As soon as the player places the blind and the dealer draws the preflop cards, the game begins. At this early stage, some players wanted to raise the stakes. Others may throw their cards away, without even waiting for a card to be brought. A flop can always turn the tide, but how do these players know what to do before they get to base? Starting Poker cards can easily dictate player actions, right from the start. Here, we’ll look at the different types of starting Poker hands you can handle and how you can use them.
Starting Poker point
Before diving into all the different 2-card combinations you can draw, you must analyze your position on the table. Positions change with each round and the betting cycle moves clockwise, giving everyone at the table the opportunity to raise their bets.
- Little blind man
- BIg blind
- According to Gun
- Middle position 1
- MP2
- Hijack
- Cut Off
- Knot
Types of starting Poker hands
There are 169 different two-card combinations you can draw in Texas Hold’em poker. This includes 13 pairs of bags, 78 matching hands and 78 unmatched hands.
Pocket bag
A pair of high pockets is the best hand you can be dealt. Ace-Ace, King-King or Queen-Queen are considered superior pairs and with these pairs you already have a solid base. The average pair is anything from a pair of 7 to a pair of 10. These still have value but you won’t want to play as aggressively as you would with the premium pairs. With a pair of 2 to 6, you have a good chance, but you should not try to raise. If a player is raising large amounts in the pot then throwing away a small pair is not a bad option.
Matching/off-dress sleeves
You will only know if your matched hand gives you a big advantage after the hand has been dealt. The opposite happens with offsuit hands, as those three common hands can suddenly open up the possibility of a flush, and if you have an offsuit hand, you’re immediately at a disadvantage. Suitable hands cannot be pairs, but if they are in order this can give you a slight advantage.
Connector/Gapper
If you have two cards in a sequence, such as 8 and 9 of hearts or King and Queen of clubs, these are connecting cards. The likelihood of a straight win is greatly increased because you now only need 3 of the 5 community cards to win you. Despite such good potential, chances are high that you’d still be better off owning a pocket bag. After the flop, you can usually make a decision as to whether the odds of forming a straight are in your favor or not.
Gapper is even more suspicious, as these are sequential cards with spaces in between. 4 and 6 or 7 and 9 are distance one while 4 and 7 or 7 and 10 are distance two.
With both connectors and clearances, you’ll be much better off if you have the right hands. This opens up the possibility of forming a straight flush as well as a straight flush, and in the best case, even a straight flush.
Advice for newcomers
It’s not easy to evaluate your starting Poker hand, especially when you’re new to the game. In general, you can never go wrong with pocket pairs and no matter where you are at the table, always raise with a queen pair or higher. King-Ace, whether suitable or not, is always worth raising and so is Queen-Ace, unless you have an early position and someone else has already raised. In any case, a 4-5 suit or a 7-8 outer suit is worth throwing away. Also, always fold those with distances under 5-7 and those with four distances – as these will almost never yield results.
Here are some additional tips to consider.
Stay at a table
It’s always better to sit at a table, as you can better understand your opponents and improve your casino game. If you are constantly being dealt bad cards or not playing well, it is better to rest instead of changing tables. You can always come back later and try again.
Don’t be afraid to rush
If you have a poor starting Poker deck, don’t be afraid to get rid of them immediately. It’s definitely harder if you’re a small or big blind, because your money is already in the pot. Don’t worry too much about burning your curtains, though, because you can save a lot of money if you play carefully. Also, you don’t want to be the one limping around the table, playing every round and constantly losing.
Conclude
Once you gain experience and have built your confidence, you will immediately recognize good starting Poker hands. This comes with time and patience. Starting Poker hands can certainly dictate play, but much of the game is based on outwitting other players. You can have a very poor hand but play an excellent poker hand and win. Additionally, you may think you’ve caught a player only to find that they have a better hand than yours. Anything can happen and that’s why it’s such a popular game at Jilievo.
