	2.81	-0.1172	0.3%	62.59%
T/6 unsuited	31.16%	2.8	-0.1262	0.9%	63.5%
J/5 unsuited	31.26%	2.79	-0.1268	0.9%	64.4%
5/4 suited	30.98%	2.81	-0.1295	0.3%	64.71%
T/2 suited	30.6%	2.81	-0.1405	0.3%	65.01%
Q/2 unsuited	30.72%	2.8	-0.1413	0.9%	65.91%
9/6 unsuited	30.61%	2.8	-0.1421	0.9%	66.82%
6/4 suited	30.42%	2.81	-0.1453	0.3%	67.12%
8/6 unsuited	30.43%	2.8	-0.1473	0.9%	68.02%
7/6 unsuited	30.41%	2.8	-0.1477	0.9%	68.93%
9/4 suited	30.35%	2.8	-0.1492	0.3%	69.23%
7/4 suited	30.21%	2.81	-0.1522	0.3%	69.53%
J/4 unsuited	30.35%	2.79	-0.1538	0.9%	70.44%
8/4 suited	30.16%	2.8	-0.1542	0.3%	70.74%
9/3 suited	29.78%	2.8	-0.1654	0.3%	71.04%
J/3 unsuited	29.44%	2.79	-0.1798	0.9%	71.95%
5/3 suited	29.18%	2.8	-0.1821	0.3%	72.25%
T/5 unsuited	29.21%	2.78	-0.1872	0.9%	73.15%
9/2 suited	28.98%	2.8	-0.1883	0.3%	73.45%
6/5 unsuited	28.7%	2.79	-0.1998	0.9%	74.36%
6/3 suited	28.55%	2.8	-0.2002	0.3%	74.66%
9/5 unsuited	28.63%	2.78	-0.2035	0.9%	75.57%
J/2 unsuited	28.56%	2.78	-0.2052	0.9%	76.47%
7/5 unsuited	28.54%	2.78	-0.2053	0.9%	77.38%
T/4 unsuited	28.55%	2.78	-0.2072	0.9%	78.28%
4/3 suited	28.28%	2.8	-0.2074	0.3%	78.58%
8/5 unsuited	28.47%	2.78	-0.2078	0.9%	79.49%
7/3 suited	28.3%	2.8	-0.2082	0.3%	79.79%
8/3 suited	28.28%	2.8	-0.2093	0.3%	80.09%
8/2 suited	27.73%	2.79	-0.2253	0.3%	80.39%
T/3 unsuited	27.68%	2.77	-0.2324	0.9%	81.3%
5/2 suited	27.3%	2.79	-0.2371	0.3%	81.6%
5/4 unsuited	27.37%	2.78	-0.2401	0.9%	82.5%
6/2 suited	26.65%	2.79	-0.2559	0.3%	82.81%
6/4 unsuited	26.76%	2.77	-0.2576	0.9%	83.71%
T/2 unsuited	26.79%	2.77	-0.2578	0.9%	84.62%
4/2 suited	26.49%	2.79	-0.2599	0.3%	84.92%
7/2 suited	26.44%	2.79	-0.2628	0.3%	85.22%
9/4 unsuited	26.59%	2.77	-0.2644	0.9%	86.12%
7/4 unsuited	26.51%	2.77	-0.2657	0.9%	87.03%
8/4 unsuited	26.42%	2.77	-0.2687	0.9%	87.93%
9/3 unsuited	25.97%	2.76	-0.2825	0.9%	88.84%
3/2 suited	25.61%	2.79	-0.285	0.3%	89.14%
5/3 unsuited	25.46%	2.76	-0.2961	0.9%	90.05%
9/2 unsuited	25.1%	2.76	-0.3073	0.9%	90.95%
6/3 unsuited	24.74%	2.76	-0.3168	0.9%	91.86%
4/3 unsuited	24.49%	2.76	-0.3238	0.9%	92.76%
7/3 unsuited	24.47%	2.76	-0.3256	0.9%	93.67%
8/3 unsuited	24.4%	2.75	-0.3285	0.9%	94.57%
8/2 unsuited	23.79%	2.75	-0.3462	0.9%	95.48%
5/2 unsuited	23.43%	2.75	-0.3558	0.9%	96.38%
6/2 unsuited	22.69%	2.75	-0.3769	0.9%	97.29%
4/2 unsuited	22.56%	2.75	-0.3801	0.9%	98.19%
7/2 unsuited	22.44%	2.74	-0.3854	0.9%	99.1%
3/2 unsuited	21.61%	2.74	-0.4072	0.9%	100%
Total	2.84	100%

Methodology:

This table is the result of a random simulation of 68,612,544,000 games and assumes all players stay in until the end of the hand.

The following table shows my power rating for each initial 2-card hand in a 3-player game. The numbers are on a 0 to 40 scale. Use the top table if you have a pair, the middle table if your cards are suited, and the bottom table if your cards are unsuited. Except for a pair,look up your high card along the left and your low card along the top.

Inside Links

Written by: Michael Shackleford

NL Hold’em Starting Hand Charts

One aspect of the game of No-Limit Hold’em that causes beginning players much grief is deciding which hands to play and which hands to dump. NL Hold’em is much more difficult than Limit Hold’em because the value of a hand depends on so many factors other than just the cards in your hand. Despite this difficulty, our coaches believe that following some general guidelines and adjusting from these is a better solution than having no guidelines at all. Given that well over half of your profitability in NL Hold’em is based on hand selection alone, we have developed these charts to help you better determine whether to play or fold.

There are no perfect No-Limit starting hand charts. That is because there are many factors that affect your decision, and charts cannot account for all of them. Some of these include:

1. The size of your opponent's stacks.
2. How loose or tight, passive or aggressive, your opponents are.
3. Where these opponents are located at the table – for example, does an aggressive player still have to act after you?
4. Your image at the table – for example, how tight or tricky you are perceived.

That being said, these charts will serve you well in most typical low-stakes No-Limit cash games, such as games with blinds of $1/$2, and home games. These games typically have several loose players at the table, and good opportunities for winning big pots with suited connectors and pocket pairs. With practice, you will be able to be a consistently winning player with these charts as a starting point. As you improve, you'll find yourself making adjustments to these charts based on the factors listed above, and more.

AGAIN: These charts are a good starting point for beginners. Specifically, Chart #1 recommends a significant amount of limping. This is great in loose, passive games but less often seen in tougher games. You’ll find other training material on Advanced Poker Training that may recommend a more aggressive approach for more experienced players.

Note: It would be a serious mistake to apply these hand charts before reading the Frequent Asked Questions first.

CHART #1 ‐ LOOSE, PASSIVE GAME (OFTEN 4-5 LIMPERS PER HAND)
NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

• Raise Always
• Call from Early Position, otherwise raise
• Call always
• Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

CHART #2 ‐ TIGHTER GAME (FEWER LIMPERS) OR MORE AGGRESSIVE GAME
NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

• Raise Always
• Call from Early Position, otherwise raise
• Call (or Raise) from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

CHART #3 ‐ THERE HAS BEEN A SINGLE RAISE
(3‐5 TIMES THE BIG BLIND) BEFORE YOU

• Re‐Raise Always
• Call from Early Position, otherwise re‐raise
• Call always
• Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For the hands in yellow, what do you mean when you say to play these hands if the conditions are right? The hands in yellow are speculative hands. They should always be folded from Early Position. From other positions, they can be profitable given the right conditions. Some of the questions to ask yourself:

1. Are there other players who have called so far (the more, the better)?
2. Are the players who have called playing poorly after the flop? Will they pay me off if I hit something?
3. Is there an aggressive player still to act behind me (you might get raised and have to fold)?
4. If there has been a raise and no other callers, what chance do I have of using my position after the flop to win the hand even if I don't improve (Chart #3 only)?

Why does Chart #2 say to sometimes raise with the hands in yellow, but Chart #1 does not? We have different goals in mind. Using Chart #1, we want to call to encourage additional players to enter the pot. These hands will be immensely profitable when our loose, passive opponents enter the hand, and get trapped when we flop a set, or make a well-disguised straight. When using Chart #2, however, we want to size up the opponents still to act. If they are tight, we can raise. Sometimes, we'll pick up the blinds. Other times, our pre-flop aggression will allow us to take down the pot on the flop.

What's the difference between AKs and AKo? AKs means an Ace and King of the same suit. AKo means an Ace and King of different suits.

What are early, middle, and late position? Early Position is generally the first 2 (in a nine player game) or 3 (in a ten player game) positions after the blinds. Late Position is the “cutoff” position (to the right of the dealer), and dealer button positions. Middle Position is everything in between.

How much should I raise? As a general rule, raise 3 to 4 times the big blind, plus 1 extra big blind for every player who has called before you. So if there are 2 callers already, raise between 5 and 6 times the big blind.

What if someone raises after I call? Whether you call the raise depends on how much money the raiser has for you to win, how many other players are involved, and what type of hand you have. As a general rule, if you have a pocket pair, lean towards calling. If there are a lot of other players (and therefore a big pot), lean towards calling. In general, fold suited connectors from early position. Fold hands like KQ that don't play well against a raiser.

How do I play from the blinds? From the small blind, play the same hands you would play from late position, plus a few more. But don't call with junk hands like T5o, just because it is “cheap”. From the big blind, if there is a raise to you, play like you would if you had already called from early position.

The chart says to fold KQo to a raise. Really? Yes, this hand performs very poorly against typical raising hands. Against AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, you are a big underdog. Other typical raising hands like JJ, TT, 99, AJs, are slightly ahead of you as well. The only time you might call or re-raise is from late position, if the opener was in middle or late position, indicating they might have a wider range of hands.

I was told to fold AJo from Early Position, why do you say to call with it? Folding AJo is not a bad idea in many games. We included it because, at low stakes tables (even tight or aggressive ones), the players are often playing badly enough after the flop that it can be profitable. We used data from millions of hands of low-limit poker to analyze this. The same could be said for KQo, ATs, and KJs – you can make a small profit in the long run at most low-stakes games, but folding would be perfectly acceptable from early position.

Can I use these charts in a NL Hold'em tournament? The charts would be best applicable to the early stages of a NL tournament, when everyone has a deep stack. In the middle and later stages, they should not be used.

Texas Holdem Starting Cards

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Texas Holdem Pocket Card Rankings