Texas Hold’em strategy: starting hands and preflop play

Why starting hands matter most

Most of your chips are won or lost because of decisions you make before the flop. If you start with better hands than your opponents, especially in good position, every later decision gets easier. New players lose most often by playing too many weak hands out of position.

Hand categories

There are 169 distinct starting hands. Group them like this:

• Premium: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK. Raise and re-raise.
• Strong: TT, 99, AQ, AJs, ATs, KQs, KJs, QJs. Raise from most seats.
• Playable: 88–66, AJo, ATo, KQo, suited broadways, small suited aces, suited connectors like T9s and 98s. Raise from middle and late position.
• Speculative: small pairs (55–22) and suited connectors (87s–54s). These hope to flop sets and big draws, so they want late position and deep stacks.

“s” means suited (same suit) and “o” means offsuit. Suited hands win more often because they can make flushes, but they are still only a few percent better than offsuit hands. Don’t overrate them.

Play more hands the later your position

In a 6-max game, a sensible beginner plan is:

• Under the gun (UTG): premium and strong hands only.
• Hijack and cutoff: add most playable hands.
• Button: your widest range, including speculative hands.
• Small blind: raise or fold. Calling out of position is a leak.
• Big blind: defend by calling with hands that play well, since you already have one big blind in.

Raise sizes

When you are the first player in, raise to about 2.5 big blinds (a little bigger in games with many callers). If players have already limped, add one big blind for each limper. Use the same size with all your hands so your bet doesn’t give away your strength.

Facing a raise

When someone raises before you, tighten up. Their range is stronger than a random hand.

• Re-raise (3-bet) with your best hands, and occasionally with suited aces as a bluff.
• Call with hands that play well after the flop, preferably when you’ll have position.
• Fold the rest, including weak offsuit aces like A8o that are dominated by better aces.

A simple flop plan

After the flop, ask three questions:

1. Who has the stronger range? The preflop raiser usually does, especially on high-card boards.
2. How strong is my hand now? Is it a strong made hand, a medium hand, a draw or nothing?
3. Who acts last? In position you can control the pot size more easily.

Then:

• Strong hands and good draws: bet or raise to build the pot.
• Medium hands (like second pair): keep the pot small. Check and call, or check behind.
• Nothing on a board that favours you: a small continuation bet often wins the pot.
• Nothing on a board that favours them: give up cheaply.

Common beginner leaks

• Calling too much preflop instead of raising or folding
• Playing weak aces and suited junk from early position
• Chasing draws without the right pot odds
• Slow-playing big hands on dangerous boards
• Paying off big river bets with one pair against tight players