A new style

Apologies to theosopy

Texas Hold'em starting hands:

The best starting hands are those with good drawing potential. A little thought tells us that hands like 10-5 offsuit are therefore the best starting hands, since such a hand can make any possible straight (from 5-high to ace-high), and 2 possible flushes.

Nevertheless, with such starting hands, it is important to drive out trash hands before the flop. Some loose players are content to play weak starting hands like ace-king suited, even though it can only make one straight and one flush. When one is dealt a premium hand like 10-5 offsuit, it is important to play it for a raise or a re-raise (or indeed, a re-re-raise) to drive such trashy hands out.

Pocket pairs such as pocket aces should be regarded as marginal starting hands. With a hand like this, it is preferable to limp-in and see the flop cheaply. The reasons are obvious: although such a hand can make one of 2 different flushes, its straight-making potential is limited; indeed, half the hand is essentially wasted since any straight will only use one of the hole cards.

Pocket aces are of course the worst of a bad lot, since they are less likely to make a straight than any other hand.

A pocket pair is also less likely to make a set (three-of-a-kind) since there is only one such set it can make, while a premium hand like 10-5 can make two different sets.

Naturally, a hand like 10-5 offsuit is extremely likely to make a full-house or a quad if it fails to make a straight or flush. Again, the reasons are obvious upon reflection: any card other than a 10 or a 5 helps this hand make a straight by the river, and half of those also help it make a flush, so the only realistic way 10-5 offsuit can fail to improve to a straight or flush is if several 10s or 5s fall on the board.

Again taking 10-5 offsuit as our example, in the improbable event of 3 cards falling on the flop that completely rule out a straight or a flush (e.g. K 7 2 rainbow) you should still play on, especially if the pot has been jammed pre-flop. Here's why: with such pre-flop action, it is extremely likely that your opponents also have premium hands, but there is a strong chance that theirs are weaker hands like 9-4. In this case, your 10-high will almost certainly hold up. Raise and re-raise in this situation.

Finally, a word about bluffing on the river. You must always be willing to get all of your chips in with no hand, even when you put your opponent on a good or great hand. With sufficiently authoritative betting, you may even be able to get an experienced opponent to lay down the absolute nuts out of pure shock.

This concludes our lesson. Play with my "Super Duper System", and all your opponents will tell you how great your Poker is and how much they enjoy playing with such a skilled opponent. There is no higher accolade than to be warmly welcomed into every game by one's fellow players.

Next week: Omaha High: aggressive play with bottom pair.