Does 1,325-to-1 look like long odds to you? Those are the odds of which hand you will receive at the beginning of every new deal at the hold'em table. There are 1,326 possible starting two card hands. While this number is correct, it encompasses every possible hand, and distorts what is important to us as hold'em players.
Before the flop, the starting hand of Jc-Js has the same exact value as Jh-Jd. Of course, if the board ultimately contains either four clubs or four spades then the first hand's value just soared.
With this dynamic in mind, we can pare down the number of starting hands to a relevant number of only 169.
Wow... that isn't such a big number! If we just consider the number of playable hands when we find ourselves having to act early in a full ring game we get down to about 26 hands, or only 15 percent of the total number possible. That number can vary slightly depending upon which starting hand chart you may use as reference. I chose to use the chart in Lou Krieger's "More Hold'em Excellence" for two very good reasons.
First, I believe it is the best starting hand requirements chart out there and secondly, as editor of "Poker Player Newspaper, " he's my boss. Shameless, I know!
Exploring the number of available hands a little further we discover that more than half the hands, specifically 91 of them, or 54 percent, are unplayable from any position. That leaves a balance of 52 hands that are playable, but only from later positions.
The balance of 52 is 31 percent and it is on those hands that most of the money is either won or lost in hold'em. These are the hands that are smaller pairs, connectors ... both suited and not, as well as high cards with mediocre kickers. The thinking man's hands! These are the ones in the middle so to speak. It's pretty basic, once you understand starting hand values, to throw away all those unplayable pieces of cheese and to raise 'em up with those big pocket pairs and A-K.
It's the 52 "hands in the middle" that require evaluation and suitability to play based upon position, the action taken by opponents, the caliber of your opponents and a host of other variables. It's what makes the game so challenging.
When we break down the total number of hands into the three categories of playable from any position, playable depending upon your position, and totally unplayable, doesn't it seem as though very few players play with these criteria in mind? As an example, you've noticed that a player in your game seems to be in every pot. Can he really have a decent hand from his position every deal? Of course not... he is a loose and gambling player. The most basic of hold'em knowledge, starting hand requirements and adherence to them, is what separates good players from the pack.
Our goal for today is to revisit those tables even if we think our level of knowledge is way beyond the need to review basics. You can never be too knowledgeable or skillful not to review basics on occasion.
Remember, your profit comes from the mistakes of your opponents. Those action junkies that are playing every hand are making an egregious error that will ultimately deplete their bankrolls. Don't become one of them, but rather take advantage of their lack of knowledge and/or discipline.
See you next "TIME."
