Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em (Top 20 Ranked)
The top 5 starting hands in Texas Hold'em by raw equity are: 1. AA (Pocket Aces), 2. KK (Pocket Kings), 3. QQ (Pocket Queens), 4. AKs (Ace-King suited), 5. JJ (Pocket Jacks). These are 'premium hands' — always raise them, and stack off with the top three from any position.
Top 20 starting hands ranked by equity
Equity is shown vs a random hand. The 'premium' hands are clear value-raises from any position; below that, position and table dynamics matter more.
- •1. AA (Pocket Aces) — 85.3% vs random. The undisputed best starting hand.
- •2. KK (Pocket Kings) — 82.4%. Only loses to AA preflop.
- •3. QQ (Pocket Queens) — 79.9%. Strong but tricky vs aggression.
- •4. AKs (Ace-King suited) — 67.0%. The best non-pair, classic 'big slick.'
- •5. JJ (Pocket Jacks) — 77.5%. Profitable but the most-misplayed hand.
- •6. AKo (Ace-King offsuit) — 65.4%. Strong but slightly weaker than suited.
- •7. AQs (Ace-Queen suited) — 66.1%. Top of 'broadway' suited hands.
- •8. TT (Pocket Tens) — 75.0%. Fold to most 4-bets at micro.
- •9. AQo (Ace-Queen offsuit) — 64.5%. Beware of dominated kickers.
- •10. AJs (Ace-Jack suited) — 64.4%.
- •11. KQs (King-Queen suited) — 63.4%.
- •12. 99 (Pocket Nines) — 71.7%. Set-mining or play for one street.
- •13. ATs (Ace-Ten suited) — 63.8%.
- •14. AJo (Ace-Jack offsuit) — 62.9%.
- •15. KJs (King-Jack suited) — 62.0%.
- •16. 88 (Pocket Eights) — 69.1%.
- •17. KTs (King-Ten suited) — 60.6%.
- •18. QJs (Queen-Jack suited) — 60.5%.
- •19. KQo (King-Queen offsuit) — 60.4%.
- •20. 77 (Pocket Sevens) — 66.2%.
Premium hands vs strong hands
Hands #1-5 are premium — raise them from any position, including UTG, and stack off with AA/KK/AKs preflop without much thought. Hands #6-20 are 'strong' — profitable from late position, marginal from early position, and require careful postflop play.
What about suited connectors and small pairs?
Suited connectors (98s, 87s, 76s) and small pairs (22-66) don't make the top 20 by raw equity but can be very profitable. They have implied odds — when they hit, they hit big (sets, straights, flushes). They lose all their value when stacks are short. Play them from late position with at least 100bb behind.
Which hands to fold at micro-stakes
Despite what you'll read on Twitter, micro-stakes is mostly about folding. The hands you should auto-fold from any position unless you have a special reason:
- •All offsuit unconnected hands. K7o, Q9o, J6o, etc. They look reasonable but lose constantly to dominated equity.
- •Tiny suited Aces from early position. A4s, A3s, A2s — limited 3-bet bluff candidates only, fold them UTG/MP.
- •Most low offsuit connectors. 76o, 65o — fold preflop unless in BB getting good odds.
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Frequently asked
What's the best starting hand in poker?
Pocket Aces (AA), often called 'pocket rockets' or 'American Airlines.' AA wins 85.3% of the time vs a random hand and 81.5% in a heads-up matchup. It's the strongest possible starting hand in Texas Hold'em.
Is AKs better than QQ?
Slightly, in heads-up. AKs has 67% equity vs a random hand; QQ has 80% equity vs random. But head-to-head, AKs vs QQ is roughly 46% / 54% — QQ is favored. Most players treat them as roughly equivalent in modern play, with QQ being slightly stronger preflop and AKs having more flexibility postflop.
How many starting hands are there in Texas Hold'em?
There are exactly 1,326 unique two-card hands but only 169 unique 'hand classes' (because suits are symmetric). 13 are pairs, 78 are suited combos, 78 are offsuit combos. The 169-hand grid is what you see on preflop charts.
Should I always 3-bet Pocket Aces?
Almost always, but not 100% of the time. Standard play is to 3-bet AA for value preflop. Slow-playing (just calling) AA is occasionally correct against very aggressive 4-bettors who might fold to a 3-bet — but at micro-stakes, just 3-bet every time.
What hands beat AA preflop?
Nothing beats AA preflop. Even AA vs AA goes to a chop (split pot). No starting hand has more than 50% equity against pocket aces. Postflop, AA can be beaten when sets, straights, flushes or higher pairs come, but preflop it's the nuts.
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