The poker game Texas hold’em is all about making the strongest five-card poker hand. At the start of every hand each player is dealt two cards, which only they can use, but which hold’em hands are worth playing and which cards should be folded straight away?
Our poker starting hands cheat sheet looks at the starting hands you’ll be dealt in no-limit Texas hold’em, to give you a quick way to get going with some knowledge under your belt.
But first, if you haven’t already, check out our poker hands cheat sheet for a breakdown on what’s a strong poker hand and what’s a weak one. Then, take a look at our poker table positions cheat sheet - in general, you can play more hands from late position then early position, so always bear this in mind when evaluating the strength of your starting cards.
And remember: every hand is different, there will always be factors at play beyond your own cards. Sometimes the situation will be right to play any hand aggressively, given the right conditions. And likewise, sometimes folding a strong hand will be necessary. No starting hand is invincible!
Premium hands
The poker starting hands with the best chance of winning are high pocket pairs such as 
, 
, 
or 
, or combinations of high cards such as A-K, suited or offsuit, or A-Q suited. You’ll generally want to play these from most positions at the table.
Weaker premium hands such as A-Q offsuit or are still strong, but not as strong as those above. As a result you may want to play these hands more often from later positions.
Pocket pairs
A single pair will often take down a pot in Texas hold’em, so being dealt a pair preflop can be good news. The higher, the better - obviously - but small pairs can win big if they make a set (by making three of a kind using one of the board cards). These sets are very hard for opponents to see coming and so could win you a big pot, but you’re likely to flop a set only 1 in 8 times, so don’t get carried away.
A handy stat to remember is that any pocket pair versus two overcards has roughly a 50/50 chance to win when all-in preflop. That’s why these situations are often called ‘flips’, because it’s close to a coinflip who will win.
Suited connectors
Connected cards are those next to each other in rank, and suited means they share the same suit, so hands such as 
, 
and 
fall into this category. Their strength lies in their ability to make either a straight or a flush - or to flop a strong draw with lots of potential to improve.
These hands generally play better in multiway pots, rather than head-up, as such pots will usually give you a bigger reward for the risk you take in calling to see the flop. Once the flop comes, you’ll usually have a good idea if it’s worth staying in with some good draws, or if you’d be better off letting the hand go.
Suited gappers
These are similar to suited connectors, but not quite as strong. A ‘gapper’ is a hand where there is a gap between the two cards, such as 
or 
(a hand such as 
might be considered a suited ‘two-gapper’). They’re generally weaked than suited connectors, as the latter will flop more draws, more of the time.
Think about the card combinations above when first playing Texas hold’em, but remember it’s usually advisable to play only your stronger hands from early position. When you find yourself in late position you can widen the range of hands you’re prepared to play - especially if you’re not facing aggression from the players ahead of you.
The other factor to consider is how many players are in the hand; generally speaking, the fewer the players, the more hands you can play. This is because the chances of one of eight opponents having a good hand is much higher than one of two or three. You’ll also be in late position much more often in a short-handed game.
Looking for more? Visit our extended poker rules, our Texas hold’em rules, or our guide to poker table positions for more detailed information.
