Poker Hands: Best and Worse Starting Hands in Texas Holdem

The basic poker lesson is when to hold and when to fold. Knowing whether your initial deal is worth staying in the game or if you should call it a day, is one of the most important decisions to make at the beginning of the poker game. One of the most common beginners mistakes is holding onto the worst pair of hole cards instead of folding and protecting your money.

Therefore, if you are a novice poker player, one of the first things you should memorize is which initial hands are worth holding and which hands leaves you no choice but to fold. Since Texas Holdem is the most popular poker variation, here you can find lists of the best and the worth Holdem poker starting hands.

Best Poker Hands

If you are lucky to be dealt one of these initial hands, you are definitely having an excellent beginning:

Pair of Aces: as known as American Airlines or pocket rockets, it is the best possible Texas Holdem starting hand.

Pair of Kings: not as good as a pair of Aces but still an excellent way to open a game of Texas Holdem.

Pair of Queens: if you want to look at the bright side, you will be beaten only by Kings and Aces.

Ace and King: if they are of the same suit, your condition is even better, since you can form the nut flush at ease.

Pair of Jacks: unless the flop shows either a Queen, King or an Ace, you have decent chances of winning with this promising starting hand.

Ace and Queen: the same as Ace and King, a suited hand would increase your chances of stepping out as a winner.

King and Queen: unless the community cards contain an Ace, you are in a good shape with this starting hand and even better if it is suited

Ace and Jack: even if appears unsuited, this starting hand is still worth holding.

King and Jack: still one of the best Texas Holdem starting hands, but be careful with it, especially when unsuited.
Ace and Ten: the Ace upgrades it to a pretty good hand, although requires a cautious play since it can be beaten by any of the starting hands mentioned above.

Worst Poker Hands

These hands would suit you well if you play some of the lowball variations, but if you play traditional Texas Holdem poker, the best advice would be to fold.

2 and 7: if you are dealt this hand, especially unsuited, you cannot even make a straight. Even if suited you should be so lucky to form a low flush or the lowest pair. In one word: fold.

2 and 8: same as the previous hand; pair of 8s is still a low pair.

3 and 7: although it can beat the previous hands, it still a worthless pair of cards

3 and 8: again, hardly even a low straight.

2 and 6: only if the community cards will feature 3, 4 and 5, you will have a chance of forming a straight. However, do not count on it, especially if there are more than 3 attendances in the game.

2 and 9: thanks to the presence of the 9 you are in better shape than with the former hands, still you cannot form a straight and even a pair of 9s would be beaten by pairs of 10s, Jacks, Queens, etc.

3 and 9: the same thing: higher than 8 lower than almost any other hand.

4 and 9: as mentioned above; foldem.

2 and 10: even though Doyle Brunson had won two WSOP bracelets with this starting hand, unless you have the talent and experience of Brunson, do not hold this hand.

5 and 9: also known as Dolly Parton, this hand would get you nowhere near the final table.

It takes more than understanding poker hands and how they rank in order to be a successful poker player. You should also be fluent in the most common nicknames that poker players give these hands. Knowing poker hand nicknames will help you fit in at a poker table and insure that you understand what is going on.

While understanding the nicknames for poker hands is important keep in mind they may vary regionally. In addition, the may become obsolete or modified over time.

A pair of aces is often referred to as pocket rockets because it is the best starting hand in Texas Holdem. This hand is also called American Airlines because of the abbreviation AA used to describe both the airline and the pair. Some poker players also refer to two aces as bullets.

In Texas Holdem a pair of kings is often described as cowboys or King Kong. Some players call two kings ace magnets. This nicknames sarcastically points out that with this hand the last card you want to see is the ace, which means it is bound to come up.

Most of the most common nicknames used to describe a pair of queens are derogatory. These include four tits, bitches, Sigfried and Roy, or Canadian Aces.

A pair of jacks is considered the highest medium pocket pair. This hand is referred to as fishhooks or hooks because of the visual appearance of two JJs. Another common nickname for this hand is J- Birds.

A pair of eights has several nicknames. It is called snowmen or dog balls because they both look like the number eight. It is also called a little Oldsmobile because Oldsmobile had a model number 88 used to describe a model that was smaller than a 98.

A pair of sevens is sometimes called mullets or hockey sticks because of the similarity to the shape of a number seven.

A pair of cherries has been given the nickname cherries due to the similarities between the shape of the fruit and the number six. Other poker players will refer to a pair of sixes as Route 66 for obvious reasons.

A hand containing a pair of fives is often referred to as presto or speed limit at a poker table.

A pair of fours has a few clever nicknames as well. It is often referred to as sailboats, playing in the fact that the number four resembles a sailboat. It can also be referred to as a magnum, paying tribute to a .44 magnum handgun.

A pair of threes is sometimes called treys after a three pointer in basketball, or crabs because of their similarity in shape to the number three.

A hand with a pair of two is often called ducks. This nickname is due to the likeness of the number two and a duck.

A hand with an ace, king combination is often called an Anna Kournikova because it looks good, but never wins. It also goes by the name big slick or Santa Barbara, referring to a devastating oil spill of the cost of Santa Barbara.

An ace, queen combo is nicknamed a big chick as a play on the nickname for an ace, king hand.

A hand containing and ace, jack combination is commonly referred to as black jack. However, jackass and ajax are also popular nicknames for phonetic reasons.

An ace, ten combinations is sometimes called bookends or a Johnny Moss, based on the assumption that Moss has been playing poker since the age of ten.

Almost any combination of cards that makes up a hand has at least one nickname, if not more. It is important to familiarize yourself with these nicknames in order to be a successful poker player.