In this section we will advise you of the strength of your hole cards and when to holdem, foldem, call, or raise.

The Strongest Starting Hands

High Pairs - AA (Rockets/Bullets), KK (Cowboys/King Kong), QQ (Hilton Sisters/Ladies),

JJ (Hooks), 1010 (Tin Men)

Ace and high card that is suited - AK (Big Slick in a Suite), AQ(Little Slick/Miss Slick),

AJ (Ass Jack), A10 (Johnny Moss)

Face Cards that are suited - KQ (Royal Couple/Marriage), KJ (KoJack), QJ(OJ/Maverick)

Ace and a King - AK (Big Slick)

Medium Strength Hands

Face cards suited with a ten - K10, Q10, J10

Medium Pairs - 99 (Wayne Gretzky), 88 (Snowmen) , 77(Walking Sticks/Mullets)

Two High Cards - AQ, AJ, A10 (ace king ranks higher, above), KQ down to J10

Ace and a medium suited card - A9, A8, A7

Medium suited connectors (No Gap/One Gap) - J9, 109, 108, 98, 97 down to 75


Other hands to consider depending on the situation:

Low Pairs - 66 (Kicks), 55 (Speed Limit), 44 (Sail Boats/Colt 44), 33 (Crabs), 22 (Ducks)

Ace and a suited low card - A6, A5, A4, A3, A2

Low suited connectors (No Gap/One Gap) - 65, 64, 54, 53


General Position Play w/ Hole Cards:
In early position (Seats 1-3 after the big blind) play hands that are strong starting hands as well as medium strength hands that consist of medium pairs and two high cards.

In middle position (Seats 4-6 after the big blind) play hands same as early position but adding Face Cards with a ten and low pairs.

In late position (Final 4 seats left to bet) play hands as in early and middle positions, but adding Ace suited and medium connectors.


Holdem or Foldem:
When to holdem or foldem? Well, that depends. When holding AA it is almost impossible to fold pre-flop since you can’t be behind against any other two hole cards. When holding KK it is nearly the same as holding AA because the odds that someone is holding the one hand that can beat you is 1 in 204. It is possible to lay down KK preflop when and only when you put a player on AA.

AK is a strong hand and can be played ultra aggressive especially in tournament play. However, in cash play it is not advisable to race for all your chips based on a race you are likely behind against something such as 22. Yes, believe it or not 22 is a better hand than AK preflop and has a slight advantage to win the hand 52% to 48% in favor of 22. However, to put your chip stack at stake with either hand isn’t advisable in most circumstances. This brings us to a most important juncture, and that is that you should only put your chips at risk when you are confident that you are at least a 70-30 favorite to win the hand or when you want to put your opponent to a decision when you have a hand like an open end straight flush draw. Otherwise, the only time to risk your stack with either of these two hands is when you are short stacked in a tournament and need to double up.

The same could be said for hands such as AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ and so on. These particular hands get players in trouble more than any other because they are considered strong starting hands they are usually dominated by a hand who either calls or at best puts you in a race situation. For example, you hold AQ, and bet 3x’s the big blind in early position. A player raises your bet with a player following him or her raising that raise. Now what do you do? In some circumstances you can push all in to force the other two players to want to race depending on the players stacks and betting habits. However, for all intents and purposes, in most situations the right move to make is to fold, especially when it will cost you a large portion of your stack. When holding a strong hand like AQ it is always recommended that you make a raise of 3-6 X’s the big blind. What you accomplish by doing this is that you are representing a big hand and you are inviting players to try and crack your big cards. It also allows you to build the pot. However, when you are raised, you are most likely dominated by an AA, KK, QQ, AK or you are going to be racing to smaller pairs like JJ and 88.

Lastly, when do you hold 7-2? Never!!! Except in heads up play where you want to make a move, which isn’t advisable. Remember you really should only make a move if you have outs to win the hand. The only other scenario it is ok to hold 7-2 is if you have the hand in big blind and it checks all the way around to you.