Hello, welcome to PokerStars Learn.
I'm James Hartigan, and this is a beginner's guide to 'Texas Hold'em Starting Hands.'
Every hand of poker begins with each player being dealt two cards:
Your hole cards, AKA your starting hand.
But whether you should play those cards, depends on a...
combination of things.
In this video, I will break down starting hands into different categories,
and offer some advice on the types of hands you should be playing,
while also explaining how your position at the table and the players you're...
competing against might impact your decision.
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So, how do you decide whether to play the two cards you've been dealt?
Well, it's all about the strength of these cards.
This will determine whether you should be getting involved and...
putting any chips into the pot.
Yes, there are more cards to be revealed which will change things,
but here is a hashtag #FunFact.
A strong starting hand will win against a weaker one three times out of four.
And when you're beginning your poker journey...
a really solid strategy is to focus on just playing strong hands.
So, what are you looking for?
The best starting hands are the 'Monsters.' Big pairs: Aces, Kings, and Queens,
plus Ace-King.
Very good hands are Jacks, Tens, and Nines, plus Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack,
Ace-Ten, and King-Queen.
All other pairs are decent. As are suited Aces.
For example, Ace-Five of clubs.
Other hands that fall into the decent category include combinations of high cards,
like King-Jack, Queen-Jack, and Jack 10 plus so-called suited connectors.
For example, Six-Five of diamonds and Eight-Seven of spades.
With this type of starting hand,
You have the chance to make a straight or a flush, or even a straight flush...
but probably only if you're James Bond.
There are some situations where you might find yourself playing....
'Speculative' hands: non-suited connectors, for example, Ten-Nine,
or not quite connected cards: one-gappers like Ten-Eight of hearts.
But pretty much everything else falls into the trash category.
They're really not playable at all in Hold'em. So fold them.
The worst starting hand is Seven-Two off-suit.
It doesn't have a realistic chance of making a straight or a...
...flush and neither card is high.
Okay. We've sorted the good from the bad.
However, it's important to remember your position at the table...
massively influences which hand you should be playing.
As a rule of thumb, the more players still to act the better...
your starting hand needs to be, because there's a higher chance...
of someone behind you having a monster.
So generally speaking, stick to playing really strong hands in...
early position where you're one of the first players to act,
and save the decent and speculative hands for when you're in late position.
When you're one of the last players to act and you've seen what...
your opponents have decided to do.
It's important to observe the table you're at and adjust accordingly.
Really tight tables where players wait for premium cards,
and therefore play fewer hands are going to allow you to...
play a little looser, open up your game,
maybe even giving you the opportunity to raise with...
small pairs and connectors in early position.
Tight players are likely to fold your raises a lot of the time,
allowing you to steal lots of small pots. But on the flip side,
to win a really loose table like the ones often found at...
lower stakes, you'll need to play tighter,
waiting for strong hands and raising in late position.
Loose players get involved in too many hands.
You can exploit this with patience.
Eventually your monster will blow their trash out of the water.
You will find a link below to download some charts.
They'll help you understand which starting hands...
you should be playing from which position.
Major caveat: This is purely a recommendation,
not a guaranteed recipe for success.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this video on starting hands from PokerStars.
If you have, give the video a quick like and let us know...
your thoughts in the comments.
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more poker videos.
I'm James Hartigan. Thanks for watching.