Math question about poker odds--

[panader0]

I've recently learned how to play Texas hold em. Two cards are dealt face down to each of 8 players to start.
My question: What is the hierarchy of possibilities for two cards as far as strength?
I would guess that a pair of aces would be at number 1, followed by a pair of kings, etc.
Then what? Ace, king? What's the worst two card draw?
Just curious if anyone knows. I envision a chart showing the myriad possibilities in order.
Anyone else like poker?

[NYC_SKP]

1. Does this graph help?

http://poker-odds.flopturnriver.com/

..

[panader0]

4. That's the kind I had in mind.

'headed back to the table...'

[Make7]

2. Easy to read probability chart for 8-player Texas Hold 'em...

http://wizardofodds.com/games/texas-hold-em/8-player-game/

[panader0]

5. Wow! what a chart--I'll never remember all that.

Some times I play by feeling.

[NYC_SKP]

3. See also: "Texas Hold Em Flop Odds"

http://www.flopturnriver.com/texas-holdem-flop-odds.php

[cemaphonic]

6. One thing to keep in mind about holdem is that position is very important.

Because being last to act in each betting round is a big advantage, the closer you are to the dealer (on the right) the more leeway you have in your hand standards. But the first 10 pairs in the chart that NYC Skip posted can be played from just about anywhere.

But card standards are really just the tip of the iceberg as far as holdem strategy goes.

[Major Nikon]

15. I've only played once

My neighbor invited me over for poker night. I had very little idea what I was doing and everyone else had ample experience.

I won 2 out of the 3 rounds and came home with most of their money.

I didn't get invited back.

[pokerfan]

16. HE is very position dependant

but the OP has the right idea on paying attention to starting hand selection. It's really your first decision in HE. Do I play these two cards or not?

Because position is so important, it will play a factor in the quality of starting hands you play. The earlier you are in position, the stronger hand you should have to open. Calling the blinds is almost always wrong. Either raise or fold. Look at it this way, if you have the strongest possible hand, AA, and you just call from early position, you are inviting everyone behind you to just call and before you know it, you're seeing the flop with a bunch of players and AA is only ~50% against five random hands. Heads up you're 85%. You want to limit the competition.

The later you are in position, you can play trashier hands because you be later to act post flop. You can get aggressive with smaller pockets and suited connectors because your opponent will miss the flop about 2/3 of the time. Beware the check-raise though.

[darkangel218]

7. I have played texas hold em in the casino.

The trick is, when you have a good hand ( not great, just good ) , go all in.

You will intimidate and have em fold.

I used to play the 1,2$ with $300 limit. Won 90% of the time.

[Locut0s]

8. I'm guessing the real pros have most of these charts memorized?...

Course there's a lot more to it than that, knowing your opponent, when and how to bluff etc, that's where the art comes in.

[Chan790]

11. Not usually.

My friend from HS, Steve, is a professional poker player and instructor. At the professional level, it's almost all psychology and ability to read people...you can't play the odds, playing the odds does no better than guessing. (This has been demonstrably shown repeatedly. Playing the odds may help with your buddies in the backyard but it yields no advantage at a casino table. Playing a lot of hands yields a certain gut sense that approximates the actual odds accurate enough to suffice.) The expression is "You don't play the hand, you play the (wo)man."

Further, if they weren't poker players, maybe one of these guys would be a mathematician...more of them would be con-artists or mentalists. What's more, your likelihood of facing the same players over and over is very small...it's not about knowing your opponents, you couldn't possibly know them all...it's about the ability to quick-read strangers.

Attempting to suppress your own tells is ineffective, it acts to magnify them. This is why you see so many flamboyant players in sunglasses...obscuring the eyes makes it difficult to read faces, flamboyance and articulated gesturing make it easier to conceal your tells in a noise-screen of behaviors to read. That reduces it to posture and overt expression which are simple for most people to control.

[pokerfan]

17. Not really

They have the order of hands more or less committed to memory and they are cognizant of the possibility of being dominated preflop, e.g. AK vs AQ. And they are good at evaluating combos. And putting their opponents on a preflop range of hands. Post flop, if it's no limit, your opponent will not usually give you the right odds to chase a draw. If they do--and they are a skilled player--think long and hard about continuing. You may be drawing dead.

[7wo7rees]

9. Worst hand is 7-2 offsuit

Q7 offsuit is called "Computer" because it is the median hand. 50% of your opponents got dealt worse hands.
Every straight has either a ten or a five.
Most likely player to be bluffing: small blind. Second? Dealer.
Never call under the gun. Raise or fold.
Favorite hand? "Pulp Fiction" (QueenTen Tarantino)
May all your cards be live, and all your pots be monster.

[a kennedy]

10. I watch the world series of poker and I've heard that the worst two cards to get are the

ace, queen, but a tad better if they are suited, as in ace, queen of hearts, spades, clubs etc.....but the ace, queen combo is the worst according to the talking heads on the world series of poker on tv. I do play poker myself, not texas hold em, but poker.

[cemaphonic]

14. Nah, AQ is a pretty strong hand, even unsuited

I suspect that what you've heard is that it's a tricky and dangerous hand to play correctly, since it is easy to overvalue it. (AJ is even worse in that respect. But it's still a really good hand to get.

[pokerfan]

18. Worst hand is 7-2

but many players rue hands like AQ and JJ cause they get you in trouble. Hell, how many times do you pick up KK and get called, maybe by a couple of players and then an Ace shows up on the flop? Pay attention, don't get married to your hand and be prepared to make the big fold. Penny saved, yadda yadda....

[hobbit709]

12. All you need to know is Slim, None and Don't Even Think About It.

Not necessarily in that order.

[jakeXT]

13. Slim ?