...Online Poker Reviews and Strategies...
The toughest poker hands to play
Starting hand selection is extremely important in low to medium stakes poker. Knowing which hands one should play and which ones one should fold is not enough though. The true challenge lies in understanding why you should play a certain starting hand and muck another, and the strategic intricacies behind the choice. If you understand why you call on a starting hand and why you raise on another, you’ll have an easy time continuously adjusting your pocket hand requirements to the circumstances at hand.
The need for starting hand selection arises because not all starting
hands are created equal. The 7,2o for instance is much more likely to
lose a pot in which it is involved than an A,A. These two hands represent
the extremes, and as such are easy to play. Some hands however, which
are between these two, cause serious problems not only for rookies but
for experienced pros as well.
Such a hand is the J,J. While it may look like a true powerhouse (and
it indeed is against any randomly dealt pocket hand) the pair of jacks
is the second most overplayed hand in poker. As such, it is responsible
for huge losses on the part of the players who overplay them. Here’s
the reason why playing a pair of Jacks can be tricky: if you place a
preflop raise with this hand, the only hands that will call you are
either coinflip hands, or much stronger than yours (Q,Q, K,K or A,A).
While before the flop you are indeed the happy possessor of a top 4
hand, after the flop all you have is a pair, something which becomes
extremely vulnerable to implied odds hands (like small pocket pairs
chasing a set, flush and straight draws) if you fail to make your set.
A, J is another hand that spells trouble for most beginners and even some advanced players. The fact that you have an Ace with another high-card in the pocket may trick you into believing that you have a premium hand, when in fact you do not even have a good one. The A,J should be looked upon as if it were a A,10, because it’s really not better than that in a regular game. In a heads-up game though, most starting hands gain value, and so will the A,J. There, you should treat it like an A,K.
The K,10 is probably the nastiest hand you can be dealt. This hand will make you suck out almost more than any other, on account of the simple fact that there are far too many boards that lead to the second best hand with K,10.
If you hit top pair on the flop with K,10 you’re probably neck deep in trouble as the weakness of your kicker leaves a serious question-mark hanging above the validity of your hand. This way, even if you happen to have the best hand, you may shy away from playing it to its full potential. If you have the second best hand and decide to get aggressive on it, the consequences may be dire.
If you hit a pair of 10s, you’re probably well behind from the get go. If you hit two pairs, the possibility of succumbing to a straight is radically increased.
About the only board texture that puts you solidly in the lead on your K,10 is one that brings about a Broadway straight or the possibility of one.
The A,Q is the hand which is notorious for its trouble brewing potential even among professional players. From a strictly mathematical perspective, the suited A,Q is among the top 6 best poker hands. If you read about a little though, you’ll find that most professionals do not include it in their top 6 starting hands, exactly on account of its trouble making ways.
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