Texas Hold’em is undoubtedly the world’s most popular poker variant. Whether you’re playing a cash game or competing in a poker tournament, this fast, action-packed casino game can be played at land-based casinos and at Borgata Online. Hold’em, as some call it, is predominantly a game of skill, and making money from it starts with having a solid understanding of the different hands and knowing how to play them.
When playing Texas Hold’em, your starting hands are super important, but to really know how to play them well, you need to consider a few other factors. For instance, you need to know hand rankings so you can evaluate your hand’s strength and decide how to play the cards. Your position at the table matters, too, and you need to pay attention to the table dynamics and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Here’s our guide to understanding starting hands for Texas Hold’em and how to play them effectively.
Understanding Poker Hand Notation
Before we get started with the opening hand recommendations in Texas Hold’em games, let’s first start by looking at hand notations in online poker games.
In poker variants, including Hold’em, there are symbols used to describe the diverse hands available. These are pretty simple and straightforward, though, and will become second-nature as you play more online poker. Below are the different annotations you will find:
· S – suited cards
· O – two cards from different suits (offsuit)
· + – means all hands ranking above the stated hand are included
For instance, 7-7+ indicates a pair of sevens and any other pairs ranking above it, such as 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, A-A. Pairs 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6 are excluded in this example. The same applies to connectors; the + symbol means that similar hands using higher cards are included, so 10-7+ will include 10-8, 10-9, J-10, Q-J, K-Q, and A-K.
If symbols that denote suited and unsuited cards aren’t shown, then it’s not important whether the cards are suited or not.
Five Best Texas Hold’em Starting Hands
Texas Hold’em poker has 169 different two-card opening hand combinations. The notion is that if your starting hand (of two hole cards) is not a pair, then you will be dealt either connected or unconnected cards or a hand that’s either suited or offsuit.
Suited hands have cards of the same suit, such as A-5 of hearts, whereas (offsuit) unsuited cards belong to different suits – K-10 consisting of the king of spades and ten of diamonds. On the other hand, no pun intended, unconnected cards will have one, two, or more gaps (10-7), making it difficult to hit a straight hand, and connected cards make a straight more likely (10-9).
It is important to familiarize yourself with the different rankings of Texas Hold’em poker hands to know which are worth playing and how they change according to your position at the table. For instance, cards such as 7-2 offsuit or 9-4 suited are very weak to even consider past the flop. But strong hands like pocket aces, kings, or queens are most often playable in preflop situations.
How to Play
In Texas Hold’em poker, players need to make the best five-card hand possible using any combination of their two hole cards and five community cards. Besides your position at the table, you’ll need to consider other factors, such as the number of players at the table and their playing styles, when deciding on placing your wager preflop.
Below is a quick summary of the basic Texas Hold’em rules:
- When the game begins, all players on the table are dealt two hole cards (also known as pocket cards) face down. This means no other players can see your cards. The dealer allows for a round of betting
- Thereafter comes the flop, which consists of three community cards dealt face-up for players to use if they choose, and a round of betting ensues
- The dealer will then deal the fourth card, known as the turn, followed by more betting options
- The last community card is the river
- Players get to bet, raise, check, or fold in the final round of betting.
Pocket Pairs
Aces – A pair of aces is by far the best starting hand in Hold’em. However, if nothing improves with the community cards, you only have a pair. It’s quite rare, however, to ever go wrong with this hand preflop.
Kings – A pair of kings is almost as good as a pair of aces preflop. Although this pair is a premium preflop holding, it doesn’t always play too well against multiple opponents. Sometimes it’s better to raise preflop to avoid being outflopped.
Queens and jacks – These are quality pocket pairs in many cases, and with either one, you should be confident that you have a good starting hand. They are foldable preflop because they can also be the trickiest hands to play in subsequent betting rounds.
Middle pairs – Pocket tens through fives can be difficult to play, especially in a multi-way pot. If several players get involved preflop, play those pairs very carefully in later rounds, especially if they don’t connect with the community cards.
Low pairs – These are pocket pairs of twos (deuces), threes (treys), and fours.. It’s not a wise move to raise first with low pairs, but they can be profitable in later positions, as they can result in a three-of-a-kind or even a four-of-a-kind.
Suited Cards
Starting with two suited cards is good to score a flush or, even better, a straight flush. However, the odds of getting a flush with two suited cards going to the flop are as low as 0.8%. You’re more likely to get a flush after the turn or river, the latter at only around 6.5% of the time, and a straight flush is a rarity.
Connectors – Suited connectors of high rankings, like aces through tens, can be fun to play preflop to see what happens with the community cards. How to play them after the flop, turn, or river depends on the other players’ actions. Lower suited connectors are much less likely to turn into a flush that can beat other flushes.
Gappers – Suited one-gappers, those with a one-card gap between them, have the potential to win big pots if they connect with the community cards. For instance, if you have a 10-8, then a 9 and other corresponding cards come from the dealer, you can win. Using suited one-gappers is situationally dependent but worth considering, especially from a late position.
Starting hand guidelines should be used as a starting point, but your decisions should also consider other factors like table dynamics, opponents’ playing styles, and your own skill level. It’s important to adapt your strategy based on the specific circumstances of each hand and make informed decisions throughout the game. Practice, experience, and continuous learning will help you refine your starting hand selection over time.
Start Your Hold’em Adventure with Borgata Online
Using the guidelines laid out in this article, together with a Texas Hold’em starting hands chart, is a great way to enhance your playing skills. The more you practice Hold’em, the more you’ll begin opening a diverse range of starting hands.
Borgata Online offers the best poker and entertaining live dealer casino games for you to enjoy. Get started on making better Hold’em opening hands when you register with Borgata Online today.