The Strongest Poker Hands – Before and After the Flop

Before the flop is dealt, the strongest hands are easy to spot. Aces, Kings and Queens top the list – with Ace-King not far behind.

Each hand then plays out according to Texas Hold’em rules, with pre-flop, flop, turn and river betting rounds. If you’ve played Texas Hold’em games before, the rules of 6+ Hold’em are easy to follow. The table below illustrates how the hand rankings have changed in 6+ Hold’em to accommodate the shorter deck: The Top Hands. Average poker winning percentages, which is what hand strength is based on, certainly aren’t everything, but it’s half of the pre-flop puzzle. If you can have a general set of starting hand guidelines (i.e. What you’ll play from what position) that are rooted in hand strength you can make more automatic pre-flop.

The relative strength of poker hands in Texas Hold’em changes as the community cards are dealt. While all sorts of starting hands can hit the flop, there are certain categories which are more likely to turn into hidden monsters.

This page covers the top 10 poker hands, before the flop – and then all the way to the river. This includes:

• Starting Hands: Top 10 hands that every play would love to be dealt before the flop
• Flop Betting: How the first 3 community cards have a huge effect on the ‘relative’ strength of the bet pre-flop hands.
• Turn and River: Draws can complete, or high cards can hit as the community card board is completed.
• Top Hands and Position: Why being dealt a top 10 poker hand alone is not enough to win big.
• How to Tell: If you can spot those times an opponent has a monster hand, you’ll be in a great position top get away from 2^nd best holdings.

Starting Hands: The Top 10 Hands Before the Flop

Pocket Aces rule the rankings before the flop. If you are dealt this hand, you’ll win 80% of the time against any single hand your opponent could hold by the river.

Here are the top 10 hands pre-flop in Texas Hold’em:

1. Pocket Aces: There is no better feeling in Hold’em than looking down at a pair of aces. Especially if there has been a raise ahead of you.
2. Pocket Kings: With aces so rare, it is usual to assume that your pocket kings are the best hand pre-flop. You can always reassess if you face multiple re-raises. With no aces on the flop, you can hope to win a big pot with this hand.
3. Pocket Queens: There is a risk that opponents have aces, kings or ace-king when you are dealt Queens. With no ‘card removal’ for those hands as when you are dealt A-A or K-K. Pocket Queens is still a very strong hand and should be played for a raise.
4. Ace-King: This hand is even stronger when suited, though plenty strong enough with just the high card value. If you make a pair on the flop, you will have the top kicker to go with your top-pair.
5. Pocket Jacks: As you get down the rankings, even strong starting hands start to become vulnerable to over-cards on the flop. Jacks are often good enough to win unimproved, though you need to be cautious when an ace hits the board.
6. Ace-Queen: Again, a suited version is much stronger than an unsuited one – as you’ll be able to make the nut flush on occasion. This hand becomes stronger if your opponents are prone to overplaying aces with weaker kickers.
7. Pocket 10’s: This is the last pocket pair which is more likely than not to be an over-pair on the flop. It has hidden value, blocking straights and allowing you to hit a set (as with all smaller pairs) on boards which look ‘safe’ for the higher pairs.
8. King Queen Suited: This hand has a lot of potential multi-way. Heads up against one of the premium hands, it does not do as well. If you find yourself with king-queen suited in position in a multi-way pot, you can often make a hidden monster and win a big pot.
9. Ace-Jack / Ace-Ten: These hands are vulnerable, though suited versions can make the nut flush, if you don’t make 2 pairs, there is always a chance of a Broadway straight.
10. Mid-Pairs: Finally, mid-pairs can make sets – giving them a lot of deceptive strength. When someone has aces, and bets strongly, you can often win their whole stack with a hidden pair or 7’s (for example).

Relative Strength of Poker Hands on Different Flops

Key to success in poker is not to get married to the top 10 starting hands after the flop. There are several factors to consider. While you can often assume that your premium starting hand is still best (and bet it accordingly), a clear assessment of the risks is always useful.

When you see a flop, think about the following:

• How many opponents saw this flop (what is the risk that some random hand connected!)?
• Does this flop have the potential to hit many drawing hands (straights and flushes)?
• Is this the type of flop that will not connect with hands my (tight) opponents are likely to play (low, unconnected flops fit this category)?
• Are there cards on the board which are higher than my pocket pair?

These questions highlight an error that many new players make with premium hands. If you limp or call, instead of raising with those aces – you can end up in a tricky spot. You could see a wet flop (lots of potential draws available) with multiple opponents who might have random holdings. If you have to act first in the betting, the situation looks even trickier. Here your hand is too strong to give up on, though if you get a lot of action on subsequent betting rounds, you could be in trouble!

Poker Hands Ranked Pre Flop Shoes

Playing good hands strongly, and raising a few outside the top 5 for balance, is a great way to avoid too many tough spots on the flop.

Turn and River Cards: How Likely my Opponent Hit?

When the turn or river card completes a flush (for example) and your opponent comes out firing with a big bet, you need to ask yourself how often you are beaten.

The wrong question to ask here is ‘how often do players make flushes by the river?’. You have some additional information. If your opponent called a bet on the flop, or even raised, then they are likely to have some kind of hand. If they continued all the way, only to re-raise you at the end when their card hit – you might just be in trouble.

Getting ‘married’ to over-pairs can be expensive in these situations. What is demonstrates is that even the top 10 starting hands can be losers in certain run-outs. You’ll need to use your judgement to decide whether your opponent might be bluffing in the scenario above. This can be based on the player, their bet sizing in the hand and your history with that opponent. In my experience, players at the smallest stakes are not bluffing frequently enough in this type of spot to make this a profitable call.

Playing the Top 10 Poker Starting Hands in Position

With the dynamics or poker hand strength changing as the community cards come out, playing in position is a great way to optimise your profits. This simply refers to acting last in the betting on the flop, turn and river betting rounds. The player with the ‘Dealer’ button position acts last – though keep in mind that acting last relative to the raiser pre-flop is a different factor.

When you are last to act, you can get away from hands when there is a raise and a re-raise ahead of you. It is always an option to bet out and steal a pot you might otherwise have given up on when everyone checks to you as well.

Position strategy goes a lot deeper than this. When you are starting out, keep in mind that acting last + having a top 10 poker hand is the best spot to be in!

How to Tell If Your Top Hand is Beaten?

As you gain experience playing on different board-textures, and against different types of opponents – spotting those times when your pocket aces are second best becomes a lot easier.

While some opponents keep betting at any pot where they have a piece of the board (or a draw in some cases), other opponents are more cautious. If someone who usually limps and calls suddenly wakes up with big bets, this is a great sign that you could be beaten. I have seen opponents play passively for hours, and suddenly check-raise when they made the top flush. If you pay those types off, it is down to you not paying attention – rather than bad luck.

Pre flop hand ranges in Texas Hold’em are the framework for any hand that is played. Without a proper understanding of which hands should be played pre flop, no player will be able to effectively play post flop. Imagine players who were blindly calling raises, or even making raises, without even knowing which cards they were holding.

Needless to say, this is far from an optimal strategy. Actual pre flop hand ranges are very situational and are always changing. The hands that you play at a loose table will be quite different than the hands you would play at a super tight table. This is an example of some very basic table dynamics that should be considered whenever you are trying to identify a solid pre flop hand range. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and hand ranges are much more intricate than this.

Table Dynamics

There are a handful of primary variables that should be analyzed whenever determining which hands should and should not be played. Some of these dynamics are completely obvious, while others will be much tougher to notice. Great poker players will tweak their ranges down to the smallest detail, be it position, history, or someone’s mood.

A lot of poker players like to try and set up pre flop hand ranges as if they are doing math, but it is much more of a science. Adjustments to any number of table dynamics will play a large role in whether or not you are playing with solid hand ranges.

The looseness or tightness of a table should be the first factor that you look at whenever trying to figure out which hands to play pre flop. For the most part, determining whether a table is tight or loose is quite easy. You don’t need hours of experience or past history to tell just how a game tends to be playing. It is worth noting that sometimes a table will be neither tight or loose, in which case you should still be adjusting your hand ranges accordingly.

If a table is playing very loose, your goal as a winning player should be to tighten up a little bit. This might seem like odd advice since your opponents will be playing many more hands than they should be. If you really think about it, though, playing tight at a loose table only makes sense. Pretend that you are driving a car on a road with all kinds of reckless drivers. You wouldn’t start driving like a maniac just because everyone else is doing it.

Poker Hands Ranked Preflop

In fact, anyone with common sense would instead drive more controlled and with a higher level of awareness and concentration. It works the exact same way when you are at a poker table with a number of reckless players. If you start to loosen up you will be playing right into their hands. Loose tables are the easiest way to win a lot of fast money in poker. Don’t waste your time trying to exploit players who couldn’t find the fold button on the screen if they had a gun to their hand. Let them donate their money by waiting around for a strong hand.

Tight tables work in the exact opposite way of loose tables. Instead of tightening up, you should be widening your pre flop ranges. Start to play some hands that you would otherwise be throwing away. You should be doing this because tight players will generally allow you to walk all over them. Most of the money to be made in a tight game comes from solid pre flop play.

Pick apart the players who fold everything but aces and kings by raising and re raising and forcing folds. If you do get some resistance, though, be prepared to let go of your hand. When a tight player starts to fight back, it usually means they have something very strong.

Position

Position is one of the most important factors in almost any regard when it comes to poker strategy. As a general rule of thumb for pre flop hand ranges, early position players should play tight, middle position players should be a bit looser, and late position players should be the loosest.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you should be 5 betting all in pre flop with 8-6 when you are the last to act, but it does mean that you should be going after easy pots. A lot of players are afraid of playing pots out of position, even when they have a decent hand. To exploit this weakness you should be making the occasional re raise pre flop with random pocket pairs or hands that you would usually flat call or make an open raise with.

Just as late position gives you an opportunity to pick up uncontested pots with relative ease, early position will make your life difficult. When you have a weaker hand in early or even middle position, don’t even waste your time. Players who play wide ranges of hands from earlier positions often find themselves looking for the re buy button.

Never underestimate the value of winning a number of small pots by opening up in later position - you might just find that it serves as a large portion of your total earnings. Small-ball poker may not be fun but it sure is profitable.

Examples of Preflop Play

Now I'll explain some real-life examples of how I would play certain hands from certain positions:

Early Position

Early position will require that you are focusing on a stronger range of hands. In a 6-Max or full ring game, plan on raising with any pocket pair and big face cards. This is not a time to limp in (ever) or to raise with random suited connectors. Minimize the risk involved with playing out of position by sticking to solid hands.

Middle Position

Middle position allows for some more flexibility than early position, but you should still be extremely wary of suited connectors and other more speculative hands. In MP you can open with marginal aces like A9, AT, and AJ, but don’t make a habit of raising with any ace. Pocket pairs are still always worthy of a raise.

If someone has made an open raise in front of you, consider making a flat call with pairs and bigger hands like KQ, AJ, and AQ. Your three betting range should be along the lines of TT or JJ+ and AK.

Late Position

Poker Hands Ranked Pre Flop Shows

Late position is the time where you can do a little bit of free lancing. Take chances and try to experiment with hands that you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to play. If you think someone is being a little too aggressive pre flop, go ahead and make a light three bet and see what happens.

Poker Hand Rankings Preflop

Always aim for max value in late position when you have a big hand and look to force out the stragglers who are hoping to outdraw you with little risk. Late position is always be the most profitable position on the table.