Starting Hands
Some starting hands are so strong they can be played in any position. You don’t get these hands very often, but when you do, you are a favorite from the get-go to win that pot.
Playable hands in early position
Pairs: Sevens through aces
Suited: Aces with a king, queen, jack, or ten
King with a queen, jack, or ten
Queen with a jack or ten
Jack with a ten or nine
Ten with a nine.
Unsuited: Aces with a king, queen, jack, or ten
King with a queen or jack
When you are the fifth, sixth, or seventh player to act, you are in middle position and can safely play smaller pairs like sixes and fives. You can also add ten additional suited hands and four more unsuited combinations to your playable repertoire if the pot has not been raised.
Playable hands in middle position
Pairs:
Fives and Sixes
Suited:
Aces with a nine, eight, seven, or six
King with a nine
Queen with a nine or eight
Jack with an eight
Ten with an eight
Nine with an eight
Unsuited:
King with a ten
Queen with a jack or ten
Jack with a ten
In late position, you have the advantage of acting last or next-to-last. As a result, you can add a variety of hands to your arsenal. Most are bargain basement specials that should be played only if the pot has not been raised. Moreover, you’ll need enough discipline to release them if the flop brings anything less than an abundant harvest of friendly cards.
Playable hands in late position
Pairs: Fours, treys, and deuces
Suited: Aces with a five, four, three, or two
King with an eight, seven, six, five, four, three, or two
Jack with a seven
Ten with a seven
Nine with a seven or six
Eight with a seven or six
Seven with a six or five
Six with a five
Five with a four
Unsuited: King with a nine
Queen with a nine
Jack with a nine or eight
Ten with a nine or eight
Nine with an eight or seven
Eight with a seven
If you are new to the game, have been playing indiscriminately, or have an any-two-cards-can-win philosophy, you may believe these recommendations are too tight. They’re not. In fact, they are somewhat loose.
A hand like Kh-2h, while playable, is a pretty sorry excuse for a hold’em hand. If you flop a king and there’s any appreciable action, it’s fairly apparent that someone else has a king with a bigger kicker than yours. If you flop a deuce, you’ve guaranteed yourself the lowest pair on board. Even if you are incredibly lucky and flop a flush, there’s no assurance that it is the best flush. Probably the very best flop you could hope for is something like Ah-2c-2d, which gives you three deuces with a strong kicker. You also have a backdoor draw to a flush, and ¾ more importantly ¾ an ace on the board guarantees a call or two from any opponents holding an ace in their hand.
Still, Kh-2h and a lot of the other playable hands in late position are vulnerable from any number of directions, and it takes some degree of skill to navigate your way through the murky waters of a hold’em pot in a rickety canoe like this one.