- 2-7 (offsuit) A 2-7 offsuit hand is the worst hand to start with in Texas Hold 'Em poker because there are so few good options available to you: you have no straight draw, no flush draw, and even if you wind up with a pair of 7s or a pair of 2s, you're unlikely to have the best hand. Of course, you'll see some crazy flops every now and then, but just because you see a rare 7-7-2 flop once in a.
- If we look at traditional Texas Hold'em starting hands, we would expect to get our beloved AA about once every 221 hands, so what about in our new version of the game? Well, without troubling you with the maths (I CAN do it, honestly!) the answer is you'll get your pocket rockets once every 105 hands, which is more than twice as often as in Texas Hold'em!
- The Best Texas Hold'em Poker Hands 01. Two aces is the best Hold'em poker hand you can hope to have. It's the best of the best, and it will win you more. The second best Hold'em hand is still incredibly strong and it should win you a good chunk of change. Two queens or 'ladies' are also a.
In the first part of the article we looked at Six plus Hand Rankings, where it became clear that the 16 cards missing from the deck in this variant leads to a slight, but important, changes in how strong the starting hands are which we will receive.
What are good starting hands in Texas Hold'em? Pocket Aces (Ace-Ace) and other big-pocket pairs (like King-King) are the best starting hands in any position in Texas Hold'em. 5 Best Texas Hold'em Starting Hands 1. Pairs: A♣ A♥, K♠ K♦, 7♥ 7♠ 2. Suited Connectors: K♦A♦, J ♣ Q♣, 10 ♥9 ♥ 3. Offsuit Connectors: 4♣ 3♦, 9♥ 8, 10♠ J♣ 4. Suited Gappers: 10 ♥8 ♥, 5 ♠2♠, K♦J♦ 5. Unconnected Cards: 8♦3♠, 10 ♥6 ♣, Q♣ 10♦.
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Pocket Aces
If we look at traditional Texas Hold'em starting hands, we would expect to get our beloved AA about once every 221 hands, so what about in our new version of the game?
Well, without troubling you with the maths (I CAN do it, honestly!) the answer is you'll get your pocket rockets once every 105 hands, which is more than twice as often as in Texas Hold'em!
Naturally, what goes for aces also goes for the other pairs – you'll have a pocket pair more than twice as regularly in Six plus Hold'em (as will your opponent! Don't forget this important consideration).
Are there any other changes we need to know about regarding starting hands?
Let's Say We have JJ
A naturally tricky starting hand in Texas Hold'em, but one we would probably open-raise with pre-flop. How does it fare in Six Plus?
We need to realize that instead of beating nine other pairs pre-flop, now it is only a favorite against 5, and still a dog to QQ, KK and AA. So it is not as strong in this respect.
However, because 3 of a kind now beats a straight in Six Plus, flopping a set becomes very strong against many hands – flushesare harder to come by, as we saw previously, because there are only nine cards of any single suit available in the deck.
So, how often will our smaller pairs flop a set? In Texas Hold'em it's about 11.8% or roughly one time in eight. In Six Plus, we will do the maths quickly (just to prove I can!)
There are 36 cards in the pack, we have – let's say again – JJ in our hand. So there are two jacks left in the 34 remaining cards.
What About the Hated 72 Offsuit?
In traditional Texas Hold'em this is the worst starting hand, and almost completely unplayable. Well, as you can probably work out yourself quite easily, in Six Plus the equivalent hand is J 6 offsuit, which, let's be honest, would rarely be played even in our normal game!
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Playing AK Becomes an 'Interesting' Problem
Well, first off, we will be dealt AK about 2.5% of our hands – which is quite a lot of the time, maybe once every five or six rounds at a full ring table, so it's important enough to learn its worth in Six Plus Hold'em.
If we accept that suited versions become a lot more valuable - flushes beat full houses in our new version - then it can also make sense to play AKs slower than usual. Mixing our game up with AKs hides our play better, while AKo is still a very strong hand which we can 3-bet and even consider stacking off with.
Small Pairs
Of course 66 now becomes the smallest pocket pair. In Texas Hold'em we could consider calling pre-flop raises with this hand if the price was right – flopping a set and cracking a higher pair is our main goal – but now we have to consider that we are essentially playing 22 in a game where set-over-set sees our 6's screwed, although on the plus side they do now beat straights!
Relative Hand Values
We need to be aware that these change a fair bit from Texas Hold'em, since stronger hands in general are being played across the board. Top pair, top kicker is nowhere near as strong – in fact it is very unlikely to win on its own as a best hand at showdown in 6-max or full-ring when we play Six Plus Hold'em.
There is also the ‘alternative river version' of the game to consider, when receiving an extra hole card means that hand strengths can become stronger still.
So, in general two pair would be a median winning hand at full-ring – a useful thing to know when planning your hand strategy!
We will look at the change in Pot Odds in part 3, but a casual glance at things like ‘drawing hands' shows that we are more likely to his many of them, as we have fewer cards left containing the same number of outs. For example, a gutshot – where any of four cards hits for us – now gives us 4/31 chances to hit after the flop, as opposed to 4/47 in Texas Hold'em – a significant difference indeed!
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In traditional Texas Hold'em this is the worst starting hand, and almost completely unplayable. Well, as you can probably work out yourself quite easily, in Six Plus the equivalent hand is J 6 offsuit, which, let's be honest, would rarely be played even in our normal game!
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Playing AK Becomes an 'Interesting' Problem
Well, first off, we will be dealt AK about 2.5% of our hands – which is quite a lot of the time, maybe once every five or six rounds at a full ring table, so it's important enough to learn its worth in Six Plus Hold'em.
If we accept that suited versions become a lot more valuable - flushes beat full houses in our new version - then it can also make sense to play AKs slower than usual. Mixing our game up with AKs hides our play better, while AKo is still a very strong hand which we can 3-bet and even consider stacking off with.
Small Pairs
Of course 66 now becomes the smallest pocket pair. In Texas Hold'em we could consider calling pre-flop raises with this hand if the price was right – flopping a set and cracking a higher pair is our main goal – but now we have to consider that we are essentially playing 22 in a game where set-over-set sees our 6's screwed, although on the plus side they do now beat straights!
Relative Hand Values
We need to be aware that these change a fair bit from Texas Hold'em, since stronger hands in general are being played across the board. Top pair, top kicker is nowhere near as strong – in fact it is very unlikely to win on its own as a best hand at showdown in 6-max or full-ring when we play Six Plus Hold'em.
There is also the ‘alternative river version' of the game to consider, when receiving an extra hole card means that hand strengths can become stronger still.
So, in general two pair would be a median winning hand at full-ring – a useful thing to know when planning your hand strategy!
We will look at the change in Pot Odds in part 3, but a casual glance at things like ‘drawing hands' shows that we are more likely to his many of them, as we have fewer cards left containing the same number of outs. For example, a gutshot – where any of four cards hits for us – now gives us 4/31 chances to hit after the flop, as opposed to 4/47 in Texas Hold'em – a significant difference indeed!
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- Mobile & Desktop Six Plus Action
- PLO & NLHE Variants
More Top Rated Content
Articles
- Six Plus Hold'em Hand Rankings
- Six Plus Hold'em Rules & Strategy
- How to Get in the Zone and Play Your Best Poker
Coaching Videos
- Optimizing Sleep for Poker Success
- Hypnotherapy in Poker
These days, even the most casual of poker fans who might happen upon a WSOP broadcast during the summer knows that the best Texas Hold'em starting hand is pocket aces. With an additional 1,300+ potential starting hand combinations, however, the overwhelming majority of the hands you'll be dealt will consist of inferior holdings. As such, it is best to know how to deal with other card combinations that might come your way.
Sometimes the cards you're dealt will look appealing and you'll want to play them. Think a couple face cards, perhaps. Maybe you've gotten a couple of connected cards or maybe they're suited (BUT THEY WERE SUITED!). In most situations, you'll find that pairs are at least somewhat playable but for all those other hole card combos you'll get, just like Kenny Rogers' famous song 'The Gambler' advises, 'you've got to know when to hold'em, and know when to fold 'em.'
The more easily you're able to identify weak starting hand combos, the quicker you'll be able to make the right decisions at the table. When to bet, raise, call… or throw your hand away. The easiest decision you'll usually have is throwing away your hand when it's quite literally one of the worst combinations possible.
So, without further ado, we present to you the worst Texas Hold'em starting hands.
Deuce-Seven
Holding a 2 and a 7 (off suit) as your starting hand is without a doubt the worst hand you can get dealt. At best, you'd realistically be hoping to catch a 2 or 7 among the community cards on the flop for a low pair, which still makes for a relatively weak hand to carry on with. In pretty much every scenario then, whether you've found yourself a seat at the live casino card games or at your friend's Friday home poker table, folding is the way to go when dealt the dreaded Deuce-Seven.
Deuce-Eight
The same issues that arise with the previous card combination are present at this one. In fact, it's only marginally better. Should you decide to go against conventional wisdom and choose to proceed with such holdings, even if you improve to a pair on the flop, you'll almost always find yourself behind and needing additional help to improve versus your opponents. Save yourself the hassle – and the money! – and get rid of the Deuce-Eight as quickly as you can… yes, even if they're suited.
Three-Seven and Three-Eight
At this point, you probably know the drill. Starting hand combinations of 3-7 and 3-8 are, indeed, better than the aforementioned couple of combinations. The only advantage these combinations have over the ones we've listed already is that there's an outside chance you might hit an inside straight with precisely the right flop. That, however, is most certainly NOT a reason to hold on to these starting hands. If you've got any interest in protecting your poker bankroll, toss the cards into the muck.
Deuce, Three, or Four and a Nine
You pick up your hole cards and start to peel… the first card you see is a 9. Not great, but not horrible either. Then you lift up the second card ever so slightly to reveal… a 2, or a 3, or a 4. The disappointment you feel should be palpable. Even if you're no math expert and don't realize that the chances of you winning with a starting hand of that nature are very slim, that sinking feeling you got when discovering that second card ought to lead you to do the right thing, namely chuck the hand.
Conclusion
We're pretty sure you've gotten the picture by now. It doesn't take a card sharp to realize that while many of the hands you'll be dealt aren't too great to start out with, some of them are just pure rubbish and out to be discarded.
Texas Holdem Good Starting Hands
So there you have it, a rundown of some of the worst possible starting hand combinations you can possibly be dealt in Texas Hold'em. Hopefully, this is the only place you'll ever have to see such trashy cards, and the dealers will always send premium hands your way.
Best Odds Starting Hands Texas Holdem
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