Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em (With Win Percentages)
Which hands should you play before the flop? This guide ranks the best starting hands in Texas Hold’em using real numbers: the equity of each hand against one opponent and against a full table of five.
Top Texas Hold’em starting hands
| Hand | Equity vs 1 player | Equity vs 5 players |
|---|---|---|
| A♠ A♥ (pocket aces) | 85.1% | 49.3% |
| K♠ K♥ (pocket kings) | 82.5% | 43.2% |
| Q♠ Q♥ (pocket queens) | 80.2% | 37.7% |
| J♠ J♥ (pocket jacks) | 77.8% | 33.9% |
| A♠ K♠ (ace-king suited) | 67.0% | 31.1% |
| 10♠ 10♥ (pocket tens) | 74.9% | 30.2% |
| A♠ Q♠ (ace-queen suited) | 66.1% | 29.7% |
| K♠ Q♠ (king-queen suited) | 63.3% | 28.3% |
| A♠ J♠ (ace-jack suited) | 65.4% | 27.8% |
| A♠ K♦ (ace-king offsuit) | 65.3% | 27.7% |
| A♠ 10♠ (ace-ten suited) | 64.9% | 27.0% |
| K♠ J♠ (king-jack suited) | 62.6% | 26.9% |
| 9♠ 9♥ (pocket nines) | 71.9% | 26.6% |
| Q♠ J♠ (queen-jack suited) | 60.1% | 26.1% |
| A♠ Q♦ (ace-queen offsuit) | 64.4% | 25.9% |
| J♠ 10♠ (jack-ten suited) | 57.4% | 24.7% |
| 8♠ 8♥ (pocket eights) | 69.1% | 23.7% |
| 10♠ 9♠ (ten-nine suited) | 54.2% | 22.6% |
The table is sorted by equity against five players, the situation you face most often at a full table. Equity is the share of the pot the hand wins on average, calculated over tens of thousands of random deals with our poker odds calculator.
What the numbers tell you
- Big pairs are the best hands, but they lose value fast as more players join: pocket aces drop from 85% heads-up to about 49% against five opponents.
- Suited cards are worth a little more. A♠ K♠ has about 2% more equity than A♠ K♦ against one player, mostly from flushes.
- Small pairs win heads-up but struggle multiway. Pocket eights are 69% against one hand and only 24% against five.
- Connected suited cards like J♠ 10♠ are weaker heads-up but make straights and flushes that win big pots.
A simple starting hand plan
- Raise with pairs from 10-10 up and with A-K, A-Q and A-J suited, from any position.
- Play more hands from late position (the dealer button and the seat before it), because you act last after the flop.
- Fold most hands from early position, especially weak aces such as A-7 offsuit and unsuited low cards.
- Remember the worst hand: 7-2 offsuit wins only about 35% against one random hand.
Practise your starting hands
Try the plan against the computer: play free Texas Hold’em online and turn on the win-chance helper. For the full maths, read how to calculate poker equity and the poker hand rankings.
FAQ
What is the best starting hand in Texas Hold’em? Pocket aces (A-A). They win about 85% of the time against one random hand.
Is ace-king better than a pocket pair? It depends. A-K is about a coin flip against small pairs (47% against 2-2) and an underdog to big pairs (43% against Q-Q).
What is the worst starting hand? 7-2 offsuit, with about 35% equity against one random hand.
How often are you dealt pocket aces? Once every 221 hands on average.