Possible Texas Holdem Hands

There are very few premium hands in poker but when we do get these hands we should be trying to build a pot as big as possible and as quickly as possible. These hands are: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, and AK – the top pocket pairs and Ace-King. AK is considered to be a powerful hand because. The number one reason why many amateurs lose at Texas Holdem is because they play way too many trashy hands! So in terms of actual numbers you want to be playing around the top 20% of hands dealt to you in a 6 person poker game and the top 15% in a 9 person poker game. The Best Texas Hold’em Hands by Winning Percentage Pocket Aces – statistically the best starting hand in Hold’em – are less than a 75% favorite against 2 or more opponents according to my Texas Hold’em hand rankings. If you’ve ever played Texas Hold’em you already know how important starting hand selection is.

Both before and after the flop in any limit Holdem game, it is helpful to be able to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the types and numbers of playable hands that you are likely to be competing against.

How Many Possible Texas Holdem Hands Are There

Much of your decision making involves the business of 'putting' opposing players 'on their hands' (or in other words, figuring out what cards they are playing). Experienced Holdem players are often very good at this. An understanding of the types of hands that are most likely to be against you helps prevent both underestimating and overestimating your competition.

Here are some stats that are based on the total possible combinations of various Holdem hole cards that are normally playable.

For better viewing on your mobile device (or to download or print the chart), check out holdem hole card frequencies in high resolution universal .pdf format.

The five different types of two card Hold'em hands highlighted here are those that are most commonly played. They are not shown in any particular order and within the groups are powerful hands that are almost always played, down to marginal value hands that can be played under certain betting conditions.

The rest of the hands, shown as All Others, are all the very weak hands that most players hardly ever play.

Pairs - All pairs. AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22

Two High Cards Suited - AK(S), AQ(S), AJ(S), A10(S), KQ(S), KJ(S), K10(S), QJ(S), Q10(S), J10(S)

Possible Texas Hold'em Hands

Two High Cards Unsuited - AK, AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10

Medium and Low Suited Connectors - These include both no-gap and one-gap connectors: J9(S), 109(S), 108(S), 98(S), 97(S), 87(S), 86(S), 76(S), 75(S), 65(S), 64(S), 54(S), 53(S)

Ace and Non-High Combinations - A9, A8, A7,A6 Note: 25% of these 64 combinations (16) are suited. 75% of the 64 combinations (48) are unsuited.