Ask any poker player what he or she finds important to be successful at poker and the answer is almost always the same: the starting hand. The cards you play with as a poker player are almost as important as your strategy and bluffing skills. However, that does not mean that you can take it easy, because even if you have a nice starting hand, you will always have to keep your full attention.
Nevertheless, it is always beneficial to get off to a good start and especially for the players who are now hopefully wondering which starting hands are all considered strong, we have made a handy overview. Does your starting hand consist of one of the bottom pairs? Then you can at least breathe safely. Because it is a good start… .. (yes.)
Top 10 poker hands explanation – from highest to lowest
10. King-Woman (KQ)
Starting with the number 10, which, despite the last place in this overview, is simply a very strong hand. The Queen-Queen is a poker hand with which you can flop, for example. This combination increases the odds of multiple Streets or Flushes pre-flop, while hitting this pair can sometimes give you a more than excellent poker hand. Still, you would do well to fold this hand if other poker players enter the pot through either a raise or a re-raise.
9. Ace Jack (AJ)
An Ace with a Jack (especially when it is a Suited AJ) is also a great starting position in a game of poker. You will win with it a little less often than with the other starting hands from this top, but at least you still have a significant advantage over most other players.
8. Ace-King Offsuit (AQ Offsuit)
Logically, the Ace-King Offsuit is not as strong as the Suited and that’s mainly because there is a lower chance of a Flush. Nevertheless, this starting hand will win (in the nick of time) against any other hands in a reasonable number of times. Make sure you try to keep the pot low (so that the flop gets cheap) and only start betting more fanatically if you hit an Ace or King, for example.
7. Ace Queen (AQ)
With a suited Ace Queen hand, just like with a pair of Jacks, for example, you have a 20% chance of winning, if you are at a fully occupied 10-man gaming table. With an Ace Queen offsuit, that chance of winning decreases a lot, but you still have a reasonable pair in your hands. In such a scenario you could win a “high card”.
6. 10-10
With a pair of tens you also have a very strong pair in your hands. But please note: you must keep an eye on your opponent at all times. Only then can you properly determine how strong your pair of tens is compared to the cards of the other players at the table.
5. Pair of Jacks (JJ)
With a few farmers you win about 20% of the time. Try to protect yourself as much as possible by betting a few fellow players out of the hand, ie bet in such a way that other poker players will decide to fold. If this works out well, you have an excellent chance of taking the pot.
4. Ace King suited (AK suited)
With an Ace + King you immediately have a decent chance on the Broadway, which is again the best street (from HeartsJack of Spades10 of Clubs and Ace of ClubsKing of DiamondsQueen). So you have a better chance of winning with a “high-card”. With an Ace King suited you also have a chance of the coveted Flush. Although with other starting hands you have better chances of winning, a hand like the Ace King is a lot more versatile. Are your playing cards not of the same kind? Then you still have a nice chance of winning, but that does not go for the Flush.
3. Pair of Queens (QQ)
One of the strongest starting hands is a pair of women. This is seen as an excellent starting hand in poker, which will also allow you to beat a lot of the other hands. Just make sure you are alert if a King or Ace hits the flop. For the rest, you can play with complete confidence against the other hands.
2. Pair of Kings (KK)
This combination is also known as the “Cowboys” and we are talking about a hand that knows how to live up to its fame. There are few (read: only 1, to be followed below) starting hands that are even more popular among poker players. It is important to remember that with a pair of Kings you even win in two-thirds of the cases against a poker player who has one Ace. Do you get the money pre-flop? Then you can almost already time to be satisfied.
1. Pair of Aces (AA)
Of course: this is the classic among all starting hands. The pair of Aces is the strongest hand you can imagine. A pair of Aces is a strong pre-flop favorite over any other starting hand imaginable. Think of it like this: compared to almost any starting hand, you are a 4: 1 favorite, which is quite an advantage if you ask us. These so-called “Pocket Rockets”, you drag in an average of about once per 221 hands, so if you get it from the dealer, you can clap your hands. It is of course crucial that you know that the chances of winning are slightly less if more players decide to play in the hand. The fewer opponents there are, the greater your chances of winning.