Poker is a highly engaging casino game. One of the concerns that strike players often is how much of the hand you should play. After all, Poker is a game that keeps changing and calls for your decisions to be adjusted according to your opponent’s actions. Especially, when playing with real money, you will not want to make mistakes and so, this guide can help you understand as to when it’s the appropriate time to call or raise.
Let’s begin with the starting hands: A♦ A♥ K♦ K♥, A♠ A♦ J♠ 10♦ and similar: Any hands featuring any pair of Aces with two broadway cards (Ten to King), are the best hands in PLO. You should raise and reraise with these hands and, if it is possible, go all-in before the flop.
When Should You Call In Poker?
Experts suggest that if you have a hand that you want to play when it’s your turn, it’s a good time to raise but in case you feel it isn’t a good hand, better to simply fold instead. By doing this, you might prevent your opponents from putting you on a weak hand as well as have them pool in more money at a time when you hold a good hand.
The Starting Hands in Different Positions in Poker
In a game of 9 handed tables, at least 6 players might wait to act. Even if it appears as a tight position, it calls for risking 3 blinds to win 1.5 blinds in case the 6 opponents fold. If called, you might also have to play out of position. This can be a disadvantage and having a string hand prior to the flop is a better approach.
- The Importance of Starting Hand Selection. As you know Poker is a game of maths and probability. It is therefore possible to know which starting hands are most probable to win a hand and this has been statistically proven in many studies.
- However, since the increase in hand strength is minimal (never more than 3-4%) I often simplify the starting hand number down to 91 when teaching beginners the game of Texas Hold’em. It sounds a bit less daunting to spin it as, “less than 100 hands”.
- To calculate your poker equity - or how often you should win a hand, you can use a simple formula. Count how many outs you have. For example, if you're drawing to a flush, you have 13 suited cards, two in your hand, two on the board - leaves 9 outs. The chance of you hitting on the turn is 9.4 (+4) = 40%.
The middle position is referred to the 2nd and 3rd positions in a 6 handed game and with fewer players, you get more chances to play in the position. The important players here are the ones between you and the button and if they call, you will have to play out of position. The number of hands you can play can be determined by how tight the hands are. You can add hands in the 2nd category if you are confident. Check for loose players on your left for it can may it a little tight for you.
The Cut-Off Button in Poker and Adjustments to Be Made
In a situation where you see the ‘cut-off’ button playing almost 70% of your hands, you may then have to tighten up. You can open up on a cutoff that has a tight button and raise it to 50%. This can guarantee you to stay in position in case you get called.
Keep a track of the small blind. If the big blind folds by 62.5% or a little more, you may raise 2 cards in your favour. It is best to keep the small blind range of raising similar to the cutoff range. A raise in front of you means that you need a stronger hand than your opponents or hold one with implied odds. 3-bets should be used either when you have better hands than opponents to fold or get called by a range that’s worse than yours.
Some adjustments are always required when playing Poker tournaments. In case you see that antes are impacting your game, you can think of winning it and raise an expansive range of your hands before the flop. In occasions where the stacks are shallow, it’s better to make overpairs rather than hit sets or make flushes. Instead of playing pairs or other weak-suited connectors, it’s always wiser to play high-card value hands in such situations. An ante signifies the presence of at least 2.5 big blinds that could appreciate your bet by almost 25% or even more without having to compete in a situation when everyone else folds. This will also make it possible for you to double up when you are called.
Poker Range Calculator
The Poker Hand Range Calculator calculates Texas Hold'em hand ranges from percentage values and vice-versa. All this online and free. Setup a poker range by selecting the hands in the poker hand calculator and share the link which is automatically generated for you.
Questions? Refer to our Poker Hand Calculator FAQ page.
Poker Hand Range Calculator
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| AA | AKs | AQs | AJs | ATs | A9s | A8s | A7s | A6s | A5s | A4s | A3s | A2s |
| AKo | KK | KQs | KJs | KTs | K9s | K8s | K7s | K6s | K5s | K4s | K3s | K2s |
| AQo | KQo | QJs | QTs | Q9s | Q8s | Q7s | Q6s | Q5s | Q4s | Q3s | Q2s | |
| AJo | KJo | QJo | JJ | JTs | J9s | J8s | J7s | J6s | J5s | J4s | J3s | J2s |
| ATo | KTo | QTo | JTo | TT | T9s | T8s | T7s | T6s | T5s | T4s | T3s | T2s |
| A9o | K9o | Q9o | J9o | T9o | 99 | 98s | 97s | 96s | 95s | 94s | 93s | 92s |
| A8o | K8o | Q8o | J8o | T8o | 98o | 88 | 87s | 86s | 85s | 84s | 83s | 82s |
| A7o | K7o | Q7o | J7o | T7o | 97o | 87o | 77 | 76s | 75s | 74s | 73s | 72s |
| A6o | K6o | Q6o | J6o | T6o | 96o | 86o | 76o | 66 | 65s | 64s | 63s | 62s |
| A5o | K5o | Q5o | J5o | T5o | 95o | 85o | 75o | 65o | 55 | 54s | 53s | 52s |
| A4o | K4o | Q4o | J4o | T4o | 94o | 84o | 74o | 64o | 54o | 44 | 43s | 42s |
| A3o | K3o | Q3o | J3o | T3o | 93o | 83o | 73o | 63o | 53o | 43o | 33 | 32s |
| A2o | K2o | Q2o | J2o | T2o | 92o | 82o | 72o | 62o | 52o | 42o | 32o | 22 |
100%
Texas Holdem Hand Percentages
Poker Hand Calculator For Poker Ranges
To fully utilize the poker hand calculator, follow the steps below:
Holdem Starting Hand Winning Percent
- 1. You obviously need a poker room to play. Make sure to check out one of the best poker rooms, William Hill.
- 2. So, now you're playing at one of the poker rooms. You also have our range calculator available. You may have an idea how of the range of your opponents. But how to keep track of all opponents' PFR, VPIP, etc? Here comes Holdem Manager into the picture. Holdem Manager is a poker tracker software: it keeps track of your opponents' play and shows the most important statistics of a player while playing. A time-limited version is available free. This piece of software is a must to have - even for low stakes.
- 3. Ok, now you're using Holdem Manager , and see that your opponent is re-raising (4-bet) 4% of his hands. But what is exactly 4%? Is TT in it? Simply use our range calculator to get an idea of his range. Although - with one million simulations per hand - the calculator's results are reliable, always keep in mind that there are other factors to take into account: your image shown at the table, the last hands played, etc. You will see that combining HM and our calculator makes you play poker much more profitable. The Poker Hand Range calculator will help you to make the best poker reads - you will most likely be able to read you opponents' poker tells. Just enter a percent value and hit calculate. The tool will show the hand range for the given percent value.
- 4. Enjoy more profitable poker!