Poker Strategy - Starting Hands

The first thing you must understand when you play Texas Holdem is which hands are good and which are bad. Though it depends on the number of people in the game and the type, here is a general guide to use when you are just starting out but want to be a winning player at the lower limits. I suggest starting out at a fixed limit of $1-2 or lower.

Note: the following guidelines are only for fixed-limit Hold'em

Hands to Raise with:
These are 'premium hands' that you want to jam the pot with preflop:

AA, KK, QQ, AK, JJ, AQ, TT

Hands to call with:
You want to see the flop with these hands and then decide. Do not call three bets with these hands, call only one or two.

AJ, KQ, QJ, JT, T9 (only if of same suit), 99, 88, 77, Ax (same suit)

For continuation on this subject with some examples go to the section on reading the board.

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