In Texas hold 'em, a starting hand consists of two hole cards, which belong solely to the player and remain hidden from the other players. Five community cards are also dealt into play. Betting begins before any of the community cards are exposed, and continues throughout the hand. The player's "playing hand", which will be compared against that of each competing player, is the best 5-card poker hand available from his two hole cards and the five community cards. Unless otherwise specified, here the term hand applies to the player's two hole cards, or starting hand.
A pair of aces is the best pre-flop hand in Texas Hold'em Poker
There are 1326 distinct possible combinations of two hole cards from a standard 52-card deck in hold 'em, but since suits have no absolute value in this poker variant, many of these hands are identical in value before the flop. For example, A♥J♥ and A♠J♠ are identical in value, because each is a hand consisting of an ace and a jack of the same suit.
Therefore, there are 169 non-equivalent starting hands in hold 'em, which is the total count of 13 pocket pairs, 13 × 12 x 1 / 2 = 78 suited hands and likewise 78 unsuited hands (13 + 78 + 78 = 169).
These 169 hands are not equally likely. Hold 'em hands are sometimes classified as having one of three "shapes":
Pairs, (or "pocket pairs"), which consist of two cards of the same rank (e.g. 9♠9♣). One hand in 17 will be a pair, P(pair) = 1/17.
Alternative means of making this calculation
First Step
As confirmed above.
There are 1326 possible combination of opening hand.
Second Step
There are 6 different combos of each pair. 9h9c, 9h9s, 9h9d, 9c9s, 9c9d, 9d9s. Therefore, there are 78 possible combinations of pocket pairs (6 multiplied by 13 i.e. 22-AA)
To calculate the odds of being dealt a pair
78 (the number of any particular pair being dealt. As above) divided by 1326 (possible opening hands)
78/1326 ≈ 0.0588 or 5.88%
Suited hands, which contain two cards of the same suit (e.g. A♣6♣).
Probability of first card is 1.0 (any of the 52 cards) Probability of second hand suit matching the first: There are 13 cards per suit, and one is in your hand leaving 12 remaining of the 51 cards remaining in the deck. 12/51 ≈ 0.2353 or 23.53%
Offsuit hands, which contain two cards of a different suit and rank (e.g. K♠J♥). 70.59% of all hands are offsuit non-paired hands
Offsuit pairs = 78
Other offsuit hands = 936
It is typical to abbreviate suited hands in hold 'em by affixing an "s" to the hand, as well as to abbreviate non-suited hands with an "o" (for offsuit). That is,
QQ represents any pair of queens,
KQ represents any king and queen,
AKo represents any ace and king of different suits, and
JTs represents any jack and ten of the same suit.
Limit hand rankingsEdit
Some notable theorists and players have created systems to rank the value of starting hands in limit Texas hold'em. These rankings do not apply to no limit play.
Sklansky hand groupsEdit
David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth[1] assigned each hand to a group, and proposed all hands in the group could normally be played similarly. Stronger starting hands are identified by a lower number. Hands without a number are the weakest starting hands. As a general rule, books on Texas hold'em present hand strengths starting with the assumption of a nine or ten person table. The table below illustrates the concept:
Chen formulaEdit
The "Chen Formula" is a way to compute the "power ratings" of starting hands that was originally developed by Bill Chen.[2]
Highest Card
Based on the highest card, assign points as follows:
In poker communities, it is common for hole cards to be given nicknames. While most combinations have a nickname, stronger handed nicknames are generally more recognized, the most notable probably being the "Big Slick" - Ace and King of the same suit, although an Ace-King of any suit combination is less occasionally referred to as an Anna Kournikova, derived from the initials AK and because it "looks really good but rarely wins."[4][5] Hands can be named according to their shapes (e.g., paired aces look like "rockets", paired jacks look like "fish hooks"); a historic event (e.g., A's and 8's - dead man's hand, representing the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was fatally shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876); many other reasons like animal names, alliteration and rhyming are also used in nicknames.
NotesEdit
^David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth (1999). Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Publications. In 1999, ISBN1-880685-22-1
^Hold'em Excellence: From Beginner to Winner by Lou Krieger, Chapter 5, pages 39 - 43, Second Edition
^. www.pokerroom.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^Aspden, Peter (2007-05-19). "FT Weekend Magazine - Non-fiction: Stakes and chips Las Vegas and the internet have helped poker become the biggest game in town". Financial Times. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
^Martain, Tim (2007-07-15). "A little luck helps out". Sunday Tasmanian. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
October 26, 2023
texas, hold, starting, hands, texas, hold, starting, hand, consists, hole, cards, which, belong, solely, player, remain, hidden, from, other, players, five, community, cards, also, dealt, into, play, betting, begins, before, community, cards, exposed, continue. In Texas hold em a starting hand consists of two hole cards which belong solely to the player and remain hidden from the other players Five community cards are also dealt into play Betting begins before any of the community cards are exposed and continues throughout the hand The player s playing hand which will be compared against that of each competing player is the best 5 card poker hand available from his two hole cards and the five community cards Unless otherwise specified here the term hand applies to the player s two hole cards or starting hand A pair of aces is the best pre flop hand in Texas Hold em PokerContents 1 Essentials 2 Limit hand rankings 2 1 Sklansky hand groups 2 2 Chen formula 2 3 Phil Hellmuth s Play Poker Like the Pros 2 4 Statistics based on real online play 3 Nicknames for starting hands 4 NotesEssentials EditThere are 1326 distinct possible combinations of two hole cards from a standard 52 card deck in hold em but since suits have no absolute value in this poker variant many of these hands are identical in value before the flop For example A J and A J are identical in value because each is a hand consisting of an ace and a jack of the same suit Therefore there are 169 non equivalent starting hands in hold em which is the total count of 13 pocket pairs 13 12 x 1 2 78 suited hands and likewise 78 unsuited hands 13 78 78 169 These 169 hands are not equally likely Hold em hands are sometimes classified as having one of three shapes Pairs or pocket pairs which consist of two cards of the same rank e g 9 9 One hand in 17 will be a pair P pair 1 17 Alternative means of making this calculationFirst Step As confirmed above There are 1326 possible combination of opening hand Second StepThere are 6 different combos of each pair 9h9c 9h9s 9h9d 9c9s 9c9d 9d9s Therefore there are 78 possible combinations of pocket pairs 6 multiplied by 13 i e 22 AA To calculate the odds of being dealt a pair78 the number of any particular pair being dealt As above divided by 1326 possible opening hands 78 1326 0 0588 or 5 88 Suited hands which contain two cards of the same suit e g A 6 Probability of first card is 1 0 any of the 52 cards Probability of second hand suit matching the first There are 13 cards per suit and one is in your hand leaving 12 remaining of the 51 cards remaining in the deck 12 51 0 2353 or 23 53 Offsuit hands which contain two cards of a different suit and rank e g K J 70 59 of all hands are offsuit non paired handsOffsuit pairs 78Other offsuit hands 936It is typical to abbreviate suited hands in hold em by affixing an s to the hand as well as to abbreviate non suited hands with an o for offsuit That is QQ represents any pair of queens KQ represents any king and queen AKo represents any ace and king of different suits and JTs represents any jack and ten of the same suit Limit hand rankings EditSome notable theorists and players have created systems to rank the value of starting hands in limit Texas hold em These rankings do not apply to no limit play Sklansky hand groups Edit David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth 1 assigned each hand to a group and proposed all hands in the group could normally be played similarly Stronger starting hands are identified by a lower number Hands without a number are the weakest starting hands As a general rule books on Texas hold em present hand strengths starting with the assumption of a nine or ten person table The table below illustrates the concept nbsp Chen formula Edit The Chen Formula is a way to compute the power ratings of starting hands that was originally developed by Bill Chen 2 Highest Card Based on the highest card assign points as follows Ace 10 points K 8 points Q 7 points J 6 points 10 through 2 half of face value 10 5 points 9 4 5 points etc Pairs For pairs multiply the points by 2 AA 20 KK 16 etc with a minimum of 5 points for any pair 55 is given an extra point i e 6 Suited Add 2 points for suited cards Closeness Subtract 1 point for 1 gappers AQ J9 2 points for 2 gappers J8 AJ 4 points for 3 gappers J7 73 5 points for larger gappers including A2 A3 A4Add an extra point if connected or 1 gap and your highest card is lower than Q since you then can make all higher straights Phil Hellmuth s Play Poker Like the Pros Edit Phil Hellmuth s Play Poker Like the Pros book published in 2003 Tier Hands Category1 AA KK AKs QQ AK Top 12 Hands2 JJ TT 993 88 77 AQs AQ4 66 55 44 33 22 AJs ATs A9s A8s Majority Play Hands5 A7s A6s A5s A4s A3s A2s KQs KQ6 QJs JTs T9s 98s 87s 76s 65s Suited ConnectorsStatistics based on real online play Edit Statistics based on real play with their associated actual value in real bets 3 Tier Hands Expected Value1 AA KK QQ JJ AKs 2 32 0 782 AQs TT AK AJs KQs 99 0 59 0 383 ATs AQ KJs 88 KTs QJs 0 32 0 204 A9s AJ QTs KQ 77 JTs 0 19 0 155 A8s K9s AT A5s A7s 0 10 0 086 KJ 66 T9s A4s Q9s 0 08 0 057 J9s QJ A6s 55 A3s K8s KT 0 04 0 018 98s T8s K7s A2s 0 009 87s QT Q8s 44 A9 J8s 76s JT 0 02 0 03Nicknames for starting hands EditMain article List of poker hand nicknames In poker communities it is common for hole cards to be given nicknames While most combinations have a nickname stronger handed nicknames are generally more recognized the most notable probably being the Big Slick Ace and King of the same suit although an Ace King of any suit combination is less occasionally referred to as an Anna Kournikova derived from the initials AK and because it looks really good but rarely wins 4 5 Hands can be named according to their shapes e g paired aces look like rockets paired jacks look like fish hooks a historic event e g A s and 8 s dead man s hand representing the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was fatally shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876 many other reasons like animal names alliteration and rhyming are also used in nicknames Notes Edit David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth 1999 Hold em Poker for Advanced Players Two Plus Two Publications In 1999 ISBN 1 880685 22 1 Hold em Excellence From Beginner to Winner by Lou Krieger Chapter 5 pages 39 43 Second Edition Total stats by card by PokerRoom com www pokerroom com Archived from the original on 7 March 2017 Retrieved 12 January 2022 Aspden Peter 2007 05 19 FT Weekend Magazine Non fiction Stakes and chips Las Vegas and the internet have helped poker become the biggest game in town Financial Times Retrieved 2010 01 10 Martain Tim 2007 07 15 A little luck helps out Sunday Tasmanian Retrieved 2010 01 10 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Texas hold 27em starting hands amp oldid 1164922386, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
