Which Texas hold'em starting hands are best?

How often are you dealt each kind of hand?

Each kind of starting hand comes up at the rates below, counted from a 52-card deck. There are 52 x 51 / 2 = 1,326 two-card hands.

Our own count. Any pair: 13 ranks x 6 combinations. Suited: 4 suits x 78 pairs of ranks.

Why are there 169 kinds of starting hands?

Suits do not matter before the flop except whether your two cards match. That leaves 13 pocket pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit hands: 169 in all.

Which starting hands are strongest?

High pairs and high cards of the same suit are the strongest. Most players treat these as premium hands:

• Pocket aces, kings and queens.
• Ace-king, suited or not.
• Pocket jacks and tens, and ace-queen suited, are strong but easier to beat.

General poker knowledge, not a full strategy.

How often does a pocket pair make three of a kind on the flop?

About 1 time in 8.5, or 11.8%. Of the 19,600 possible flops from the 50 unseen cards, 2,304 contain at least one of your two remaining cards of that rank. Our own count.

Why does position matter?

Players who act last see what everyone else does first, so they can play more hands. Players who act first should play fewer. Online sites deal at the same speed for everyone, so set a budget before you sit down, and see responsible gambling if poker stops being fun.