Poker Hands - What Makes a good Hand?

What makes a good poker hand

We all know that Pocket Aces is the best starting hand in Hold ‘em. Pocket Kings through Jacks are pretty good too. After that, things can get a little murky. While there are a few holdings that you’re always going to play, many hands differ in value depending on the situation. Let’s take a look at some of these.

David Sklansky, poker theorist, developed general groupings for hand values. JJ and above and AK suited went in category one, TT, AJ suited or better and AK unsuited went in category two, etc. If you don’t feel like memorizing Sklansky’s groupings, remember that if both cards are in the Ace through Ten “zone”, you probably have a playable hand. Give suited hands a slight boost, and consider how close together the two cards are (i.e. JT has a greater value than QT because even though the QT has a higher card, the JT can make more straights.). Pocket pairs below Tens can still be good, but tend to decrease in value after the flop, when overcards (cards higher than your pair that could match cards in your opponent’s hand) are likely to appear.

What about suited connectors? These are the types of hands such as 4s5s or 8h9h that poker legend Doyle Brunson made famous in his book Super/System. Doyle has won millions with such hands and suggests that you can too. But when do you play them and why?

One value of suited connectors is that they are easily disguised, especially if you raise before the flop. Were you to raise pre-flop with a hand like 4s5s, and the flop came 3h 6d 7s, your opponents will be likely to put you on an overpair or even AK when you bet again and be more likely to pay you off. Another value of these holdings is that they have multiple ways to make the best hand. With two big cards, you hope to pair one of them with the board and that that big pair is enough to take the pot. Suited connectors can make straights, flushes, or even get lucky and make trips or two pair. You won’t make a big hand as often as the category one hands, but when you do you will be able to bet them aggressively, knowing you will win the pot. The added value of this is the ability to put pressure on your opponents after the flop. For example, the flop comes 3h 6d As to your hand of 4s5s. You make a large bet, and your opponent calls. The turn is the 9s. Now is a good opportunity to move all of your chips into the pot. Your opponent almost certainly has the best hand, perhaps even AK. But he can’t know this. He may be facing A9, A3, 33, or 66. There is tremendous pressure on him to fold. However even if he calls, you have fifteen outs, cards that will win you the pot on the river (nine spades will give you a flush, plus the six non-spade deuces and sevens will make you a straight).

Of course, you can’t push all-in unless you are playing No Limit (or have very few chips). So what is the value of these hands in a Limit game? The answer is very little. Without that ability to put pressure on your opponent to fold, you are stuck with the odds of your suited connectors hitting (making a good hand with) the board, which are not nearly as good as the odds of high cards doing so. Even if you make a hand, the amount of money you will make in a Limit pot will not be enough to make up for the times you paid to see the flop with your connectors and had to throw them away when they missed.

In Limit games you should be concentrating on high cards, if they are suited and close together all the better. You can play more hands, like small suited connectors, in No Limit games, if you are able to get away from those hands when it is too expensive to draw at them, and you are extracting maximum value when they hit.