Choosing the right starting hands is the single most impactful decision you make in Texas Hold’em. Every hand of poker begins with two hole cards, and knowing which ones to play – and which to fold – separates winning players from losing ones.

Hand Tier Rankings

Not all starting hands are created equal. Here is a simplified tier system:

Tier 1: Premium Hands (Always Raise)

Tier 2: Strong Hands (Raise in Most Positions)

• JJ (Pocket Jacks) – Strong but vulnerable to overcards
• AKo (Big Slick offsuit) – Still very strong
• AQs (Ace-Queen suited) – Excellent suited broadway hand
• TT (Pocket Tens) – Solid pair, plays well multiway

Tier 3: Playable Hands (Raise from Late Position)

These hands gain value when you have position:

• AJs, ATs – Suited aces with decent kickers
• KQs – Suited broadway connector
• 99, 88 – Middle pairs, set-mine or raise in position
• JTs, QJs – Suited connectors with straight and flush potential

The Role of Position

Position is just as important as your cards. A hand like JTs (Jack-Ten suited) is a fold from early position but a strong raise from the button.

Early Position (UTG, UTG+1): Play only Tier 1 hands. You have the most players left to act behind you, so you need strong holdings to compensate for being out of position postflop.

Middle Position: Add Tier 2 hands. Fewer players behind you means less risk of running into a premium hand.

Late Position (Cutoff, Button): Open up to include Tier 3 hands and wider. You will have positional advantage postflop, which lets you control the size of the pot and make better decisions with more information.

Blinds: Defend selectively – you have the worst position postflop. In the big blind, you are getting a discount to see the flop, but do not overvalue marginal hands just because of pot odds.

Suited vs. Offsuit: Does It Matter?

Absolutely. Suited hands have roughly 3-4% more equity than their offsuit counterparts. That might sound small, but over thousands of hands it adds up significantly.

For example: - AKs has about 67% equity against a random hand - AKo has about 65% equity against a random hand

The flush potential of suited hands also gives you more ways to win postflop. When you flop a flush draw, you have 9 outs to complete it by the river – that is a roughly 35% chance.

Common Beginner Mistakes

Playing Too Many Hands

The most common leak in a beginner’s game is playing too many starting hands. If you are seeing more than 25% of flops, you are almost certainly playing too loose. Tighten up, and you will immediately see better results.

Overvaluing Ace-Rag

Hands like A7o or A3o look appealing because of the Ace, but they are trap hands. If you pair your Ace, you often have a weak kicker and can lose a big pot to a better Ace. Save these hands for late position steals or fold them entirely.

Ignoring Position

Playing the same range of hands regardless of position is a costly error. A hand that is profitable on the button can be a significant loser from under the gun. Always factor in your position before deciding to play.

Using Odds to Make Better Decisions

Understanding starting hand strength is the first step. The next step is understanding your equity – the probability of winning the hand given your cards and the board.

Tools like the AI Poker Tools Automatic Odds Calculator can read your cards in real time and show you:

• Your probability of making each hand (pair, flush, straight, etc.)
• Your win rate against opponents
• Whether you are ahead or behind

Instead of memorizing complex charts, you can learn by playing and observing how your equity changes with different starting hands and board textures.

Key Takeaways

1. Start tight: Play fewer hands, but play them aggressively
2. Respect position: The later you act, the more hands you can play profitably
3. Suited matters: Suited hands have roughly 3-4% more equity than their offsuit counterparts
4. Pairs set-mine: Small and medium pairs are profitable mainly when you hit a set on the flop
5. Use tools: A real-time odds calculator helps you build intuition faster than memorization alone

The best way to internalize these concepts is through practice. Start with premium hands, pay attention to position, and let the odds guide your decisions.