Starting hands, what do you think?

Hey all,

What is your best starting hand at Texas Hold'em? I am always wondering what other people use as starting hands to get to the winning tables.

I like to play hands like AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ, AJ ect... These seem to bring me up there, almost every tourney I will end up on the final table with these hands. Patience is the key, I think!

What do you think?

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Keep in mind that yes, those hands will get you to the final table, it ultimately depends on the tournament's structure. If you are playing a deepstack tourney with 30 minute blinds, you can afford to wait for those hands. In your normal online tourney, you just aren't going to get those hands enough times to last very deep. You're going to have to mix up your play occasionally and include the low suited connectors in your multiway pots, you'll have to sometimes play that KQ offsuit into a raise. And you'll have to bluff a little too. Yes patience is the key, but just as important is the ability to categorize and read each of your opponents. You don't have to have the best hand to win each pot... you have to make the other guy think you have the best hand. If you can do that, your cards aren't really relevant.

Its like Ive said before, there is a time and a place to play any two cards. The hard part about poker is learning when those times are. If you ever want to be a great player (not saying I am...LOL) you have to learn not to play the cards. Anyone can learn what a good starting hand is. Learning to tell when you can steal a pot with junk, or when to slowplay a huge hand and when not too; these are the things that will make you a better player.

Now if I could just put those words into action........

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theprofessor@texasholdemforums.com

exactly what professor said...you cant play only the cards and expect to win tournaments. you need to play your opponents. doyle brunson once said that he could sit down at a table full of ametuers and beat all of them without having to look at one hand.

But if you are at the beginning of a tournament, and dont know any of your opponents, i say stick to top 10-20 hands and you'll be fine.

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I posted an excel spreadsheet with limit starting hands on and NL by Harrington somewhere in the advice section.

Dig around and you shall find but these guys are right, cards are only part of it.

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What Brunson said is that he could win without seeing his cards if the opponents were unaware he had not done so.

As for what hands to play, I think it's best for beginners to play tight aggressive - and the tight part means playing fewer hands than the opponents. You can win tournaments that way. Obviously, you have to catch enough good hands and get paid off on enough of them. Once you're able to win once in a while playing this way, you can look at expanding the range of hands you play with the goal of increasing your win rate.