• Best Starting Poker Hands Holdem Tournaments
• Best Starting Hands Holdem

Hand History Converter for Bodog Poker, and Ignition Casino. Neither Holdem Manager or Poker Tracker supports the importing of Ignition poker hand histories into their databases. Without this information, you’ll never be able to review your hands, stats, or track your progress. Below you'll find a list of Texas Hold'em starting hands organized by relative strength.The following charts contains every 2-card possible combination you can be dealt in Texas Hold'em. Each hand is followed by its long-term winning percentage (out of 100, of course) against a specific number of opponents holding random cards. Only one offsuit non-pair makes it into my list of the top 10 best starting hands for Texas Holdem Poker — the “big slick,” an ace-king. 10-10 This is the only starting hand in the top 10 without a face card: a pair of tens (aka “dimes”). Some players believe that a suited king-jack is a stronger starting hand.

Top 10 starting hands in Texas Hold ‘Em

Some people might disagree with me but hey this is my blog.

1. Ace-Ace

A pair of aces, also known as “pocket rockets” (and sometimes “American Airlines”) is the best starting hand for Texas Hold ‘Em.

2. King-King

Second on the list is a pair of kings, also known as “cowboys” or “King Kong.”

3. Queen-Queen

A pair of queens, also known as “ladies,” rounds out the top three best starting hands for Texas Holdem Poker.

4. Ace-King (suited)

This is where people start to disagree. A suited ace-king, also known as “big slick,” is my pick as the fourth best starting hand for Texas Hold ‘Em.

5. Ace-Queen (suited)

The suited “big chick,” or “little slick,” the nicknames given to a pocket ace-queen, is fifth on the list.

Best Starting Poker Hands Holdem Tournaments

6. Jack-Jack

A pair of jacks — also known as “hooks” or “fishhooks” — checks in at number six on my list.

7. King-Queen (suited)

A suited royal couple, king-queen, is next in the list of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker’s most powerful starting hands.

8. Ace-Jack (suited)

Nicknamed “blackjack” for obvious reasons, and sometimes called “ajax,” the ace-jack combo rates eighth.

9. Ace-King (offsuit)

Only one offsuit non-pair makes it into my list of the top 10 best starting hands for Texas Holdem Poker — the “big slick,” an ace-king.

10. 10-10

This is the only starting hand in the top 10 without a face card: a pair of tens (aka “dimes”). Some players believe that a suited king-jack is a stronger starting hand.

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When it comes to Texas Hold’em, the cards that you start with are only a part of the puzzle when it comes to determining whether you will win or not. Even so, it is important to know which are the best starting poker hands. Knowing whether you start out with a significant advantage should help you make decisions when it comes to folding, calling or raising at each step of the hand.

#1: Pocket Aces

Obviously, this would be a pair of aces. This is the very best way to start out your hand of Texas Hold’em. If you draw pocket aces, the hand that has the best chance of beating you one-on-one is 5-6 of the same suit. Of all the best poker hands, this is the top of them all.

#2: Pocket Kings

This would be the second-best way to start a hand. For those who don’t think optimistically, though, kings are referred to as “ace magnets.”

#3: Pocket Queens

Oftentimes this turns out to be an overpair to the flop. Just in case you’re not noticing a trend in these hands, look at the next one.

#4: Pocket Jacks

Best Starting Hands Holdem

Jacks are called fishhooks by poker players. However, there are some poker players who have a difficult time dealing with jacks, but a pair of them is still a great way to start.

#5: Suited King-Ace (King and Ace of the same suit)

Of the best poker hands that are not a pocket pair of face cards, this is the best way to start. This hand is also called “big slick.” Of course, it is possible to miss the flop with king-ace, but you’ll learn how to avoid that mistake.

#6: Pocket Tens

This is another hand you can play aggressively, unless you see a ton of action on the table with you, because that means that someone might have one of the hands listed above.

#7: Ace-King Off Suit (King and Ace of different suits)

If you draw this, you have about a 50-50 chance to win against just about any holding that isn’t ace-king.

#8: Suited Queen-Ace

You get a lot of postflop playability with this hand. You’ll run into a lot of tough top pairs this way, and on a queen-high flop you’ll have the high pair top kicker.

#9: Pocket Nines

This is a great hand to play preflop. You can call a raise, raise yourself, or do some 3-betting here.

#10: Suited Jack-Ace

Similar to the suited queen-ace, you get a lot of playability postflop, along with a chance at a few tough top pairs at the flop. There is also a lot of potential for the straight and flush.

#11: Suited King-Queen

This is one of the best poker hands when it comes to flop interaction. Flushes and straights become a possibility, along with some tough top pairs.

#12: Suited Ten-Ace

Again, you have top pair, straight and flush possibilities. There is a slightly larger gap in between the cards, which is why it ranks below suited king-queen.

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