We've talked about starting requirements for Texas Hold'em hands with pairs and hands with aces, one of which you're likely to pick up about one time in five, on average. 80% of the time, then, you'll be looking at unpaired, unaced hands. What are you gonna do with them? Let's take a look.
WHEELHOUSE HANDS. In my nomenclature, wheelhouse cards are cards between ten and ace-in most players' wheelhouse, so to speak. A wheelhouse hand, then, is one containing two unpaired, unaced cards: K-Q, K-J, K-T, Q-J, and Q-T. Those are some pretty hands, right?
Erk. Well, maybe.
K-Q probably gets more players into more trouble than any other hand in the history of Texas Hold'em. It flops a top pair, good kicker, only to get crushed by top pair, ace kicker. Remember, most people will play K-Q, but virtually everyone plays A-K and A-Q, so if you get heat in this situation, it's probably from a better hand.
This whole class of hands, though, represents a slippery poker slope. If you can convince yourself that K-Q is playable, how much argument could K-J require? And if K-J is good, what could possibly be wrong with Q-J? Q-T? Before you know it, you're considering any wheelhouse hand to be playable, even for raises.
Again, in all of this I don't put much more value on suited hands than unsuited ones. All "suited" seems to do is beguile the mind, and make us think that our hands are much, much stronger than they are. Remember my rule of thumb: If you wouldn't play it unsuited, don't play it suited either. Speaking of suited...
MIDDLE SUITED CONNECTORS. These hands have value in one particular way: If everyone else is playing wheelhouse hands, and you play something like 9-8 suited, the hand that hits you is unlikely to hit anybody else. So I say, yeah, go ahead and play your middle suited connectors, with the following big caveats:
- If there are raises in front of you, don't call, not ever. Respect the declared strength of those hands, and recognize that they're likely to bet again after the flop.
- If you're in late position with many callers, just call. You want to play this holding like the drawing hand it is.
- If you're in middle to late position and no one has entered the pot... raise! Yes, it's a substandard hand, but you're raising for deception here, and if you hit your hand, you'll get paid off well.
- If you miss the flop, you're done with it. Don't chase.
This last point is crucial. If you can't get away from suited connectors (or any hand) on the flop, you shouldn't play them in the first place. We are our own worst enemy sometimes, and never is this more evident than when we chase, chase, chase with little or no piece of the flop.
Okay, other Texas Hold'em hands.
LITTLE SUITED CONNECTORS. Little poison. Don't play.
UP-DOWNS. An up-down is something like K-6 or Q-5 or J-7. Don't play 'em.
UP-DOWN SUITEDS. Don't play 'em either.
GAPPED HANDS. T-8, 9-7, 8-6, etc. These forlorn ragamuffins are looking to hit the flop twice for two pair, trips or an open-ended straight draw. It's delusional madness. Don't play.
UGGOS. An uggo is an ugly hand with absolutely nothing going for it. 8-3, T-2, 9-4. Don't play. Not ever. I mean, seriously, get real.
Here's the deal with starting requirements: Either you have them or you don't, and either you respect them or you don't. There are plenty of players out there content to play any hand they hold. "Any two will do," they believe, and God love them for their cherished beliefs. Over time, they'll give you all their money... so long as you don't sink to their level.
Every poker hand is a horse race, you know. If every race were equal, everyone would win the same amount over time. But the races aren't equal - not when you have the choice of racing or not racing. When you enter the pot with good cards, it's like starting with a big head start. When you go in with bad cards, it's like starting with a big, fat handicap.
Having - and sticking to - a starting requirements strategy, ensures that you usually start with the lead. Either a big lead, as with big pocket pairs, or a small lead, as with A-big. Start with a hand like 7-6, though, and you're back, back, back in the pack. Yeah, you might win, but you inevitably have some catching up to do, and most of the time you'll finish exactly where you start: behind.
How about skipping that part? If you're not the favorite, scratch yourself from the race! There'll be another one along in a minute.
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