Best Poker Hands Of All Time

There are 169 unique poker starting hands in texas hold'em.

King-jack is a fine hand to play, especially in later positions. But it can be beaten by any of the hands listed above and should be folded to big raises. Statistically, it will win just under 19 percent of the time when it's suited, but that drops to just 15 percent when it's unsuited. Hellmuth, of course, has long topped the all-time list, emerging as a top-35 finisher in the 1988 WSOP, becoming the youngest player to win the Main Event the following year and collecting more. Poker is all about making the best five-card poker hand from the seven cards available (five community cards plus your own two hole cards). That means in the event of a tie with four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, or high card, a side card, or 'kicker', comes into play to decide who wins the pot. If you've ever watched a movie in which people play texas holdem poker, it seems like the best hands — full houses, royal flushes, and four of a kind — just seem to pop up all over the place. The truth is that they are extremely rare — so let's take a look at some of the real odds for some of the best poker hands. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC POKER HANDS OF THE DECADE!Help us to 200K Subscribers - Turn on the '🔔' to get notifications for new uploads!If you.

That means there are 169 unique strategies to know about.

But don't worry!

In this article you will learn about the best poker starting hands and how to play the rest.

I have a friend, following one of Tom Dwan's plays, who would fight ‘til the end his King-Nine suited.

Whatever happens, my friend would bluff his way with this hand even if he didn't hit anything on the board.

He believes that this is his lucky poker starting hands.

Each time this hand of his wins, he'd say 'I told you so', but more often than not he'd remain quiet if his favorite poker starting hands is beat.

Luck is present in poker, but the game is about probability.

If you're like my friend who largely believes in a lucky poker starting hands, then there seems to be a problem with your game.

But this one friend isn't the only one.

I have loads of friends who have 'carved in stone' favorite hands and would play crazy just to prove theirs are the lucky one.

Having played with my buddies many times I could tell if they're holding their favorite cards, which is a good tell for me. Bad for them. Good for me.

But what are my favorite hands in poker?

Truth be told – 'nothing.' Yes, nothing.

However.

I do have specific plays and strategies for hands dealt to me.

I'll list them down one by one and explain why.

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Here are my favorite poker starting hands

I learned about these hands after reading Phil Helmuth's book 'Play Poker Like the Pros'.

Fair warning though, I believe that Phil's advice on how to play these hands are only apt for beginners and novice players.

I play these hands strategically from time to time especially when I play with loose players with a wide range of playing

Or Bullets as it's commonly called in the poker community.

It's the best opening hand in Hold'em.

It's statistically the most powerful hand in poker and even if your game is down to who has a strongest pair (meaning you or your opponent didn't hit anything on the community cards),

Aces will play strong and straight up.

Show me a poker player who hates Aces and I'll run up to him and punch his nose.

Aces can be played well especially during heads-up matches because it's a slated favorite, mathematically speaking. Ottershaw social club poker.

However, it's drawback is when there are too many players in a hand and your opponents have powerful draws.

In situations like this, your bullets will often be at risk of getting outdrawn.

Here is a play by Daniel Negreanu when he is delt a pair of american airlines. You think we wun or lost?

The second best starting hand in poker.

You couldn't go wrong with this hand, except, well, for obvious reasons, when there's an Ace on the board.

Just like Aces, though, Cowboys stand their ground in heads-up matches and are statistically favored second to Bullets.

poker starting hands

Again, the downside to this favorite hand is when it's either outdrawn or when there's an Ace on the board.

Just a segue, my favorite experience with Cowboys and how this poker hand made me start winning more was when I've outdrawn an opponent with Pocket Rockets on the River.

I promise you, the look on my opponent's face even Picasso couldn't paint.

Watch how Phil Ivey play with his pocket kings.

Sadly, nicknames for pocket Queens are very derogatory, but that's how majority of poker players labeled it.

Personally, I can't help calling pocket Queens Bitches because I lost half of my stack during a tournament I played in many years back.

My Queens were no match against my opponent's rockets in what I considered one of the most important tournaments of my life. I was looking for a draw, but I didn't get any.

Will I completely despise pocket Queens and fold it immediately if dealt with it?

Queens are still powerful and no amount of bad beat or two-cards above can stop good poker players from playing them aggressively.

This guy was very happy to get pockets queens while playing Governor of Poker.

Ace-Kings are recently labeled Anna Kournikova after the gorgeous tennis player.

During an episode of WPT, commentator Vince Van Patton called Big Slick Anna Kournikova because the hand 'looks great, but never wins.'

The reference is understandable because Ace-Kings, although they look good, are drawing hands.

Even lower pockets could beat Big Slick if the latter didn't hit a pair or draw on the board.

I prefer playing Big Slick usually under the gun (the position after the big blind) and bully my opponents to fold right in the onset.

The nice thing about Ace-King is when you hit top pair and you have a strong kicker or when you hit a good draw.

Big Slick is one of those poker hands that made me start winning more at poker.

Here is what happens when big slick meets big slick.

Don't be fooled by this face card.

It looks really good to have pocket Jacks, but they're really tough to play.

That's because three higher cards already had it beat assuming your opponent has one high card that hit the board.

Just the same, and since we categorized J-Birds as a monster hand, you should play it like a monster hand.

With pocket Jacks, I always play strong.

But when there's a threat on the board, I find Hooks much easier to fold than Bullets or Cowboys.

Pro poker players consider pocket Jacks as the highest medium pair in Hold'em.

Get more insights on how to play pocket jacks in this video.

This medium pair is the most difficult to play when dealt with.

According to poker probabilities, Tens have a higher chance of getting into trouble with 70 percent of overcards being dealt on the flop.

But between Tens and Big Slicks, I prefer Tens because it's easier to fold; when my Ace or King hits a card on a board ;and later outdrawn in the River.

Here is how Phil Hellmuth likes to play his pocket tens.

The starting hands I brought up in this article is based on Phil Helmuth's monster starting hands.

In fact, Phil suggested ten monster starting hands, but I've only included the six best.

The good thing about using these starting hands is that they're straight up and very simple to execute.

You can crush any average game if you play them by the book. Best poker rooms in the world.

Phil would even go another mile and would suggest that you play these hands from any position while scaring your opponents with raises and re-raises.

Personally, I wouldn't go that far, but it's up to you if you want to try it out.

For beginners, playing these hands will help them develop the mental discipline needed.

A good and strong fold is always better than going gung-ho about a particular play.

Once you get your game together, you'll develop your own style and strategy and you would realize that these hands are as boring as they could get.

But just the same, with enough mental discipline coupled by a straight up strategy, these poker hands made me start winning more.

Best Poker Hands Of All Time Online

Wait… There is more!

This will be a bit technical and for the advanced players.

Still here?

Great!

I have put together a spreadsheet with the most played starting hands and their expected value.

But hold on a bit, what is expected value?

Well, based on hundred of thousand of plays some smart guys calculated the expected value of playing a specific hand.

For example if AA has an expected value of 2 and the big blind is $6, then the expected value of playing would be 2*$6= $12.

Here is a screenshot of the spreadsheet and you can download/view the whole thing here.

As you can see your table position has quite a big impact on the expected value of your hand.

Now when you have learned so much about poker starting hands why not head over to our mega post about the best poker sites online?

There are several hands that you can be dealt out when playing poker. Below we have listed the strongest to lowest poker hands you can be dealt when playing poker variants such as Texas Hold'em Poker.

Those hands listed at the top of this guide to the top 10 poker hands are the strongest and highest valued hands, and it is worth mentioning due to them being much rarer hands you may go quite a while before you actually see one being dealt out to you or even your fellow players!

The highest valued poker hand and one that you are going to want to be dealt out to you when your fellow players all have high valued hands is the Royal Flush hand.

The hand is simply made up of a set of five cards which are the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten cards, and to be a Royal Flush they must all be in the same suit. Get this hand when playing poker and you should be laughing all the way to the bank!

A Straight Flush is another very strong hand and one you will be hoping t get dealt out to you are often as is possible when you are next playing poker online or in a land based environment.

This hand is five cards which are all consecutive and in addition to them being consecutive they must all share the same suit.

If the cards that share the same suit are not all consecutive this hand is then deemed to be a much lower valued Flush hand as described lower down this page.

You may have already guess what a poker hand known as a Four or a Kind hand contains as the name goes give this hand away!

If you haven't worked it out then this type of hand is one in which you have four matching cards such as 4 x 5's along with any fifth card.

This is a fairly strong hand and one that can be expected to take a lot of pots, unless the player holding this hand comes across a player who is holding one of the above two hands that is!

Best Poker Hands Of All Time Game

You should get the occasional Full House hand dealt out to you from time to time when playing poker, and this hand is one that is made up for a three of a kind hand and one pair (see below). Route 66 casino albuquerque nm jobs.

I'll list them down one by one and explain why.

EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT

Get this article as a beautiful, easily save as a PDF or print for daily use.

Download an amazing infographic covering this topic to share with your friends.

Get a free copy of our popular eBook '21 Secrets to Dominate the Poker Tables Like a Pro'.

Here are my favorite poker starting hands

I learned about these hands after reading Phil Helmuth's book 'Play Poker Like the Pros'.

Fair warning though, I believe that Phil's advice on how to play these hands are only apt for beginners and novice players.

I play these hands strategically from time to time especially when I play with loose players with a wide range of playing

Or Bullets as it's commonly called in the poker community.

It's the best opening hand in Hold'em.

It's statistically the most powerful hand in poker and even if your game is down to who has a strongest pair (meaning you or your opponent didn't hit anything on the community cards),

Aces will play strong and straight up.

Show me a poker player who hates Aces and I'll run up to him and punch his nose.

Aces can be played well especially during heads-up matches because it's a slated favorite, mathematically speaking. Ottershaw social club poker.

However, it's drawback is when there are too many players in a hand and your opponents have powerful draws.

In situations like this, your bullets will often be at risk of getting outdrawn.

Here is a play by Daniel Negreanu when he is delt a pair of american airlines. You think we wun or lost?

The second best starting hand in poker.

You couldn't go wrong with this hand, except, well, for obvious reasons, when there's an Ace on the board.

Just like Aces, though, Cowboys stand their ground in heads-up matches and are statistically favored second to Bullets.

poker starting hands

Again, the downside to this favorite hand is when it's either outdrawn or when there's an Ace on the board.

Just a segue, my favorite experience with Cowboys and how this poker hand made me start winning more was when I've outdrawn an opponent with Pocket Rockets on the River.

I promise you, the look on my opponent's face even Picasso couldn't paint.

Watch how Phil Ivey play with his pocket kings.

Sadly, nicknames for pocket Queens are very derogatory, but that's how majority of poker players labeled it.

Personally, I can't help calling pocket Queens Bitches because I lost half of my stack during a tournament I played in many years back.

My Queens were no match against my opponent's rockets in what I considered one of the most important tournaments of my life. I was looking for a draw, but I didn't get any.

Will I completely despise pocket Queens and fold it immediately if dealt with it?

Queens are still powerful and no amount of bad beat or two-cards above can stop good poker players from playing them aggressively.

This guy was very happy to get pockets queens while playing Governor of Poker.

Ace-Kings are recently labeled Anna Kournikova after the gorgeous tennis player.

During an episode of WPT, commentator Vince Van Patton called Big Slick Anna Kournikova because the hand 'looks great, but never wins.'

The reference is understandable because Ace-Kings, although they look good, are drawing hands.

Even lower pockets could beat Big Slick if the latter didn't hit a pair or draw on the board.

I prefer playing Big Slick usually under the gun (the position after the big blind) and bully my opponents to fold right in the onset.

The nice thing about Ace-King is when you hit top pair and you have a strong kicker or when you hit a good draw.

Big Slick is one of those poker hands that made me start winning more at poker.

Here is what happens when big slick meets big slick.

Don't be fooled by this face card.

It looks really good to have pocket Jacks, but they're really tough to play.

That's because three higher cards already had it beat assuming your opponent has one high card that hit the board.

Just the same, and since we categorized J-Birds as a monster hand, you should play it like a monster hand.

With pocket Jacks, I always play strong.

But when there's a threat on the board, I find Hooks much easier to fold than Bullets or Cowboys.

Pro poker players consider pocket Jacks as the highest medium pair in Hold'em.

Get more insights on how to play pocket jacks in this video.

This medium pair is the most difficult to play when dealt with.

According to poker probabilities, Tens have a higher chance of getting into trouble with 70 percent of overcards being dealt on the flop.

But between Tens and Big Slicks, I prefer Tens because it's easier to fold; when my Ace or King hits a card on a board ;and later outdrawn in the River.

Here is how Phil Hellmuth likes to play his pocket tens.

The starting hands I brought up in this article is based on Phil Helmuth's monster starting hands.

In fact, Phil suggested ten monster starting hands, but I've only included the six best.

The good thing about using these starting hands is that they're straight up and very simple to execute.

You can crush any average game if you play them by the book. Best poker rooms in the world.

Phil would even go another mile and would suggest that you play these hands from any position while scaring your opponents with raises and re-raises.

Personally, I wouldn't go that far, but it's up to you if you want to try it out.

For beginners, playing these hands will help them develop the mental discipline needed.

A good and strong fold is always better than going gung-ho about a particular play.

Once you get your game together, you'll develop your own style and strategy and you would realize that these hands are as boring as they could get.

But just the same, with enough mental discipline coupled by a straight up strategy, these poker hands made me start winning more.

Best Poker Hands Of All Time Online

Wait… There is more!

This will be a bit technical and for the advanced players.

Still here?

Great!

I have put together a spreadsheet with the most played starting hands and their expected value.

But hold on a bit, what is expected value?

Well, based on hundred of thousand of plays some smart guys calculated the expected value of playing a specific hand.

For example if AA has an expected value of 2 and the big blind is $6, then the expected value of playing would be 2*$6= $12.

Here is a screenshot of the spreadsheet and you can download/view the whole thing here.

As you can see your table position has quite a big impact on the expected value of your hand.

Now when you have learned so much about poker starting hands why not head over to our mega post about the best poker sites online?

There are several hands that you can be dealt out when playing poker. Below we have listed the strongest to lowest poker hands you can be dealt when playing poker variants such as Texas Hold'em Poker.

Those hands listed at the top of this guide to the top 10 poker hands are the strongest and highest valued hands, and it is worth mentioning due to them being much rarer hands you may go quite a while before you actually see one being dealt out to you or even your fellow players!

The highest valued poker hand and one that you are going to want to be dealt out to you when your fellow players all have high valued hands is the Royal Flush hand.

The hand is simply made up of a set of five cards which are the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten cards, and to be a Royal Flush they must all be in the same suit. Get this hand when playing poker and you should be laughing all the way to the bank!

A Straight Flush is another very strong hand and one you will be hoping t get dealt out to you are often as is possible when you are next playing poker online or in a land based environment.

This hand is five cards which are all consecutive and in addition to them being consecutive they must all share the same suit.

If the cards that share the same suit are not all consecutive this hand is then deemed to be a much lower valued Flush hand as described lower down this page.

You may have already guess what a poker hand known as a Four or a Kind hand contains as the name goes give this hand away!

If you haven't worked it out then this type of hand is one in which you have four matching cards such as 4 x 5's along with any fifth card.

This is a fairly strong hand and one that can be expected to take a lot of pots, unless the player holding this hand comes across a player who is holding one of the above two hands that is!

Best Poker Hands Of All Time Game

You should get the occasional Full House hand dealt out to you from time to time when playing poker, and this hand is one that is made up for a three of a kind hand and one pair (see below). Route 66 casino albuquerque nm jobs.

This hand could therefore be a hand with 3 x Kings in it and 2 x 3's.

This is another of those hands that as soon as you form it then you are in a good and strong position and should, if all goes to plan, pick up the pot at the poker table you are playing at!

Any hand which contains five cards all of the same suit is classed as a Flush hand, those five cards must not be consecutive they must be non consecutive to be classed as a Flush hand, should the five cards all sharing the same suit be consecutive then this is a hand deemed to be a Straight Flush and is a very strong hand.

One of the mid ranged poker hands which you are always going to have one dealt out to you when playing poker for any amount of time is a Straight hand. This is a hand in which the five cards are all consecutive.

It should be noted that the cards need to be made up of any suit and as such a hand containing a 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, but not all of one suit is deemed to be a Straight hand.

If the cards are of the same suit this is a Straight Flush hand instead (see above).

You are going to form a Three of a Kind hand quite often when playing poker.

This had is of course fairly self explanatory and it will see you having been dealt out two un-matched cards and three alike cards.

An example of this type of hand is 3 x 4's and a Queen and a 10 card, this hand is a mid range valued hand and whilst it can take many pots due to its strength as you can see above there are several much stronger hands available so always keep that in mind when you get dealt out this type of poker hand!

As soon as you have two sets of matching cards in your hand along with any third unmatched cards then your hand is classed as a Two Pair hand.

So if for example you have 2 x 8's and 2 x5's along with any other card then you have Two Pairs, and that hand may just be worth you taking your chances on.

Any hand you get dealt out which had three unalike cards in it but two cards that are the same, such as 2 x 7's is called as a One Pair hand.

This hand, depending on the value of the two matching cards can be a risky proposition if you intend playing on which it as there are many more quite easy to achieve hands of a much higher value, namely all of those listed above!

A High Card hand is one you are not really going to want to play on with as soon as you have been dealt it out.

This is a hand of five cards that do not share all on suit and in that hand each card is non consecutive and none matching and the highest valued hand is deemed to be the value of your High Card hand. So for example a Ten, Eight, Six, Four and Two is a ten valued High Card hand.