Texas Hold'em Starting Hands
There are 1,326 ways to be dealt two cards, but only 169 different starting hands once suits stop mattering: 13 pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit. Here is every one, with how often it wins against one random hand dealt all the way to the river.
Play free Texas Hold'emThe chart
Pairs run down the diagonal. Above it are suited hands (both cards one suit, like A♠ K♠); below it the same hands offsuit (A♠ K♥). T is the Ten, as on most charts. The brighter the square, the stronger the hand.
| A | K | Q | J | T | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | AA85% | AKs67% | AQs66% | AJs65% | ATs65% | A9s63% | A8s62% | A7s61% | A6s60% | A5s60% | A4s59% | A3s58% | A2s57% |
| K | AKo65% | KK82% | KQs63% | KJs63% | KTs62% | K9s60% | K8s58% | K7s57% | K6s57% | K5s56% | K4s55% | K3s54% | K2s53% |
| Q | AQo65% | KQo61% | QQ80% | QJs60% | QTs59% | Q9s58% | Q8s56% | Q7s54% | Q6s54% | Q5s53% | Q4s52% | Q3s51% | Q2s50% |
| J | AJo63% | KJo61% | QJo58% | JJ77% | JTs57% | J9s56% | J8s54% | J7s52% | J6s51% | J5s50% | J4s49% | J3s48% | J2s47% |
| T | ATo63% | KTo60% | QTo57% | JTo55% | TT75% | T9s54% | T8s52% | T7s51% | T6s49% | T5s47% | T4s47% | T3s46% | T2s45% |
| 9 | A9o61% | K9o58% | Q9o55% | J9o53% | T9o52% | 9972% | 98s51% | 97s49% | 96s47% | 95s46% | 94s44% | 93s43% | 92s43% |
| 8 | A8o60% | K8o56% | Q8o54% | J8o51% | T8o50% | 98o48% | 8869% | 87s48% | 86s46% | 85s45% | 84s43% | 83s41% | 82s40% |
| 7 | A7o59% | K7o55% | Q7o52% | J7o50% | T7o48% | 97o46% | 87o45% | 7766% | 76s45% | 75s44% | 74s42% | 73s40% | 72s38% |
| 6 | A6o58% | K6o54% | Q6o51% | J6o48% | T6o46% | 96o44% | 86o43% | 76o42% | 6663% | 65s43% | 64s41% | 63s40% | 62s38% |
| 5 | A5o58% | K5o53% | Q5o50% | J5o47% | T5o44% | 95o43% | 85o42% | 75o40% | 65o40% | 5560% | 54s42% | 53s40% | 52s38% |
| 4 | A4o57% | K4o52% | Q4o49% | J4o46% | T4o43% | 94o41% | 84o40% | 74o39% | 64o38% | 54o38% | 4457% | 43s39% | 42s37% |
| 3 | A3o56% | K3o51% | Q3o48% | J3o45% | T3o43% | 93o40% | 83o37% | 73o37% | 63o36% | 53o36% | 43o35% | 3354% | 32s36% |
| 2 | A2o55% | K2o51% | Q2o47% | J2o44% | T2o42% | 92o39% | 82o37% | 72o34% | 62o34% | 52o34% | 42o33% | 32o32% | 2250% |
Each figure is the share of the pot won against one random hand, with ties counted as half, from 400,000 deals of each hand (accurate to about 0.15 points). At a full table the numbers fall for every hand, and big pairs fall least.
The best and the worst
The ten best
- Pocket Aces (AA): 85%
- Pocket Kings (KK): 82%
- Pocket Queens (QQ): 80%
- Pocket Jacks (JJ): 77%
- Pocket Tens (TT): 75%
- Pocket Nines (99): 72%
- Pocket Eights (88): 69%
- Ace-King suited (AKs): 67%
- Ace-Queen suited (AQs): 66%
- Pocket Sevens (77): 66%
The five worst
- Three-Two offsuit (32o): 32%
- Four-Two offsuit (42o): 33%
- Six-Two offsuit (62o): 34%
- Five-Two offsuit (52o): 34%
- Seven-Two offsuit (72o): 34%
What the chart tells you
- Pairs are strong heads-up. Even pocket Twos win about half the time against one random hand.
- Suited is worth about 2 to 3 points. Ace-King suited beats Ace-King offsuit by less than most players think; don't play a hand just because it's suited.
- High cards matter most. Ace-anything wins more than half the time against one random hand.
- Against more players, it changes. Hands that make straights and flushes (suited connectors like 9-8 suited) gain value in big pots with many players; one high card loses value.
- Position matters as much as cards. The later you act, the more hands you can play: you see what everyone else does first.
Practice it
At our free table, Learn mode shows your starting hand by name and its chance to win against the players still in, on every hand, so you can feel how a hand's value drops as more players call.
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