What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem

8-2 8-2 earns a place among the worst starting hands in Texas Hold’em for precisely the same reason that 7-2 does. Suited or not, you’d do well to hold or fold this hand. Tie: 8-3 and 7-3 While these are slightly better than the first two, they’re some of the worst starting hands known to man. Holding 2 and 7 off suit is considered the worst hand in Texas Hold'em. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight (there are five cards between 2 and 7). Even if they are suited, they will make you a very low flush, and if either makes pairs, it is still a low hand. In Texas Hold’em a hand where aces, kings and queens pair up preflop is very rare. At a 9 player table this scenario unfolds roughly every 17,000 hands. The odds are 1:16,830 and the probability is 0.006%. Texas Holdem Poker strategies are often the talking point for most Poker fans as your game can enhance quite dramatically with better planning and strategical. Tristan Wade is often seen when compared to the straight forward player with easy strategies that might help for human being. However, in this article I will just detail the ten best and the ten worst starting hands. The Ten Best Hands. If you want to be a great Texas Holdem Poker player, you need to know which hands you should play and which hands you should fold. The following is a list of the ten best starting hands and it is a good place to start your education.

1. What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem Tournaments
2. What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem Tournament
3. What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdemem
4. What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem Play

Decision-making is the key to success in poker, and Texas Hold’em is not an exception. As the saying goes, you gotta know when to hold’em and when to fold’em. This is particularly important at the start of the game.

The pre-flop phase is where you lay the groundwork for the latter stages. If you do well, you will have easier decisions. This is why every Texas Hold’em strategy starts with your pocket hands and what ranges to play from each position.

There is a lot of context and a lot of aspects to consider. However, there are situations when folding a certain pocket hand before the flop is simply impossible. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Pocket Aces

Quite an obvious start, but it doesn’t get any better than that when it comes to starting hands in Texas Hold’em. The aces are always a favorite, and the only way you won’t be ahead is if you face the other two.

This is why you can’t really fold aces; it’s like burning money. Whether it’s a tournament or a cash game, you can’t let go. Every other action might be correct under certain circumstances.

You could limp them and play it tricky. You could raise to make the pot bigger or even push if you believe you could get all the chips in the middle. However, you can’t fold.

Okay, technically, I’ve seen theoretical scenarios where it would be correct to fold aces.

If you’re playing a satellite and you will certainly get a ticket if you keep folding. Still, someone has to actually eliminate the short stacks at some point, and what better hand to do so than pocket aces?

I’ve been playing poker for more than 10 years now and have never folded aces pre-flop. And frankly, I don’t think I ever will. I suggest you to follow suit unless you want to anger the poker gods out there. It’s downright insulting to them when someone folds pocket aces.

Pocket Kings Against an Aggressive Maniac

Okay, so next in line is the second-best pocket hand in Texas Hold’em – two kings. It’s a monster before the flop and way ahead against pretty much any other hand beside two aces. It dominates lower pairs 4 to 1, which is why this starting hand is so powerful.

Still, there are situations in Texas Hold’em when it is considered a good idea to fold your kings before the flop.

If there are a bunch of players all-in, or a super nitty opponent’s play is just screaming he has aces.

There’s nothing wrong with considering the fold as an option under certain circumstances. However, there is one particular spot where you shouldn’t ever fold pocket kings, and that’s when you’re facing an aggressive maniac.

You all know the kind. People who are raising, re-raising, and going all-in pretty much every single hand. Usually, they don’t really care about the money and are simply looking for action. Or they could believe they are some kind of poker prodigy that can do whatever they want and bluff everyone out of the hand.

You can expect some weird bluffs with weak hands and downright ridiculous moves from such maniacs. This is the reason you should never, ever fold kings against them. You are always ahead against their range, period.

Okay, you might eventually face aces, but that would be a total coincidence, and so rare that’s is not worth considering. Simply put your chips in the middle of the table without thinking too much. The cowboys will do the rest

Any Two Cards from the SB in a Limped Family Pot

This one is a bit different and doesn’t really come from the hand you have, but from the particular situation. Imagine the following: you are on the small blind and the whole table before you has limped. You have the chance to see a flop for half a blind against tons of people.

The pot odds you get are so good that you should play any two pocket cards. Also, the implied odds are exceptional. If you hit something really big, it’s almost certain that someone will get hooked. After all, everyone at the table is involved.

Sure, there’s a chance the big blind might spoil the hand for everyone and raise, but you will rarely see it happen. Even if you consider this, you still get good odds, and even the worst hands are worth a shot.

So when this happens, don’t be too strict. If there’s a time to play garbage like 8-2 offsuit, this is it. Embrace the moment, as you can potentially win a large pot with a tiny investment. And on top of that, you can do it with pocket cards you wouldn’t normally play. If that’s not fun, I don’t know what is!

Any Two Against a Raise When You Saw the Hand of Your Opponent

Okay, before I proceed, I should clarify something. Don’t try to see what your opponent has. At least don’t make an effort to do it; it’s close to cheating and considered rude on the poker table.

However, if the other player is careless enough to reveal his hand without noticing, you should take advantage. After all, one of the most important rules in poker is that you are on your own. The other players are on the table to take your money, so you should protect yourself.

So, if someone is not doing that, it’s not immoral to take advantage. If you happen to see his cards, you have a great opportunity to take on him after the flop. Such an information changes the whole hand and gives you an enormous advantage.

You could win by hitting the better hand or bluff the guy under the right circumstances.

When you know what your opponent has, no hand is too weak. You should call his raise even with the likes of 3-9 and 2-8. Simply put, your pocket hand doesn’t really matter and you shouldn’t fold.

When You Have 2-7 and There’s a 2-7 Challenge Going On

We all know that 2-7 offsuit is considered the worst starting hand in Texas Hold’em. Statistically, that’s not quite true, but that’s a topic for another time.

A lot of people in live games like to have some fun and go for the 2-7 challenge. You will see it in home games and sometimes in live casinos when the whole table agrees. It’s interesting to note that it was part of the High Stakes Poker TV show.

If you haven’t heard about this side game, it’s pretty simple. If you manage to win a hand with 2-7, each player on the table is obliged to give you some money, usually ten or even twenty big blinds. It doesn’t really matter how you win; it could be by bluffing or by reaching a showdown.

Such a side bet makes the game very interesting. It’s sometimes hard to distinguish if you are facing aces or 2-7. The dynamics are completely changed, and this is the reason a lot of people love it.

It also changes the math behind the weakest hand in Texas Hold’em. As you could imagine, the added value is crucial. You will be able to take half a buy-in or even a full one, depending on the particular agreement. This makes 2-7 impossible to fold under any circumstances.

Final Words

As you can see, Texas Hold’em is flexible, but there are situations where the correct decision is obvious. You should always play these hands, as there is value for the taking. Even if you feel like this is one of the very rare cases when folding is correct, trust me, that’s not true.

Table Of Contents

Do you want to know what beats what in poker? Use the official poker hands rankings chart and seem them from best to worst!

Whether you play live at your local casino or card room, you have your home game going, or you prefer the online action at websites like PokerStars, 888Poker, or partypoker, you need to learn the order of poker hands from best to worse.

Use the list of poker hands below to know what beats what in poker.

Commit this poker hands ranking list to memory today and print it if you need it (there's a button for it at the bottom). Knowing the correct poker hands rank is key to start making winning poker hands.

What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem Tournaments

Poker Hands From Best To Worst

Poker Hands From Best To Worst

Not Sure What Beats What in Poker?

Many consider poker less of a gambling game than other casino games. For that to be true, players need to improve their understanding of game play and the strategy required to be a winning player.

The first step toward learning how to play poker is to learn the poker hand rankings.

Most poker players have these rankings memorized, which allows them to think about other things at the table when deciding the best way to play their hands.

The good news is these hand rankings tend to be the same among a wide variety of poker variants, whether it is Texas Hold'em, Omaha, seven-card stud, or other games.

All of those games use the same traditional poker hand rankings that were first developed way back in the 19th century when five-card draw first started to be played.

On this page, you find a complete list of poker hand rankings going from the highest possible hand (the Royal Flush), down to the lowest hand in which there is no pair among the five cards.

Hand rankings in poker correspond to the likelihood of making such hands.

A royal flush, consisting of the cards ranked ace through ten all being the same suit, is extremely rare — in fact, some players go their entire lives without making a royal flush.

A regular straight flush with any five consecutive cards of the same suit is a little less rare, four of a kind occurs slightly more frequently, and so on.

Notice that a full house is ranked higher than a flush.

That's because a full house comes just a little less frequently than a flush, thereby making it the higher-ranked hand of the two.

Additional readings for beginners:

• Poker Tips: A collection of tips 'to bring your game from 'meh' to amazing' created to help beginners become better players.
• Texas Hold'em Strategy: a complete manual to read as soon as you start to remember what beats what in poker.
• Poker starting hands chart: the only article you need to read to learn how to use your cards to the fullest.

Understanding Winning Poker Hands

Players new to the game of Texas hold'em often struggle, at least at first, with what the best poker hands are.

Once they have read this easy-to-digest guide that will no longer be the case.

The aim of Texas hold'em is to make the best five-card poker hand at showdown.

You can win without having to show your cards if you force someone to fold before the river. Nonetheless, for the purpose of this article, we'll pretend that we've gone to showdown and need to know what beats what in poker.

Winning Poker Hands: What Are The Best Hands In Poker?

First up is the weakest possible holding you can make in poker, a hand that can still win you the pot, although the likelihood of that happening decreases in a pot involving multiple players.

We are of course talking about high card.

As the name suggests, you don't even hold a pair here and instead are using the highest card among the five you are playing.

Example:

You have and the board has come .

Your best five-card hand would be where you would hold queen-high.

Next up is one pair, one of the more common Texas hold'em hands and one that will win you plenty of pots.

Example:

You have and the board comes .

Your five-card hand is — you have a pair of aces. Nice poker hand!

One place higher up on the poker hands chart is two pair.

Example:

You have and the five community cards are .

Your best five-card hand at showdown is or two pair, tens and nines.

One note of warning on this specific poker hand: if you are verbally declaring your hand, try to announce the higher pair first as to help avoid confusion.

Good Poker Hands

Now we're getting into the realm of the best poker hands because once you make three-of-a-kind (sometimes called a set or trips), you are much more likely to win the pot than with any of the previously mentioned hands.

Example:

Your five-card poker hand is — you have three-of-a-kind kings, often a very powerful hand in hold'em.

To beat three-of-a-kind you're going to need at least a straight.

A straight is five consecutive cards where at least one of them is a different suit from the others.

Example:
Should your hand read you would hold a six-high straight.

If someone held a seven-high straight, then that player would win the hand.

There are two straights that have nicknames that are worth remembering.

A wheel is a straight that runs from ace-to-five, and a Broadway straight — the strongest straight — runs from ten-to-ace.

A flush is one of the most powerful Texas hold'em hands because it is only beaten by a handful of others.

Any hand that that has five cards of the same suit is a flush.

Aces are always high when it comes to flushes, which means a hand such as beats .

There are few hands that can beat a flush — one that does is a full house. Also called a 'boat,' a full house is when your five-card hand is made up of three of a kind plus a pair.

Example:

With you have kings full of deuces, while is fives full of queens.

When it comes to full houses, the higher three of a kind determines which hand wins, so in this case 'kings full' would beat 'fives full.'

The Stronger Hands in Poker

The next three holdings are so rare that if you hold them, you can almost guarantee that they are winning poker hands.

Four of a kind is the minimum holding you'll need to beat someone with a full house.

Again, as the name suggests, four of a kind means having four cards of the same rank.

Example:

is four-of-a-kind tens and an extremely powerful holding.

Your only way to beat four of a kind, or 'quads' as they are often called, is to hold either a straight flush or a Royal Flush.

The former is five consecutive cards all of the same suit, so would be an eight-high straight flush and practically unbeatable.

If you manage to make (or the same holding in any of the other three suits), you have a Royal Flush and the only way to lose the hand would be to fold by accident!

Poker Hands Probability

If you are into numbers (most poker players are), you might be wondering about the probability of poker hands.

We said that she platers might go entire lives without ever getting the highest hand in poker but, looking at the numbers, what are the odds of a Royal Flush?

In this section of our complete analysis of the poker hand ranking and what beats what in poker, you get a clear overview of the probability of poker hands.

How to calculate the probability of poker hands?

When you know that there are 52 cards in play and 2,598,960 possible combinations, the calculation is easy.

You just need to divide the number of possibilities to build a specific poker hand by the number of total poker hands.

Let's run a few examples:

What are the odds of a Royal Flush? 0.000,001,539
(4/2,598,960)

What are the odds of a Straight Flush? 0.000,015,39
(40/2,598,960)

Use the table below to calculate the probabilities of all poker hands.

Absolute Value vs. Relative Value of Poker Hands

It should be noted also that while poker hand rankings never change, sometimes circumstances can make a good hand less valuable and a poor hand more valuable.

What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem Tournament

In other words, when it comes to poker hands there's a difference between absolute value (reflected in the list of poker hands above) and relative value.

For instance, in a game of Texas hold'em, if you have two pair that might seem like a good hand.

But if your opponent keeps betting into you and it's possible he could have a straight or flush, your two pair is no longer looking so good.

Meanwhile, if you have just one pair but your opponent keeps checking to give you a free play at the pot, you might well have the strongest hand and should bet your hand.

The 'absolute' value of your hand may not be great, but in that case the 'relative' value very well could be.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that in some games like razz, deuce-to-seven triple draw, Badugi, and others you might encounter when playing online poker, the hand rankings listed below do not apply.

These hand rankings are for regular or 'high-card' games, not 'lowball' games with alternate hand rankings.

Poker Hand Rankings F.A.Q.

What is the order of poker hands?

As shown in the poker hand rankings chart, the order of poker rankings (from the highest to the lowest) is: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.

What is the best hand in poker?

The Royal Flush is the best hand in poker. To have a Royal Flush, you need an Ace, a King, a Queen, a Jack, and a 10. All the cards that compose the hand need to be of the same suit.

What beats what in poker?

As you can see in our poker hand rankings chart, the hands in poker follow a clear hierarchy.

In a game of poker, the hand rankings work as follows:

• a pair beats a high card;
• a two pair beats a one pair;
• a three-of-a-kind beats a two pair;
• a straight beats a three-of-a-kind;
• a flush beats a straight;
• a full house beats a flush;
• a four-of-a-kind beats a full house;
• a straight flush beats a four-of-a-kind;
• a Royal Flush beats a straight flush.

The Royal Flush is the best hand in poker, so no one other hands beat this one.

What is a straight in poker?

You have a straight when all the five cards that compose your poker hand are consecutive ones. E.g. 5-6-7-8-9.

If the cards are of the same suit, you have a straight flush, which is a considerably stronger hand compare d to the simple straight.

What beats a straight in poker?

Although many see the straight as a stronger hand, there are many other poker hands that beat it.

The list of hands that beat a straight includes:

• a flush;
• a full house;
• a four-of-a-kind;
• a straight flush;
• a Royal Flush.

What beats a flush in poker?

The list of hands that beat a flush includes:

• a full house;
• a four-of-a-kind;
• a straight flush;
• a Royal Flush.

What beats a full house in poker?

The list of hands that beat a full house includes:

• a four-of-a-kind;
• a straight flush;
• a Royal Flush.

What is the highest suit in poker?

All the suits in poker have the same value. In some games, different suits can be assigned different values.

When that happens, the value is as follow (from the lowest to the highest): clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades. In that case, spades is the highest suit.

How many poker hands are there?

The total number of poker hands in a game of poker is 2,598,960. Since a game of poker uses a 52-card deck of French cards, there are 2,598,960 different possible combinations (aka. poker hands).

What hands to play in poker?

The type of hands to play in a poker game depends on the game you play and other factors like your position in the hand, your stack, and the action at the table.

In a famous poker strategy article, professional player Jonathan Little shared which hands to play in poker and how to play marginal hands.

What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdemem

Can you make three pairs?

Although it is possible to hold a pair in your hand and then have another two pair appear among the five community cards, you can only use a total of five cards to make your poker hand, so you don't win anything for three pairs.

Which is better, a set or trips?

They are both essentially the same hand because they are both three of a kind.

The terminology 'set' is used when you have a pair as your hole cards and then catch another one of those cards on the board.

What Are The Worst Hands In Texas Holdem Play

'Trips' is when there is a pair on the board and you have another of those cards as one of your hole cards.

Sets are easier to disguise than trips so many consider them to be a better hand, although they both rank the same.

What is a chopped or split pot?

If you and an opponent have the same five-card poker hand, then the pot is divided equally between you.

Say you have and your opponent has , and the board comes .

You both would be playing the same five-card hands in terms of their value (A-J-T-8-3), and so would split the pot.

If there is four of a kind on the board, who wins?

Because the aim is to make a five-card poker hand, whoever has the highest fifth card in this case wins.

If the board reads and you have in your hand and your opponent has , then you win because you hand is 7-7-7-7-A and your opponent's is 7-7-7-7-K.

You would also win even if your opponent holding was in this example.

Are the suits ranked in Texas hold'em?

No, they are not. Some poker variants have different ranks for suits, but hold'em is not one of them.

Why did my 4-4-4-T-T lose to my opponent's 7-7-7-8-8?

As mentioned earlier, it is the three-of-a-kind element of a full house that dictates the winner.

If you're new to the game and want a reference of all of Texas hold'em hands, you can keep this page open or you could always download and print our poker hands ranking chart and keep it next to you while you're playing poker.

Useful Poker Tools

• Poker Odds Calculator: Add your cards to the calculator to discover your chances to win the hand.
• How to use PokerStars Tools to Your Advantage: As a beginner, this article can save your life! Let us show you how you can use all the tools available on the PokerStars client to become an outstanding poker player!

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