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Strong starting hand selections saves you from sticky situations

When playing Texas HoldEM Poker, it is crucial that you have a strong starting hand selection. If you have a good starting hand selection, it will inhibit you from joining pots with inferior hands that could later lead you to lose money.

While it is true that any hand can win in Texas HoldEM Poker and in other poker games, there are specific hands that enable you to win more pots. If you choose to cling with good hands, you'd be eventually rewarded with better game results.

Starting Hand Selection Basics

Top Level

Hands like big connecting cards and big pocket pairs are usually considered good for Texas HoldEm poker. Some of them would be the following:

  • AKs (The small "s" specifies that cards are suited, increasing the likelihood that they will make a flush, thus raising the card's value.)
  • QQ
  • KK
  • AA

If these were the only starting hand selection to be dealt, you would have a higher chance to win bigtime. Additionally, even if you folded your other hands but only dealt this selection, there is still a strong probability that you'd win money. Unfortunately, this would only be effective at novice levels when players won't notice that you are only playing with premium hands.

Second Level Starting Hands Selection

Aside from the hands mentioned above, there are also other great hands that can win you money. Examples include the following:

  • AJs
  • AQs
  • KQs
  • AK
  • JJ
  • TT

Texas HoldEM Top 10 Starting Hands

As a poker tip, if you are a newbie, using these starting hands will definitely win you money:

  • A A
  • K K
  • A K (suited)
  • A Q (suited)
  • Q Q
  • K Q (suited)
  • A J (suited)
  • J J
  • A K
  • T T

Selecting Starting Hands and Table Positions

Your table position is directly related to the determination of the hands that you deal. If you are in an early position seat, you should avoid lesser hands and stick with the top two group of hands. However, it is preferable that you do not act first, so choose to be seated in a later position. This way, you can read your opponents and have more information to evaluate just how strong the hands are they're playing. Also, it is better to have two big cards because chances are one of them can be beaten easily by your opponent. Every time you enter a pot, make sure it has the better kicker. Your table position will give you a big advantage when you play. It will help you observe how your opponent plays the game and develop your own poker tips to beat him.