TOP TEN 'HOLD 'EM' HANDS
PLAY THESE HANDS FOR SURE
A good strategy in Texas Hold 'Em is to be patient and wait for what is known as 'power hands. The best hands are 10's or better, and especially aces. Pairs of almost any number will be at least decent hands - and you can limp (that is if nobody has made a substansial raise) and at least take a look at the flop if you have any fairly high suited pair, or a fairly high pair of 'connector cards' such as 7-8 or 8-10 - that can lead to a potential straight.
- POCKET ACES (A/A) - Can also call them 'Pocket Rockets' or 'American Airlines'
- POCKET KINGS (K/K) - 'Cowboys', 'King Kong', or even 'Krispy Kreme' - Actually I made the last one up.
- POCKET QUEENS (Q/Q) - 'The Ladies' - Aces, Kings, and Queens are without question the top three hands.
- A/K SUITED - 'Big Slick', the best off suited hand - A/K, A/Q, and K/Q are said to play better in 'multi-pot' hands.
- A/Q SUITED - 'Big Chick'
- POCKET JACKS - The 'Hooks', ranked #5 or even #4 in some books.
- K/Q SUITED - 'The Couple'
- A/J SUITED - 'AJax'
- A/K OFF-SUIT - The best off-suit, non-pair
- POCKET 10'S (10/10) - 'Dimes', ranked as high as #6 on some charts
Best of the rest...
- POCKET PAIRS - Even low pairs (3's thru 5's) are worth playing, seven and above and you going all-in is a coin flip v. an A/K or an A/J
- J/Q or J/K - The suited version definitely makes the 'Sweet 16' list.
- A/10 - The suited version is close to a top-ten hand, even unsuited is definitely worth a call and perhaps a raise.
- A/8 or A/9 - If you're gettling low and need to make a move (all-in) this isn't a horrible hand, at least you have the ace and only the 5-6 cards can beat you on the kicker.
- Q/10 OR K/9 - It depends, if you are late position and no one has raised substansially - then it's worth a look. If you're early position and have one of the larger stacks - I'd probably call or perhaps a slight raise. If early position and with a short stack, I'd wait for the blinds and/or a power hand to come around.
