Best Starting Hands in Poker
Of the 169 possible starting hands in Texas Hold'em, only a fraction are worth money from most seats. Below: the top 20 hands with exact all-in equities and their table nicknames, then the four-tier system that covers every hand you should ever voluntarily play — and why position, not the cards, decides the borderline ones. Free, no signup.
The best starting hand. Raise and re-raise from every seat — its only job is building a pot.
Equity = all-in win chance against one random hand. Raw equity isn't playability — pairs shine all-in, big suited cards play better postflop, which is why AKs ranks above TT here.
This site also has a free practice mode — play hands against AI opponents. No signup. Try the practice table →
▸Embed this tool on your site or forum — free
Paste this into any blog post, forum thread, or coaching site. It stays free, always up to date, and needs no account. Please keep the attribution link.
<iframe src="https://holdempro.app/tools/starting-hands?embed=1" width="100%" height="620" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;background:#0a0a0b" title="Poker starting hands chart by HoldemPro" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Powered by <a href="https://holdempro.app/tools/starting-hands">HoldemPro</a></p>
The top 20, as text
| # | Hand | Nickname | Equity vs random hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AA | “Pocket aces / bullets” | 85.2% |
| 2 | KK | “Cowboys” | 82.4% |
| 3 | “Ladies” | 79.9% | |
| 4 | JJ | “Fishhooks” | 77.5% |
| 5 | AKs | “Big slick, suited” | 67.0% |
| 6 | TT | “Dimes” | 75.1% |
| 7 | AQs | — | 66.2% |
| 8 | AKo | “Big slick” | 65.3% |
| 9 | AJs | — | 65.4% |
| 10 | KQs | “Royal couple” | 63.4% |
| 11 | 99 | “Wired nines” | 72.1% |
| 12 | ATs | — | 64.7% |
| 13 | AQo | “Big chick” | 64.4% |
| 14 | AJo | “Blackjack” | 63.6% |
| 15 | KJs | “Kojak” | 62.6% |
| 16 | 88 | “Snowmen” | 69.1% |
| 17 | A9s | — | 63.0% |
| 18 | KTs | — | 61.9% |
| 19 | QJs | “Maverick” | 60.3% |
| 20 | JTs | — | 58.5% |
Tier 1 — Premium: AA, KK, QQ, AKs. Raise and re-raise from any position. These hands win big pots on raw strength — the mistake isn't playing them wrong postflop, it's playing them too slow preflop.
Tier 2 — Strong: JJ, TT, AQs, AKo, AJs, KQs. Open from any seat, usually 3-bet from position. Facing a 3-bet, the pairs prefer calling to set-mine or stack off short; the big cards prefer position.
Tier 3 — Solid openers: 99, 88, ATs, AQo, KJs, QJs, JTs. Profitable opens from most positions, folds to heavy aggression from early seats. This tier is where position starts deciding everything.
Tier 4 — Position hands: 77–22, A9s–A2s, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, KQo, ATo, KJo, QJo. Late-position and blind-defense material: small pairs set-mine, suited aces block the nuts, suited connectors make disguised straights and flushes. Playable because of where you sit, not what you hold.
Why "which hands" is really "which seat"
A tier list answers the beginner question; the full answer is positional. The same 87s that's a clear fold under the gun is a standard open on the button, because five players acting behind you is a different game from zero. When you're ready for the seat-by-seat version — exact opening, 3-betting and defending ranges for all six positions — the preflop range chart is this page's grown-up sibling.
Starting hands FAQ
What are the best starting hands in Texas Hold'em?
The top ten, in conventional order: pocket aces, kings, queens, jacks, ace-king suited, tens, ace-queen suited, ace-king offsuit, ace-jack suited, and king-queen suited. Aces win about 85% of the time all-in against one random hand; even tenth-ranked KQs wins over 63%.
How many starting hands are there in Hold'em?
169 strategically distinct hands: 13 pocket pairs, 78 suited combinations, and 78 offsuit combinations. Counting exact cards there are 1,326 two-card combos — every offsuit hand has 12 combos, suited hands 4, and pairs 6, which is why you're dealt an offsuit hand three times as often as its suited twin.
Is AK better than a pocket pair?
Against small and medium pairs, AK is the classic coinflip — roughly 43–48% equity depending on suits. The pair is technically ahead, but AK's real strength is domination: when an ace or king flops, it usually has the best kicker. Raw all-in equity and playability are different questions, which is why AKs ranks above TT on most lists despite lower all-in equity versus a random hand.
What percentage of starting hands should you play?
Winning 6-max players typically play roughly 20–28% of hands, but the honest answer is positional: around 15–18% from the first seat and 40%+ on the button. Playing a fixed percentage from every seat is one of the most common measurable leaks in low-stakes poker.
Are suited hands much better than offsuit?
Suitedness adds about 2–4 percentage points of equity — real, but smaller than beginners assume. The deeper value is playability: suited hands flop flush draws that let you continue profitably. It turns KQs into a tier-2 hand while KQo waits for late position; it does not turn a bad hand into a good one.