

So, in this case that would mean A7s, A8s, A9s, ATs, AJs, AQs and AKs. The “+” at the end of a hand like A7s+ means play all suited aces that are at least A7s or better. 77+ means play all pocket pairs including 77 and better, so this range excludes the pocket pairs 22 through 66. The notation 22+ means you should be playing 22 and all other higher-ranking pocket pairs. The other important notation you’ll often see is “+”, which can mean different things depending on what hand it’s attached to.
#TEXAS HOLDEM HAND RANKINGS PREFLOP UPGRADE#
Note: Want to upgrade your poker skills? Get free preflop charts and start playing like a pro before the flop. JTs is a hand you’ll be playing most of the time, while JTo is played much less often. Many of the recommended staring hands from the Upswing Preflop charts include suited combinations of hands, but not their offsuit counterparts. JTo denotes any jack-ten combo with two different suits, like J ♥T♣. So for example, JTs is the notation for jack-ten suited, and includes J♣T♣, J ♥T ♥, J♠T♠ and J ♦T ♦. When you’re reading an article from the Upswing Poker blog, or looking at our free preflop charts, suited hands will be denoted with an “s”, while offsuit hands are denoted with an “o”. All other starting hands are in the offsuit category, like A♠8 ♦, 7♣5 ♥ and K ♥9 ♦. Suited hands contain two cards of the same suit, like J♣9♣, A ♥K ♥, K♠Q♠ and 9 ♦3 ♦. Let’s first become familiar with the common poker starting hand notations you’ll often see in articles from the Upswing Poker Strategy section and elsewhere.Īll Texas Hold’em starting hands can be separated into two categories: “suited” and “offsuit”. Preflop mistakes will sabotage your game, so let’s go through some of the essential elements of selecting your Texas Hold’em Starting Hands:

Strong hands like A ♥A♣ and K♠K ♦ should always be played from any position, while hands like 8 ♥3♣ are very weak and should almost never proceed past the preflop betting round.įactors like position, number of players in the hand, and playing style of your opponents should all be considered when deciding to put money in the pot preflop. It’s critical to have a solid understanding of poker hand rankings, what hands are worth playing, and how those hands change based on your position at the table. If you’re playing a winning strategy, you’ll be folding preflop more than 70 percent of the time. Success in Texas Hold’em starts with good preflop hand selection.
