Starting hand facts
| Fact | Number |
|---|---|
| Two-card combinations from 52 cards | 1,326 |
| Distinct starting hands (ignoring suit order) | 169: 13 pairs, 78 suited, 78 offsuit |
| Chance of any pocket pair | 78 / 1,326 = 1 in 17 (5.9%) |
| Chance of a specific pair, e.g. aces | 6 / 1,326 = 1 in 221 (0.45%) |
| Chance of two suited cards | 312 / 1,326 = 4 in 17 (23.5%) |
| Chance of ace-king, suited or not | 16 / 1,326 (1.2%) |
A simple tier list
This is a common, deliberately simple way to group hands for a full-ring home game, not a solver chart. "s" means suited, "o" offsuit.
| Tier | Hands | How to play them |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | A♠ A♥, K♠ K♥, Q♠ Q♥, J♠ J♥, A♠ K♠, A♠ K♥ | Raise from any position; re-raise if someone raised first |
| Strong | 10-10, 9-9, AQs, AJs, KQs, AQo | Raise from any position; call a single raise |
| Playable | 8-8 to 2-2, ATs, KJs, QJs, J10s, 10-9s, AJo, KQo | Raise from middle and late position; small pairs hope to hit a set |
| Late position only | Suited aces (A9s to A2s), suited connectors (98s to 54s), KTs, QTs, KJo, QJo | Open from the cutoff or button when nobody has raised |
| Usually fold | Unsuited low cards, gappers like 9-5, weak aces offsuit (A8o and below) | Fold, except from the big blind when nobody raised |
Why position changes everything
Players who act later see what everyone else did first. That makes marginal hands easier to play, so the later your position, the more hands you can open. A hand like K♣ J♦ is a fold under the gun at a full table and a raise on the button.
Home game adjustments
- Loose tables (many players call pre-flop): play fewer weak aces and more suited and connected cards and small pairs, which make strong hands that win big multi-way pots.
- Tight tables (most players fold): steal the blinds more often from late position.
- Short-handed (five or fewer players): every hand goes up a tier, because fewer opponents hold something better.
Starting hands people overvalue
- Any ace. A♦ 7♣ loses to every better ace and is hard to play after the flop.
- Any two suited cards. Being suited adds only a few percent of equity; 9♥ 3♥ is still a bad hand.
- Small pairs out of position facing a raise: you flop a set only about 1 time in 8.5.