Some variants of poker, called lowball, use a low hand to determine the winning hand. In most variants of lowball, the ace is counted as the lowest card and straights and flushes don't count against a low hand, so the lowest hand is the five-high hand A-2-3-4-5, also called a wheel. The Best Poker Hands Calculator You can use this calculator while playing or reviewing past hands to work out the odds of you winning or losing. Have fun letting your friends know that they made a less than optimal move against you in a home game.

  1. This is a discussion on Starting Hand Winning Odds. Within the online poker forums, in the Learning Poker section; Hi, Just returning to learning poker. Been busy with work and haven't had time to.
  2. 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.

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. Despite this difficulty, our coaches believe that following some general guidelines and adjusting from these is a better solution than having no guidelines at all. Given that well over half of your profitability in NL Hold’em is based on hand selection alone, we have developed these charts to help you better determine whether to play or fold.

There are no perfect No-Limit starting hand charts. That is because there are many factors that affect your decision, and charts cannot account for all of them. Some of these include:

  1. The size of your opponent's stacks.
  2. How loose or tight, passive or aggressive, your opponents are.
  3. Where these opponents are located at the table – for example, does an aggressive player still have to act after you?
  4. Your image at the table – for example, how tight or tricky you are perceived.

That being said, these charts will serve you well in most typical low-stakes No-Limit cash games, such as games with blinds of $1/$2, and home games. These games typically have several loose players at the table, and good opportunities for winning big pots with suited connectors and pocket pairs. With practice, you will be able to be a consistently winning player with these charts as a starting point. As you improve, you'll find yourself making adjustments to these charts based on the factors listed above, and more.

AGAIN: These charts are a good starting point for beginners. Specifically, Chart #1 recommends a significant amount of limping. This is great in loose, passive games but less often seen in tougher games. You’ll find other training material on Advanced Poker Training that may recommend a more aggressive approach for more experienced players.

Note: It would be a serious mistake to apply these hand charts before reading the Frequent Asked Questions first.


CHART #1 ‐ LOOSE, PASSIVE GAME (OFTEN 4-5 LIMPERS PER HAND)
NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

  • Raise Always
  • Call from Early Position, otherwise raise
  • Call always
  • Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

CHART #2 ‐ TIGHTER GAME (FEWER LIMPERS) OR MORE AGGRESSIVE GAME
NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

  • Raise Always
  • Call from Early Position, otherwise raise
  • Call (or Raise) from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

CHART #3 ‐ THERE HAS BEEN A SINGLE RAISE
(3‐5 TIMES THE BIG BLIND) BEFORE YOU

  • Re‐Raise Always
  • Call from Early Position, otherwise re‐raise
  • Call always
  • Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For the hands in yellow, what do you mean when you say to play these hands if the conditions are right? The hands in yellow are speculative hands. They should always be folded from Early Position. From other positions, they can be profitable given the right conditions. Some of the questions to ask yourself:

  1. Are there other players who have called so far (the more, the better)?
  2. Are the players who have called playing poorly after the flop? Will they pay me off if I hit something?
  3. Is there an aggressive player still to act behind me (you might get raised and have to fold)?
  4. If there has been a raise and no other callers, what chance do I have of using my position after the flop to win the hand even if I don't improve (Chart #3 only)?

Why does Chart #2 say to sometimes raise with the hands in yellow, but Chart #1 does not? We have different goals in mind. Using Chart #1, we want to call to encourage additional players to enter the pot. These hands will be immensely profitable when our loose, passive opponents enter the hand, and get trapped when we flop a set, or make a well-disguised straight. When using Chart #2, however, we want to size up the opponents still to act. If they are tight, we can raise. Sometimes, we'll pick up the blinds. Other times, our pre-flop aggression will allow us to take down the pot on the flop.

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What's the difference between AKs and AKo? AKs means an Ace and King of the same suit. AKo means an Ace and King of different suits.

What are early, middle, and late position? Early Position is generally the first 2 (in a nine player game) or 3 (in a ten player game) positions after the blinds. Late Position is the “cutoff” position (to the right of the dealer), and dealer button positions. Middle Position is everything in between.

How much should I raise? As a general rule, raise 3 to 4 times the big blind, plus 1 extra big blind for every player who has called before you. So if there are 2 callers already, raise between 5 and 6 times the big blind.

What if someone raises after I call? Whether you call the raise depends on how much money the raiser has for you to win, how many other players are involved, and what type of hand you have. As a general rule, if you have a pocket pair, lean towards calling. If there are a lot of other players (and therefore a big pot), lean towards calling. In general, fold suited connectors from early position. Fold hands like KQ that don't play well against a raiser.

How do I play from the blinds? From the small blind, play the same hands you would play from late position, plus a few more. But don't call with junk hands like T5o, just because it is “cheap”. From the big blind, if there is a raise to you, play like you would if you had already called from early position.

The chart says to fold KQo to a raise. Really? Yes, this hand performs very poorly against typical raising hands. Against AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, you are a big underdog. Other typical raising hands like JJ, TT, 99, AJs, are slightly ahead of you as well. The only time you might call or re-raise is from late position, if the opener was in middle or late position, indicating they might have a wider range of hands.

I was told to fold AJo from Early Position, why do you say to call with it? Folding AJo is not a bad idea in many games. We included it because, at low stakes tables (even tight or aggressive ones), the players are often playing badly enough after the flop that it can be profitable. We used data from millions of hands of low-limit poker to analyze this. The same could be said for KQo, ATs, and KJs – you can make a small profit in the long run at most low-stakes games, but folding would be perfectly acceptable from early position.

Can I use these charts in a NL Hold'em tournament? The charts would be best applicable to the early stages of a NL tournament, when everyone has a deep stack. In the middle and later stages, they should not be used.


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Update on
Poker odds can appear confusing at first, but once you understand some of the basic fundamentals about how they work, not only will you have a much better understanding of the game itself, but you’ll also stand a higher chance of winning while playing the game. In this post, we’re going to take a look […]

Poker odds can appear confusing at first, but once you understand some of the basic fundamentals about how they work, not only will you have a much better understanding of the game itself, but you’ll also stand a higher chance of winning while playing the game.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at all forms of poker odds, from poker hand odds, how to calculate poker odds, the best poker winning hands, and more – and we’ll begin by taking a look at how exactly the odds work in conjunction with the game.

How Poker Odds Work

To look at how poker odds actually work, it can be handy to use an example of a football game. Let’s say the Chargers are playing the Eagles. A bookmaker may give the Eagles 3:1 odds to beat the Chargers. This means that for every $1 you staked, you would win $3, were the Eagles to win.

This, of course, roughly equates to the Eagles having a 1 in 3 chance of beating the Chargers – and this is the general ethos of how odds work, both in sports betting, and poker.

The higher the odds, the less chance you have of winning – and subsequently, the lower the odds, the more chance you have of winning.

Starting

Poker Hand Odds

One of the most common scenarios you’ll hear about odds in poker, is when looking at your “outs”. We’ll cover this in the section below – in this part of the guide, we’re going to look at the actual odds of getting some of the most popular and sought-after poker hands.

  • Being Dealt Pocket Aces: Pocket aces are the premium starting hand in ALL Texas Hold’em games, and the odds of being dealt two aces is 0.4525% – equating to odds of 1:220. This means that you can expect to be dealt pocket aces once out of every 220 hands you play. (An interesting statistic is the chances of both you AND your opponent being dealt pocket aces. In this situation, the probability is just 0.0816%, equating to odds of 1:1,224!
  • Hitting a Set on The Flop: Most players will always try to reach the flop when they hold a pair in their hand, pre-flop, as, if they’re able to make a 3-of-a-kind hand, they stand a very good chance of winning against their opponents. If you hold a pair pre-flop, the chances of hitting a set on the flop are relatively good; the probability is 11.7551%, equating to odds of 1:8.
  • Hitting Quads: 4-of-a-kind is one of the strongest hands in Texas Hold’em, and it’s a hand that – despite being very hard to get – probability wise, isn’t actually too hard! The probability of making quads if you have a pair pre-flop, and make it all the way to the river, is 0.8163%, equating to odds of 1:122. Things become a little crazier when you look at the chances of two players hitting quads; in this case, the probability is just 0.0003%, equating to odds of 1:312,663!
  • Royal Flush: The unbeatable hand – the hand all players dream of getting – a Royal Flush is the best possible hand in Texas Hold ‘Em poker, and cannot be beaten. Interesting, the board will only allow for a Royal Flush 1 in 59 times – and the odds of just ONE player making a royal flush at a full 9-person ring game is 1:3,628.

That’s just a few of the most common poker odds scenarios. It can be useful to have a rough idea of the odds for various hands and occurrences – but for the most-part, you don’t need to think into it too deeply, as the more important thing to worry about is the odds of you hitting your “outs”.

Outs and How to Use Them to Calculate Probability in Texas Hold’em

In Texas Hold’em poker, if you require an additional card, or more than one card to complete your hand, you’ll be looking to hit what’s known as an ‘out’.

For example, say you hold 5, 6 off-suit pre-flop, and the board comes King, 7, 8. You now have an up-and-down straight draw, meaning you need to hit either a 4 or a 9 to complete a straight – a strong hand that gives you a very good chance of winning over your opponents.

Now, in a 52-card deck, there are four 4’s, and four 9’s, which means you have 8 cards out of the 52 to hit your hand. However, you’ve already been dealt two cards – and there are three showing on the flop – which means the actual probability of hitting one of the cards you need is 8:47.

This means that approximately one in 6 times the turn card is dealt, you’ll hit your hand. Now, you may be thinking “why is this important” – and there are two reasons.

The first, is the simple fact that it’s good to know how likely you are to hit your hand. The second, and far more important reason, is that knowing how many outs you have allows you to make solid mathematical decisions, when faced with a bet. We’ll look at this in the following section.

Should You Call an Opponent’s Bet?

Using the example above, we can safely say that you’ll hit your hand – on average – once in every 6 times when the turn card is dealt.

Now, let’s say there is currently $40 in the pot, and your opponent bets $10. There are no other players in the hand.

In order to see a turn card, you must call $10. With the $40 in the pot, and the $10 your opponent bet, that means you’re required to risk $10, to have the potential to win $50. This means you’re getting 1:5 on your money – which means that over the long run, this would be a losing play, to call.

Now, say that there was $80 in the pot already, instead of $40. Now, when your opponent bets $10, you have to call $10 to have the chance of winning $90 – meaning you’re getting 1:9 on your money. In this scenario, it would almost always be a profitable decision to call, as, while you won’t always hit your hand, you’re getting odds that make it worthwhile, as over the long-run it would be a profitable, winning move.

That’s just one example, and of course, things become more complex when you start involving multiple players, and factoring in the possibility of re-raises. That being said, it should serve as a good starting-point for you to learn more about “outs”, and how they tie in with poker odds.

Tips to Improve Your Knowledge of Poker Odds

Like many things in life, having a firm grasp of poker odds and poker statistics takes time. There is no “quick-fire” way to memorize everything about odds, and how to use them in your game, and much of it comes from practice.

Thankfully, there are many great poker theory books available to purchase today, that you can use to improve your knowledge of the game and determine your odds of hitting your poker outs.
It’s worth pointing out that poker theory can become very complex – and even things like the poker outs example we looked at above can become difficult, when looking at things like reverse-implied odds.

As a general rule of thumb, the best thing to do is to simply stay calm while playing, and figure out how many cards you need to hit your hand. Calculate whether you’re getting the right pot odds to call to try and hit one of your poker outs – and don’t forget to factor in the fact that if there are multiple players to act after you, there’s a chance you may get raised and subsequently forced out of the hand.

Things to Remember

It’s important to note that many times, you’ll probably find that you simply don’t have time – or you forget – to work out the odds, especially when you’re in the middle of a hectic hand. However, try to brush up on your knowledge of poker winning hands from time to time, as you’ll find that this will soon become concreted within your brain, helping you to get a firm grasp on the game.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below, we’re going to finish this guide by answering a few commonly asked questions about poker odds.

How to Work Out Outs In Your Head

Like we just mentioned, there will often be times that it just seems too confusing, or hard to work out the odds in your head. When you find yourself in situations like these, one of the best pieces of advice we can offer, is to just slow down, take a deep breathe, and keep yourself calm and collected.

In most Texas Hold’em games, you’ll have ample time to think about the hand, and the odds – and if you’re looking for a quick way to work them out, it can help to brush up on some of the more common situations you’ll come across. For example, if you hold a pair pre-flop, and find yourself against a player holding two over cards, there is pretty much a 50/50 chance of you winning the hand.

Things like this can help – but above and beyond, it all comes down to practice as we keep mentioning, so spend a few minutes every day reading about poker statistics, and you’ll soon find that it becomes second nature to you!

What Are Outs?

The “outs” are the cards that you can hit to complete your hand. Say, for example, that you hold 2 cards that are suited hearts, and the flop contains another two cards that are hearts, and one spade. You “outs” are the remaining heart cards in the deck that can be drawn on the turn or the river, to help you complete your hand.

How to Count Outs

To determine how many outs you have, you simply need to work out how many cards there are in the deck that help you to complete your hand – and then minus the two hole cards you’ve been dealt, and the community cards currently visible.

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Odds of Winning Poker

Some of the most common poker hands that you’d want to know the odds of, include an open-ended straight draw, which has odds of approximately 6/1, four-to-a-flush, which offers odds of around 4/1, an inside straight draw, which is approximately 10/1, and having a pair pre-flop which then turns into a set when the community cards are dealt, which is approximately 8/1.

Odds of Being Dealt Poker Aces

The odds of being dealt pocket aces in a standard Texas Hold’em game is around 220/1. This means that every 220 hands you play, you can expect to see pocket aces once – although, as is the case with ANY type of gambling, it could be 2,000 hands before you see aces… or you may see them back-to-back. It’s all a game of chance at the end of the day.

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Chances of Winning with Pocket Aces

Poker Starting Hands Odds Of Winning Numbers

Pocket aces are – by far – the strongest starting hand in Texas Hold’em, and the chances of you winning with them largely depends on how many players are also in the hand with you. As a general rule of thumb, if you hold pocket aces on a 9-player table, you have odds of around 25% to win the hand at showdown – but the odds of you winning improve as more players drop out of the hand, so it can often be a good idea to play aces aggressively to avoid too many players joining the hand.

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