What are the best starting hands in Texas hold’em? To be successful in hold’em, you need to be selective about the hands you play. A good poker guide is that you should fold the average hands most of the time and wait for big hands to come into the pot. There are a few different categories when considering hands in Texas Hold’em.

Pairs

Two matching cards, anywhere from 22 to AA. If you have a big pair like QQ, KK or AA, in most cases a poker guide is to almost always raise.  You are really looking to get all your chips in the middle pre-flop most of the time.

As pairs get lower, they become more speculative hands.  An unimproved 99, TT or JJ could still be the best hand after the flop.  However, you must proceed carefully.

With lower pairs like 88, 77, 66, etc., what you are really looking to do is flop a set (three of a kind). If you don’t, you should get rid of the hand if there is a bet (with some exceptions, for example, you have 66 and the flop comes 345).

High Cards

Cards like AK and AQ are high card hands. The problem with any high card hand besides AK is that they can be trouble hands. You can flop a dominated hand and get into real trouble.

However, a good poker guide is that if you are first in, you should usually raise with these hands. Play them as aggressively as the board and your opponents will permit.

Connecting Cards

Two consecutive cards like JT or even with some spaces in between, like QT or KT (called one- gappers and two-gappers, respectively. Only play these hands if you can do so cheaply and if they have some high card value as well. These hands don’t hit often, although you can get paid off if they do.

Suited Cards

Two cards of the same suit. Unless they include the ace of the suit and sometimes the king, it’s best to avoid these hands.

You probably won’t flop a flush. Even if you do, you may get no action or get action from someone with a bigger flush.

Suited Connectors

These cards are suited and connecting. They are great to play in late position when you can see a flop cheap and get some great information after the flop.

A good poker guide will say that you need to hit these hands hard, however. If you only get a small piece of the flop, it’s often better to check fold than to call multiple bets on a prayer.