ne of the most important decisions in a game of Texas Hold’em poker is what to do with your starting hand, which consists of your two hole cards. Do you want to see a flop? You must weigh the strength of your starting hand with how much it will cost to see the flop, and possibly then see the turn and river cards.

Players who are serious about winning at live or online poker are more cautious because they know that not all starting poker hands are worth playing. But with 169 different two-card starting hands in poker, how do you know whether your starting hand is telling you to fold, call, or raise pre-flop? 

In this installment of BetMGM’s popular poker guides, you can learn what most players consider the best starting hands when you play poker online or live.

Pocket Rockets and Cowboys in Poker

The best-starting hands, or premium hands, in Texas Hold’em poker break down into three main groups. At the top of the list is a pair of aces, otherwise known as “pocket rockets,” followed by a pair of kings, otherwise known as “cowboys” or “King Kong.” Either of these hands only comes around once in every 110 hands (on average), and it’s a good idea to play them pre-flop. But as valuable as pocket kings and aces are, they’re not unbeatable.

If you’re making poker bets against multiple opponents, be wary of how many players enter the pot. The more opponents in the hand, the higher the likelihood of someone beating your pocket aces or kings by making a better hand with community cards. It is usually a good idea to raise preflop to narrow the field. Be extra careful with kings, as any player with a single ace in their starting hand will beat you if an ace falls on the flop.

(Note that starting hands in other variants besides Texas Hold’em are entirely different. The best and worst starting hands in Omaha, for example, are based on an initial deal of four hole cards.)

Ladies and Fish Hooks in Poker

If you’re dealt “ladies” (a pair of queens) or “fish hooks” (a pair of jacks), then you’re off to a good start. Unless an opponent has pocket aces or kings (remember the odds of getting those?), you’ve probably got the strongest hand in the game, so it’s generally good to play strongly and raise preflop. That doesn’t mean that your hand won’t get busted, though. If a higher card comes on the flop, chances are your queens or jacks won’t win at showdown.

Big Slick in Poker

Big Slick (ace-king) is both one of the best and worst starting hands in Texas Hold’em. A suited or unsuited combination of ace and king is a drawing hand, not a made hand, but it’s got great potential. Big Slick dominates a broad range of other hands such as ace-queen, ace-jack, ace-ten, and so on. These are the hands players often go all-in with towards the end of both live poker and online poker tournaments. 

For Big Slick to represent value, you need to start building a flush, straight, or pair with the flop. You also stand a decent chance of landing a straight, high pair, nut flush (with ace as high card), or even a royal flush (suited ace, king, queen, jack, and ten). Note that a suited Big Slick has a better chance for flush combinations than an unsuited Big Slick. So when is it one of the worst hands? Simply when players overvalue its potential, strike out on the draw, and find themselves holding nothing stronger than a high ace.

Little Slick, Blackjack, and Dimes in Poker

Here’s another strong group of starting hands in poker. “Little Slick” is the ace-queen combination, and the suited Little Slick gives you the chance to develop a nut flush, royal flush, straight, or high pair. A suited ace-jack is called “blackjack” and comes with opportunities for a nut flush, royal flush, straight, or high pair. A suited king-queen combination is a royal couple that can get you a flush, although you’ll only stand a chance for a nut flush if the suited ace comes on the flop. Then there’s a pair of tens, also known as “dimes.” It’s the only premium starting hand without any aces or faces. Look to raise preflop with any of these hands.

Poker Tournament Tips

If you’re looking to enter live or online poker tournaments, starting hands are the most important and easiest thing to grasp. According to best-selling poker writer Dan Harrington, table position is the most important factor that determines a poker player’s starting hand selection. That’s because the further away you are from the dealer, the more information you have at your disposal to make your poker bet. Here’s a starting hand range that ought to keep you out of trouble in the early stages of a tournament 90% of the time.

In early position – that is, you’re one of the first two players to act – then you’re good with dimes, fish hooks, ladies, cowboys and pocket rockets, Big Slick, and suited Little Slick. That’s pretty much what we’ve covered above. 

If you’re in the middle position (places three to six from the dealer), then you should also consider a pair of eights or nines, unsuited ace-jack or better, and a royal couple. In late position (button and cut-off), a pair of sevens has value, as well as any ace combined with jack-ten (or better) suited connectors.

Now that you know the best starting hands, make sure to check out the best winning poker hands to take your game to the next level.

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