Holdem Poker Hands
If you've ever played poker, you know that each hand has a name, such as a flush, for five cards of the same suit. A royal flush is the best hand in regular poker: making a straight-flush with the royal family (Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten) of one suit. Those names have been around for centuries.
Texas Hold'em hasn't been around that long, although it sometimes seems those old Texas Boys like Salior Roberts, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim and the like had been playing the game for centuries, the way they dominated the early years of the WSOP! And, they seemed to have a particular way of talking, which included plenty of colorful names for the individual two-card Hold'em starting hands.
In Poker, each player creates a set of five playings, i.e., Poker hands. Each Poker hand in the game has a Poker hand ranking that is compared against the competitor’s rank in order to decide who is the winner. In high games like Texas Hold’em and Seven-card stud the Texas Hold’em winning hand emerges as the champion. Suited hands contain two cards of the same suit, like J♣9♣, A ♥ K ♥, K♠Q♠ and 9 ♦ 3 ♦. All other starting hands are in the offsuit category, like A♠8 ♦, 7♣5 ♥ and K ♥ 9 ♦. Learn to Play Poker in no time: Our poker tutorial is a great way to learn the card.
Over the years, some of the names like Broderick Crawford, for 10-4, have come and gone out of fashion. When it was first used, Broderick Crawford was the star of a TV show called Highway Patrol, and, you guessed it, he used a CB-like transmitter to talk to the other officers and headquarters. At the end of a transmission, he said '10-4.'
A number of other hands got their names from 1960's TV shows, like 77 (77 Sunset Strip) and 99 (Agent 99, played by Barbara Feldman in Get Smart). Another one, 95, is called Dolly Parton. Not because of her bust size, but because of the Movie 9 to 5 and the hit song she sang Workin' 9 to 5.Jus to help you out, the hands 29 and 38 do have to do with the moniker's bust size, but that's another preoccupation with poker players: women and sex, so there are several references (like bitches) that you'll probably hear, and be able to figure out for yourself.
As for other names, who knows. Where did 'old blocky' come from with regard to 6-3? Was that a fellow player called Blocky who won a big pot with the hand? How about 'Big Slick' for A-K? Some people say that you've got to be real slick to win with Ace-King, and others say the name comes from the 'A' looking like an oil derrick, and oil is slick and the hand comes with a King. Well, your guess is as good as ours. Enjoy!
AA: Pocket Rockets; Bullets; American Airlines
KK: Cowboys; King Kong
QQ: Ladies, Whores, Siegfried & Roy
JJ: Fishhooks; hooks
TT: Dimes
99: German Virgin; Barbara Feldon (Get Smart Agent 99)
88: Snowmen; Dog Balls; Piano Keys
77: Sunset Strip
66: Route 66
55: Speed Limit
44: Magnum; Sailboats
33: Crabs
22: Ducks
AK: Big Slick; Santa Barbara
AQ: Big Chick; Walking Back to Houston
AJ: Ajax
A8: Dead Man’s hand
KQ suited Marriage
KQ offsuit Mixed Marriage
KJ: Kojak
K9: Fido Canine What a Dog
K3: Commander Crab; King Crab
QJ: Maverick
QT: Quint; Varkony
Q7:Computer hand
Q3: Gay Waiter; San Francisco Busboy (queen with a tray)
J5: Motown; Jackson Five
J4: Flat ties (what’s a jack for?)
T5: Woolworth's; Five and Dime
T4: Broderick Crawford; Convoy; Good Buddy
T2: Texas Dolly
98: Oldsmobile
69: Big Lick; Dinner for Two
95: Dolly Parton
92: Montana Banana
76: Union Oil
57: Heinz
45: Jessie James; Jane Russell
39: Jack Benny
38: Raquel Welch
29: Twiggy
Until next time, remember:
'Luck comes and goes...Knowledge Stays Forever.'
The Top Texas Holdem Poker Starting Hands
Every Poker player knows that you don’t play every hand you’re dealt. But, how do you know which hands to play and which to fold?
Best Starting Hands in Texas Holdem Poker to Play
How do you know which starting hands to play?
This is a question that every poker player, amateur or professional, should always be prepared for at the start of every hand, fundamental to poker strategy. You do not want to play every hand, you must know when to fold. If you know which starting hands to play, you can conduct the game in your favour.
Learn Texas Holdem Poker
Here are the Top 10 Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em Poker-
- AA – Pocket Aces or Bullets is the strongest starting hand in poker. Play Strongly, But bear in mind – even though it’s is the best starting hand, you will be left with only one pair if the board doesn’t improve.
- KK – Pocket Kings or Cowboys – The second-best starting hand after Aces. But if an Ace turns up post-flop, you will lose to anyone holding a single Ace in their starting hand.
- QQ – Pocket Queens or Ladies – the third best starting hand with a winning probability of 80% pre-fop.
- JJ – Pocket Jacks or Fishhooks – Pre-flop, it has a 78% chance of winning and is still a still a very strong hand. Be mindful of opponents.
- AKs – Big Slick – Ace King suited is the top unpaired starting hand to have in a game of poker. Also called Anna Kournikova or Kalashnikov (AK rifle) by recreational players
- Ts – TNT or Tension. The nickname for Pocket Tens is because having a pair of tens pre-flop is tense because of the high chance of overcards.
- AQs – Big Chick – Ace Queen suited is another hand with the potential to win the pot.
- AKo – Big Slick – Ace King off-suits also rank high in the chart and is capable of winning at least 40% of the time against any other hand (except aces or kings).
- AJs – Armani Jeans – Ace and Jack suited is better than most other hands. However, if an opponent raises from early position, proceed with caution.
- KQs – Marriage – King and Queen suited is a strong hand that can end up a making Royal Flush.
Holdem Poker Hand Rankings
Other Possible Hands–
Texas Holdem Poker Hands Chart
- Suited Connectors (98s, 76s, T9s)
- Offsuit Connectors (T9o, 98o, 54o, JTo)
- Suited Gappers (97s, T8s, KJs)
*s refers to suited cards (of the same suit)
*o refers to off-suited cards (of different suits)
There are a possible 169 non-equivalent starting hands (ignoring specific suits) in a standard 52-card deck in Texas Hold’em Poker. So, here’s a chart with detailing the win percentage of Texas Holdem starting hands-
A | K | Q | J | T | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
A | 85% | 68% | 67% | 66% | 66% | 64% | 63% | 63% | 62% | 62% | 61% | 60% | 59% |
K | 66% | 83% | 64% | 64% | 63% | 61% | 60% | 59% | 58% | 58% | 57% | 56% | 55% |
Q | 65% | 62% | 80% | 61% | 61% | 59% | 58% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 54% | 53% | 52% |
J | 65% | 62% | 59% | 78% | 59% | 57% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 52% | 51% | 50% | 50% |
T | 64% | 61% | 59% | 57% | 75% | 56% | 54% | 53% | 51% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 47% |
9 | 62% | 59% | 57% | 55% | 53% | 72% | 53% | 51% | 50% | 48% | 46% | 46% | 45% |
8 | 61% | 58% | 55% | 53% | 52% | 50% | 69% | 50% | 49% | 47% | 45% | 43% | 43% |
7 | 60% | 57% | 54% | 52% | 50% | 48% | 47% | 67% | 48% | 46% | 45% | 43% | 41% |
6 | 59% | 56% | 53% | 50% | 48% | 47% | 46% | 45% | 64% | 46% | 44% | 42% | 40% |
5 | 60% | 55% | 52% | 49% | 47% | 45% | 44% | 43% | 43% | 61% | 44% | 43% | 41% |
4 | 59% | 54% | 51% | 48% | 46% | 43% | 42% | 41% | 41% | 41% | 58% | 42% | 40% |
3 | 58% | 54% | 50% | 48% | 45% | 43% | 40% | 39% | 39% | 39% | 38% | 55% | 39% |
2 | 57% | 53% | 49% | 47% | 44% | 42% | 40% | 37% | 37% | 37% | 36% | 35% | 51% |
Top Texas Holdem Starting Hands You Should Pray For
Quick Basics:
- Every player is dealt two cards face down
- Five community cards are placed on the table (whose value is shown as the round progresses).
- All players try to make the best five-card combination from among the board and personal cards and bet on the same.
- Best hand at the end of the round is declared the winner(s) and wins the pot.
It’s only by knowing how to master the basics do you become a poker player who is taken very seriously by his/her opponents. Learn more about the basics of poker-
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