Short Deck Poker Best Starting Hands

Poker Starting Hands - Comprehensive guide to which poker hands you should play, including a 2021 Texas Hold'em poker starting hands chart. In Short-Deck Hold’em the standard 52-card deck that is used in all poker games is culled down to 36 cards by removing all deuces, treys, fours and fives. Short-Deck Poker is also known as Six Plus Poker because the lowest card in the deck is the six. The game can be played with anywhere from 2-10 players but is usually played with six players. This is actually one of the best starting hands in Omaha aside from As Ad Ks Kd, which is typically considered to be the best. Firstly notice that the hand has exactly 2 cards of each suit. This is referred to as a double-suited holding in Omaha. Double-suited holdings are always the best. Let’s compare our As Ad Js Td to a similar holding As. NL Hold’em Starting Hand Charts One aspect of the game of No-Limit Hold’em that causes beginning players much grief is deciding which hands to play and which hands to dump. NL Hold’em is much more difficult than Limit Hold’em because the value of a hand depends on so many factors other than just the cards in your hand. 6-Max Starting Hand Range Charts Solid poker strategy begins with good preflop hand selection. Having well-structured ranges will lead to fewer tough spots and more profitable ones. Here are 6-handed preflop charts for every position at the table (starting from the LJ) from the Upswing Lab.

1. Short Deck Poker Hand Rankings
2. List Of Best Poker Hands
3. Short Deck Poker Online
4. Short Deck Poker Best Starting Hands For Texas Hold Em
5. Short Deck Poker Best Starting Hands Big O Poker
6. Best Starting Hands In Texas Hold'em

A common question amongst beginning poker players is, 'How tight or how loose should I play?' Morespecifically they ask,'What percentage of hands should I play before the flop?' These are goodquestions. However, the answers to them are rather complex. Why? Because poker is a constantly changing game andyour decisions should be adjusted according to your opponents' actions and tendencies.

It's also worth noting that a simple answer to how many starting handsyou should play just doesn't exist. Experienced players will be better at playing post-flop, and thereforewill be able to play a wider range of hands successfully. However, we recommend that beginning poker playersplay a tighter style. The reason? Beginning poker players will have less post-flop experience, which may leadthem to make costly mistakes that experienced players would avoid. New to poker? Check out the basics aboutpoker hands and ranks here.

There are, however, a few general guidelines you may want to follow when you are starting out. Below we outlinethe most important of these:

When to Call and When to Raise

If the action is folded to you and you have a hand you want to play, youshould generally come out raising. If you don't think your hand is good enough to raise with, then justfold. This prevents your opponents from being able to put you on a weak hand (which you would signal by limping)and also forces the other players to put more money into the pot pre-flop when you are holding a good hand.

Starting Hands to Play in Early Position

Early Position (EP) is usually considered to be held by the first three players to act at a 9-handed table. Ithese positions you hav at least 6 players still to act and thus you will need a strong hand to play. Normally,solid players will raise three times the big blind with something like 66+/AQ+ (which is only 6.5% of hands).

This may seem tight, but remember you are risking three big blinds to win only 1.5 big blinds if your sixopponents all fold. On top of that you may also have to play out of position post-flop if you are called.Because of all these disadvantages, it is generally best to have a strong hand before the flop.

Starting Hands to Play in Middle Position

Middle position is considered to be the second and third positions that are to the right of the button. Here wehave fewer people remaining to act, so if we do get called, we get to play in position more often. This meansthat we can start to loosen up a little bit. The most important players to consider are those between us and thebutton, because these are the players we will have to play out of position against after the flop (should theycall).

However, the tighter they are playing, the more hands we can play. But if we are playing against very looseplayers on our left, we still should play somewhat tight. This may seem like a disadvantage, but we will make upfor not playing as many hands by making more money with the hands that we do play. As a baseline we'drecommend raising three times the big blind with hand like like 22+/AT+/KJ+/89s-JQs/A2s-A5s. This is 15.5% of hands. If wehave tight players on our left we can start to raise with hands like 56s-78s and QJ/A9s/K9s/KTs/QTs/J9s.

As you become more confident in your post-flop play, you can also start to add hands in the second category intoyour regular raising range. Just keep in mind that, when you have very loose players on your left, you are goingto have to tighten up a little bit. If you have someone with position on you that is not folding very often, thelast thing you want to do is put money into the pot with 65s, as you are not going to be a winner at showdownvery often.

Starting Hands to Play on the Cutoff & Button

Cutoff (when you are one position before the button) play is going to depend heavily on what the button isdoing. If the button is very tight, you can treat the cutoff position as another button. If the button isplaying 70% of hands, then you will have to tighten up a bit. As a default I'd probably be raising around25% of hands on the cutoff, which comes out to pretty much any pair, any suited ace, A9o+, any broadway (facecards), any suited connectors, as well as K8s+, Q8s+, J8s+, T8s+.

On the button, or on the cutoff with a tight button, you can start to really open up a lot, normally raising 50%(or more) of your hands. You are guaranteed to be in position if you get called, and only have two players toget through anyway. If one, or both, are very 3-bet happy, and you don't feel comfortable playing weakerhands against 3-bets, then you can tighten up a bit. However, even if they are loose and calling a lot pre-flop,you should normally be able to play well enough in position after the flop to still be able to profit from the hand.Essentially, any hand that is not two bad offsuit cards are fair game for raising.

Starting Hands & Table Position Chart

Whether you are an experienced poker player, or just getting to know the game, you might find the Starting HandsChart below helpful to improve your game. You may use the button on top to toggle between suited and unsuitedhands.

Starting Hands from the Small Blind

If it is folded to you in the small blind, then you should be looking to see how tight the big blind is. If theyare very tight, then you can get away with stealing a lot. But, given that the only player left to act getsdecent pot odds to call and will be in position against us post-flop, we generally need to be much tighter herethan we would from the button. The small blind raising range should be similar to cutoff range, assuming thatthe big blind is not very tight. If the big blind is folding 62.5% or more, then we can raise any two cards andstill show a profit. Most people will be below this however, and in that case we need to be a bit more selectiveand be folding the majority of our hands.

Playing Any Position with a Raise in Front

Short Deck Poker Hand Rankings

Generally if there is a raise in front of you, then you are going to need a hand better than theirs to continue,or else you should be holding a hand that has good implied odds. For example, if someone raises in earlyposition and we think they're playing similar to the strategy described here, then the raiser should beholding something like 66+/AQ+. We're not going to make money by calling with hands like AJ or KQ against thesehands, and thus we should just be folding. If we have a hand like 55 however, we might consider a call because if wehit a set we are likely to find our opponent holding an over pair and thus we can make some money from them.

Generally, the rule when hoping to hit a set is this: we win 20x the amount we need to call when we do hit ourset. Why? Because this takes into account that fact that sometimes when we hit a set, our opponent will also hita set, as well as the fact that sometimes they might have a hand like KK and an when an Ace comes on the flopthey might get shy and not pay us off.

When we are 3-betting (re-raising a pre-flop raise), we should always know why we are 3-betting. When firststarting out it is fine to 3-bet when you think you have the best hand and will get called by worse. Once youget comfortable also consider adding in hands that would normally be a fold, so that your 3-bet actually getsyour opponent to fold. Either way, you should always know why you are 3-betting. Never 3-bet just to define yourrange, or to see where you're at, or for any of those kinds of reasons. Only 3-bet if you think you willget called by a range worse than yours, or if we will get hands better than yours to fold.

Starting Hands Winning Odds

Below you will find all hands you may be dealt in poker, together with their corresponding odds of winning.

Tournaments

Early in the game, when stacks are deep, you can play tournaments extremely similar to cash games. As antes kickin, and as stacks get shallower, you will have to make a few minor adjustments. First of all, when antes startaffecting play there is more of a benefit to winning the pot, so you can raise a wider range of your handspre-flop.

When stacks are shallow there is also more benefit to making top pair or overpairs, compared to hitting sets andmaking flushes. Therefore, you should be more inclined to play high-card value hands, rather than pairs and weaksuited connectors. Also, as you start to get 10 or fewer big blinds in your stack, you generally want to beplaying an all-in or fold strategy. Antes normally mean that there are already 2.5 big blinds in the pot, so youget a very good price on your steal, increasing your stack by 25% or more without contest when everyone folds,as well as giving you a chance to more than double up if you get called.

Further Reading

We have a number of great strategy articles available here at CardsChat.com.Our Texas Hold'em Starting Hands guide is a great follow up to thisarticle and has more specific information on which hands to play. It also has charts that you can use whenlearning to play tight, solid poker.

Starting Hands Percentage FAQ

There are 1,326 possible combinations of cards from a standard deck but there are only 169non-equivalent starting hands in poker. This number is made up of 13 pocket pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 unsuited hands.

Pre-flop refers to the phase before the flop (the dealing of the first three face-up cards to theboard). The pre-flop is after blinds have been posted and players have been dealt their pocket hands. Firstbets are played during this phase, which is also called the pre-flop betting round.

There are three concepts that guide pre-flop play: Equity, implied odds and position.Equity can be seen as how much of the pot your hand is worth (i.e. the better your hand, the bigger your equity).Implied odds are the theoretical odds you have of winning as the game progresses, due to your opponents'missteps or more (i.e. the potential winnings for that hand versus the amount you need to make thenext call). Weighing these two up against each other is key in playing the pre-flop phase. Moreinformation on pre-flop terms can be found on our pre-flop concepts page here.

Once you have looked at equity and implied odds, the most important factor toconsider is your position. Broken into early, middle and late, your position refers to when you are able to place your bets.The later your position, the more information you have about your opponents' hands, and the moreaggressive you can be in your pre-flop play.

The best hands to play in poker pre-flop will always be your big pocket pairs (such as Ace-Ace,King-King and Queen-Queen), followed by big-suited connectors (such as suited Ace-King), and, finally, yourbig connectors who do not share a suit.

The best hand in poker is the royal flush. This hand consists of the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10of the same suit.

The royal flush can be formed in four ways (one for each suit) and the odds of being dealt one are649,739:1, or 0.000154%.

Rules for Texas Hold'em

Poker Odds for Dummies

Build Your Bankroll

Poker Improvement

• How are players able to win hand after hand after handI have started playing again cash games. I...
• Use the CardsChat Hand Converter & Replayer for your Cash Game Hand Analysis![COLOR=#222533][FONT=NotoSans]Did you know...
• $2 PLO 6-max: Is this a good thinking-process to review a hand (with real hand)[FONT=Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial,...
• Hand Coverter (Analisis Hand) CCLeague- Debi-Jeff-EdisonIt was a very difficult decision Fold my...

• CardsChat Has a New ebook/Training Course!We are very excited to announce that we have
• How do I play freerolls if my opponents are always all in?Some Freeroll players always put all their
• Is folding one of the most valuable skills in poker?I've been playing poker for a short time
• Always call all in with AA preflop?When 3 or more players go all in. I wanted
• How can I become pro?can someone explain to meand share some

• General Guidelines
• Seven Card Stud
• Limit Texas Hold'em

There are four main categories of starting hands in seven-card stud: Three of a kind, also referred to as rolled-up trips; big pairs; small and medium pairs; and the drawing hands. There are also some other hands that you occasionally should play, but a discussion of them is beyond the scope of this book. However, the starting hand quiz that follows this section provides a few tips on how to play some of these additional hands.

Three of a kind.

This is the best starting hand in seven-card stud, but you won’t get it very often — in fact, on the average of only once in every 425 times you are dealt in.

Because rolled-up trips are so strong, it usually doesn’t matter how you play them. Still, you don’t want to be dealt three queens and win only the antes. So if you are in an early position and think a raise will drive out the other players, you should just call. On the other hand, if several players are already in the pot before the action gets to you, your raise is unlikely to make them fold. But remember, although three of a kind is a powerful hand, it’s not invincible and occasionally does get beat.

Big pairs.

The big pairs are almost always playable and should be played aggressively. The exception is if you are likely to be up against someone who holds a larger pair. In this case, you should consider throwing your hand away, unless your kicker — the side card to your pair — is higher than your opponent’s probable pair.

When you play a big pair, you generally go all the way to the river. However, if your opponent pairs his third-street card (known as the door card) or makes something else threatening — such as a four flush on board — you should usually fold.

Small and medium pairs.

Determining whether to play a small or medium pair can be fairly complicated. The two most important considerations are the availability of the cards you need — that is, whether your hand is live — and the size of your kicker. As already noted, a high card can add value to your hand. Nevertheless, playing a pair of fours when you can see a four across the table is usually a mistake — even if your kicker is an ace.

The drawing hands.

Hands such as three flushes and three straights are often playable. Again, the cards you need must be available, and having a high card is helpful especially if you are heads up. Unlike the pairs, drawing hands have no present value; you play them because they have the potential to become very strong.

Starting Hand Quiz

1. You have been dealt two aces, one in the hole and one up. What should you do?

Raise or reraise when the action gets to you. A pair of aces plays best in a short-handed pot, so raise it up.

2. You have been dealt a three flush, but four of the flush cards you need are out and someone has already raised. What should you do?

List Of Best Poker Hands

Throw your hand away, as it’s just too difficult to make your flush.

3. What if the pot is not raised?

For the same reason, you still should throw your three flush away.

4. You have only three high cards, but the first five players have mucked their hands. What should you do?

Short Deck Poker Online

Go ahead and raise.

5. What if several players have already entered the pot?

Throw your hand away. High cards play best against a small number of opponents.

6. Someone in an early position raises with a king up, and you have a pair of nines. Do you play?

Not usually, as your opponent’s raise from early position indicates that he likely holds a pair of kings. Consequently, to play under these circumstances, you need more than just a pair of nines.

7. You have a small three straight with a gap. You are in a late position, and several players have just called the bring-in. Do you play?

Usually. If you can get in cheaply and are fairly certain you won’t be raised, you can play some weaker hands. However, be careful. If you get caught up in the action, you will begin to play too many hands.

8. You have rolled-up sixes, and three players have already entered the pot. What should you do?

Raise it up. You have a great hand, so get more money into the pot.

9. Several players are already in, and you have a three flush. Should you raise?

No, as you still have a long way to go. Raise only if you have three cards to a straight flush.

10. Suppose you have a small buried pair and the pot is raised. Do you play?

Only if there are several players in the pot and your cards are live.

11. When you have a close decision concerning whether to play a hand, what should you consider?

How well those opponents already in the pot play. The better they play, the less inclined you should be to play.

12. How do you adjust the hands you should play if a jackpot is offered?

If the jackpot is small, you should not play any differently than you normally would. But when the jackpot has become large, it makes sense to play hands that contain a small pair or an ace if aces full or better is the required losing hand. If four of a kind is the required losing hand, you should play your small pairs. But don’t get carried away. A hand like the

is still terrible and should be discarded.

Short Deck Poker Best Starting Hands For Texas Hold Em

Short Deck Poker Best Starting Hands Big O Poker

Best Starting Hands In Texas Hold'em