3 Starting Hand Strategies for Holdem
1. Lou Krieger's Start Hand
(from Hold'Em Excellence, From Beginner to Winner)
Lou Krieger's Start Chart is a graphical representation of which hands can be played based on position. Early position is about the first four seats after the button, middle position is the next 3 or so and late position is one or two off the button plus the button. Below is an abridged version of Lou Krieger's Start Chart (tabular format).
Read more on Lou Krieger's Starting Hand Strategy here.
Playable Hands in Early Position
Pairs: Aces through Sevens
Suited: Ace with a King, Queen, Jack, or 10
King with a Queen, Jack, or 10
Queen with a Jack or 10
Jack with a 10 or 9
10 with a 9
Unsuited: Aces with a King, Queen, Jack, or 10
King with a Queen or Jack
Playable Hands in Middle Position
All hands in Early Position PLUS:
Pairs: Sixes and Fives
Suited: Ace with a 9, 8, 7, or 6
King with a 9
Queen with a 9 or 8
Jack with an 8
10 with an 8
9 with an 8
Unsuited: King with a 10
Queen with a Jack or 10
Jack with a 10
Playable Hands in Late Position
All hands in Early and Middle Position PLUS:
Pairs: Fours, Threes, and Twos
Suited: Ace with a 5, 4, 3, or 2
King with an 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Jack with a 7
10 with a 7
9 with a 7 or 6
8 with a 7 or 6
7 with a 6 or 5
6 with a 5
5 with a 4
Unsuited: King with a 9
Queen with a 9
Jack with a 9 or 8
10 with a 9 or 8
9 with an 8 or 7
8 with a 7
2. Sklansky & Malmuth's Starting Hand Groups
David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth took the approach of grouping the starting hands based on strength. This allows the player the freedom to choose what strength is needed for what situation and position. In their book they go into detail on what circumstances call for which group. For simplicity, remember that Groups 1-2 are powerful hands (high pairs, high suited cards), Groups 3-5 are medium hands (medium pairs) and Groups 6-8 are weaker hands.
See here for the actual Starting Hands Groups
3. The Bill Chen Formula
(from Hold'em Excellence)
The formula below was developed by Bill Chen. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information regarding Bill Chen on the Internet, otherwise I would include more information. Basically he developed a mathematical formula to determine if a hand is playable based on giving the cards certain values. For the most part, the formula works well and we used it in our Starting Hand Quiz.
Determine your highest card and score as follows: (only use your lower card for gap and suited analysis)
* Ace = 10 points
* King = 8 points
* Queen = 7 points
* Jack = 6 points
* 10 through 2 = half of face value (i.e. 10 = 5, 9 = 4.5)
* Pairs, multiply score by 2 (i.e. KK = 16), minimum score for a pair is 5 (so pairs of 2 through 4 get a 5 score)
* Suited cards, add two points to highest card score
* Connectors add 1 point (i.e. KQ)
* One gap, subtract 1 point (i.e. T8)
* Two gap, subtract 2 points (i.e. AJ)
* Three gap, subtract 4 points (i.e. J7)
* Four or more gap, subtract 5 points (i.e. A4)
Sample scores
AA = 20 points
98s = 7.5 points
K9s = 6 points
The information below is not strictly from the Chen formula as he believed the system only told you what to play, not when to come in for a raise. There are too many factors in determining when to raise, call or fold. The scores below can be used as a general rule of thumb.
Early Position
* Raise = Score is 9 or higher
* Call = Score is 8 or higher
* Fold = Score is lower than 8
Middle Position
* Raise = Score is 9 or higher
* Call = Score is 7 or higher
* Fold = Score is lower than 7
Late Position
* Raise = Score is 9 or higher
* Call = Score is 6 or higher
* Fold = Score is lower than 6
(from Hold'Em Excellence, From Beginner to Winner)
Lou Krieger's Start Chart is a graphical representation of which hands can be played based on position. Early position is about the first four seats after the button, middle position is the next 3 or so and late position is one or two off the button plus the button. Below is an abridged version of Lou Krieger's Start Chart (tabular format).
Read more on Lou Krieger's Starting Hand Strategy here.
Playable Hands in Early Position
Pairs: Aces through Sevens
Suited: Ace with a King, Queen, Jack, or 10
King with a Queen, Jack, or 10
Queen with a Jack or 10
Jack with a 10 or 9
10 with a 9
Unsuited: Aces with a King, Queen, Jack, or 10
King with a Queen or Jack
Playable Hands in Middle Position
All hands in Early Position PLUS:
Pairs: Sixes and Fives
Suited: Ace with a 9, 8, 7, or 6
King with a 9
Queen with a 9 or 8
Jack with an 8
10 with an 8
9 with an 8
Unsuited: King with a 10
Queen with a Jack or 10
Jack with a 10
Playable Hands in Late Position
All hands in Early and Middle Position PLUS:
Pairs: Fours, Threes, and Twos
Suited: Ace with a 5, 4, 3, or 2
King with an 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Jack with a 7
10 with a 7
9 with a 7 or 6
8 with a 7 or 6
7 with a 6 or 5
6 with a 5
5 with a 4
Unsuited: King with a 9
Queen with a 9
Jack with a 9 or 8
10 with a 9 or 8
9 with an 8 or 7
8 with a 7
2. Sklansky & Malmuth's Starting Hand Groups
David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth took the approach of grouping the starting hands based on strength. This allows the player the freedom to choose what strength is needed for what situation and position. In their book they go into detail on what circumstances call for which group. For simplicity, remember that Groups 1-2 are powerful hands (high pairs, high suited cards), Groups 3-5 are medium hands (medium pairs) and Groups 6-8 are weaker hands.
See here for the actual Starting Hands Groups
3. The Bill Chen Formula
(from Hold'em Excellence)
The formula below was developed by Bill Chen. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information regarding Bill Chen on the Internet, otherwise I would include more information. Basically he developed a mathematical formula to determine if a hand is playable based on giving the cards certain values. For the most part, the formula works well and we used it in our Starting Hand Quiz.
Determine your highest card and score as follows: (only use your lower card for gap and suited analysis)
* Ace = 10 points
* King = 8 points
* Queen = 7 points
* Jack = 6 points
* 10 through 2 = half of face value (i.e. 10 = 5, 9 = 4.5)
* Pairs, multiply score by 2 (i.e. KK = 16), minimum score for a pair is 5 (so pairs of 2 through 4 get a 5 score)
* Suited cards, add two points to highest card score
* Connectors add 1 point (i.e. KQ)
* One gap, subtract 1 point (i.e. T8)
* Two gap, subtract 2 points (i.e. AJ)
* Three gap, subtract 4 points (i.e. J7)
* Four or more gap, subtract 5 points (i.e. A4)
Sample scores
AA = 20 points
98s = 7.5 points
K9s = 6 points
The information below is not strictly from the Chen formula as he believed the system only told you what to play, not when to come in for a raise. There are too many factors in determining when to raise, call or fold. The scores below can be used as a general rule of thumb.
Early Position
* Raise = Score is 9 or higher
* Call = Score is 8 or higher
* Fold = Score is lower than 8
Middle Position
* Raise = Score is 9 or higher
* Call = Score is 7 or higher
* Fold = Score is lower than 7
Late Position
* Raise = Score is 9 or higher
* Call = Score is 6 or higher
* Fold = Score is lower than 6
posted by Rog at 9:30 AM
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