A standard poker deck of 52 cards can produce 1,326 different two-card combinations for Texas Hold-em. It is important to note that the majority of these combinations are repeated values created by the four different suits.
In Holdem poker there is no trump suit, so a card of one suit is worth no more than its numerical equal in another suit. So for all intents and purposes, only 169 of those different combinations (or approximately 13%) are unique in value.
It ïs nice but not necessary to know these statistics. The most useful thing to remember in regards to the starting two-card combinations are those that are ranked highest.
More specifically, new players can improve their game dramatically by playing only when they receive one of the top ten starting combinations.
It isn't a good long-term strategy, but it's safer for players that haven't developed the advanced skills necessary to make more involved decisions.
The game of poker is based largely on odds and the more you understand about the cards and those odds, the better your strategy will become. Knowing the highest ranked starting hands is a great place to start your poker education.
The Best
Hands down the best starting hand is pocket aces. It is statistically impossible to beat two aces pre-flop.
The Runner-up
A pair of kings is no contest, the second best starting hand you can get.
The Bronze Medal
Third in the starting hand rankings is a pair of queens.
The Honorable Mention
A suited Ace-King combination holds a solid fourth place in starting hand rankings, though intermediate players tend to lean toward a pair of jacks because their value
of a pair is not vulnerable to the flop.
Participants
After the first and second rankings, some list makers start to disagree. A pair of queens is a pretty solid third, but the fourth through tenth ranks are frequently contested.
The bottom half of the top ten starting combinations are most commonly ranked as follows:
fifth ... suited Ace-Queen
sixth ... a pair of jacks
seventh ... suited King-Queen
eighth ... unsuited Ace-King
ninth ... suited Ace-Jack
tenth ... a pair of tens
While the order of the bottom five changes consistently from one list to the next depending on the list-maker's personal preference, the combinations cited remain largely the same.
While any of these combinations signals a good start to the hand, your advantage is largest in the pre-flop and with fewer players.
Learning these ten hands can be invaluable for a new player. While this information only scratches the surface of the complex game of poker, it makes a good foundation for a basic strategy.
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