If you have ever played Texas Hold Em, you know that your starting hand has a lot to do with the way you place your bets, and the strategy you use to win the hand.

In continuation with the series on strategies to improve your Texas Hold ‘Em game, this article will give you suggestions on how to play the round depending on the starting hand you receive.

Also, consider reading the other articles in this series on playing the flop, the turn, and the river.  Using all of these together may end up making you an unstoppable Texas Hold ‘Em expert; but, of course there are no guarantees.

These hands are harder to play

K7, J7, J4, Q7,T6

These hands are the ones that present few possible ways to win.  When and if they manage to pull it off, they will not be able to win as strongly as some others will.  This is why it is better to avoid betting too much if any of these combinations present themselves to you in your starting hand. Follow these guidelines about hands with an Ace

·         Never play anything below AT off suit:  You are more likely to be able to hit a win if you follow this practice.

·         Play either A5 and below or AT and above; anything in the middle is not as strong:   It is easier to manage a straight with either one of those combinations than with something in the middle, and otherwise makes the hand more difficult to win.

Hands that prefer few opponents

AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ

 These hands are good, but they are likely to never meet anything better than a pair.  The less people you have playing, the better off you are, because even if you have someone else with a pair, you will likely win because of your higher cards. 

Hands that are better for larger number of opponents

JTs, 89s, QJs, KTs, 79s, 46s

These low connector cards have potential if the other cards fall just right.  They need a larger number of people playing the game to make betting on them more worth it, to justify the cost of taking the chance to play them.

Using this information, you should have a better grip on what to expect out of your game from your starting hand, and when it is best to fold early, or when it safe to chance betting larger.  Good Luck!

Tags: Texas Hold'em starting hands, Texas Hold'em strategy