Starting hands - key to success in Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular variations of poker played around the world, both in regular and online casinos. Just like any other type of poker, this too requires having a proper strategy in place so that you can win the pot. If you want to improve your game, it is best to begin with knowing how to determine if you have a good starting hand that can help to win the game. This can also guide you with regards to your preflop hand.

For this you need to do some simple mathematical calculations to ascertain the strength of your hand and compare the same against pot odds. Generally, you can consider that you have a good starting hand if you have high ranking cards. However, if you think that you can make a pair at the most it will be wise to fold.

To calculate your starting hand strength you need to add the points ascribed to each card. Thus, you get 16 points for an Ace, 14 points for a King, 13 points for a Queen, 11 points for Ten and equal points as the face value of various number cards. Once you add all the points, do not forget to add 10 points for a pair, four points for two cards of the same suit and three points for connected cards.

If your total comes to more than 30 points, you can consider your starting hand to be a premium hand and continue betting in the game. If you are sitting in a middle position in the table and have a total point score of 27 for your starting hands you can safely play the hand without a raise. It is best to call a raise only when you have more that 34 points and are playing from an early position.