20 Nov 2024 Beginner This material is for beginner players hand charts ranges In Texas Hold’em, knowing how to choose your starting hands is essential. This skill helps you avoid getting involved in pots with weak hands that could cost you money in the long run. Choosing starting hands simply means selecting strong hands, depending on your position at the table, and folding the weak ones. While it’s true that any hand can win in poker, some hands are much more likely to win than others. By sticking to strong hands, you increase your chances of success over the long run. The Basics of Starting Hand Selection Good starting hand selection is the foundation of successful poker play. Many beginners or inexperienced players choose hands randomly, often based on appearance, such as or , or simply because they haven’t played a hand in a while. Although every hand has a chance to win, some hands give you a much higher probability of success. Optimal starting ranges are calculated using GTO solvers. It is very important to understand and visualize which hands are included in specific ranges. So, let's look at some common examples. Super Premium Starting Hands – Top 2.5% These hands form the "premium tier" of starting hands: These are the best hands, which will be your largest winners over the long run. Premium Starting Hands — Top 5% Besides the super premium hands, there are other strong hands that can win over the long term: These hands allow you to play more pots and still maintain a strong edge. While not as powerful as the premium tier, they are still great hands that can earn you a lot of money. Top 10% Starting Hands These are the top 10% of starting hands. A strong opening range typically used from early positions at full-ring tables. Top 20% Starting Hands These are the top 20% of starting hands. Essentially, this range will be your default from middle position at 6-max tables. Top 43% Starting Hands These are 43% of starting hands. We didn’t choose 40% or 50% because 43% is the optimal default opening range for BTN and SB. Reminder: As your game improves, you can consider expanding your default starting ranges by including more marginal hands, such as suited connectors. However, we strongly recommend that beginners stick to tight starting hands. These hands are more likely to hit the flop well, making post-flop play much easier. Choosing Starting Hands and Table Positions Your position at the table should always play a major role in determining the range of hands you choose to play. For example, from UTG, you should play a range three times tighter than from the BTN. Here are the default opening ranges for all positions at a 6-max table: UTG: 15% HJ: 19% CO: 27% BTN: 43% SB: 43% Why is position so important? Acting first gives later players a significant advantage over you. To avoid getting into difficult situations, you should avoid entering pots too loosely out of position. Acting first means you have no information about your opponent’s hand strength. Playing with a weak/medium-strength hand can lead to situations where you’re unsure if you’re ahead or behind. These types of spots are where much of the money is lost in poker. To avoid them, you need to play a stronger range from early positions, making it easier to determine whether you’re ahead or behind. The position will compensate for the fact that our range may be weaker than opponent's one. However, we should still be prepared to fold when in position, as no one can guarantee that we will win every hand — we will simply have an advantage. Conclusions As you play and gain experience, it's a good idea to start experimenting and expanding your ranges (within reason). However, if you are still a beginner, I strongly recommend sticking to tighter ranges, as this will give you the best chance to win and avoid difficult decisions. If you enter pots with weak hands, you should expect poor results. Don’t give in to the temptation to enter a pot with a weak hand just because it looks nice or is suited, because more often than not, this will lead to trouble.
