Top 10 Hands In Poker


Once you start to get into the "math" side of poker, the tendency is to rely on it too much. There is an old saying about Texas Hold'em, "Play your opponent, not your cards". That means, the key to winning is to take advantage of your opponents weaknesses. If I can tell what cards you are holding by the way you are acting, or the way you are betting, then I have a huge advantage over you and will probably win. So don't let the odds go to far to your head.

So, for the sake of interest, mathematically speaking, here are the top 10 hands in poker before the flop when you are heads up (ie: Just you and one another player):

1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. JJ
5. TT
6. 99
7. 88
8. AK suited
9. 77
10. AQ suited

And here are the top 10 hands in poker before the flop when you are six-handed (ie: You and five other players):

1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. JJ
5. AK suited
6. TT
7. AQ suited
8. KQ suited
9. AK
10. AJ suited

I don't know about you, but this is surprising to me. For one, I had no idea that 88 and 77 were so strong heads up. I mean, AK offsuit doesn't even appear on the top 10 list heads up!

Second, did you know JJ is a better hand than even AK suited? I didn't. If you gave me the choice, I would have picked AKs every time. But it makes sense I guess, that a made hand is better pre-flop than a drawing hand. How many times does an Ace or a King NOT hit the board - a lot.