Poker Hand Rankings

Every Hold'em starting hand ranked by long-term win rate — use it as a baseline for your preflop selection.

Every 2-card starting hand in Texas Hold’em, ranked by long-term winning percentage against random opponents. Use these charts as a baseline for your preflop hand selection.

What you’ll find on this page
📊 Complete rankings of all 91 starting hand combinations
📖 Detailed win rates broken down by highest card (Ace through 3)
🎯 Strategy advice on how to use hand strength in real play
🧠 Memorization techniques for internalizing starting hand charts

Complete Hand Rankings

Every starting hand ranked 1–91 by overall strength. Percentages show win rates against 1, 2, and 3 random opponents at showdown.

The most important number

Even pocket Aces — the best hand in Hold’em — drops from 85% heads-up to 64% against 3 opponents. This is why isolating preflop is the single most profitable adjustment a beginner can make.

A
K
Q
J
T
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
A
K
Q
J
T
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
👆
Select a hand to see win rates

Win Rates by Starting Card

Expand any section to see the full win percentages for each starting card against 1–8 opponents.

How to Use Hand Strength

1
Learn the tiers
Premium hands (AA-QQ, AK) are always playable. Strong hands (JJ-99, AQ-AJ) are position-dependent. Everything else is situational.
2
Adjust for position
In early position, play only premium and strong hands. In late position, you can open wider because you act last postflop.
3
Count your opponents
The more players in the pot, the tighter you play. Your winning percentage drops with every additional opponent.
4
Consider stack depth
Deep stacks (100bb+) favor speculative hands like suited connectors. Short stacks (under 30bb) favor high-card strength.
5
Practice the ranges
Start with a tight range and loosen up as you gain experience reading opponents and situations.
The golden rule of starting hands

Tight is right for beginners. Play fewer hands, but play them aggressively. You’ll win more money folding bad hands than you’ll lose by missing marginal spots.

Key Observations

✅ Pocket pairs are overvalued by beginners — small pairs (22–66) only flop a set 12% of the time and are difficult to play post-flop without one
✅ Suited cards add roughly 3–4% equity over their offsuit versions — enough to matter, but not enough to play junk just because it is suited
✅ Position matters more than hand strength in most spots — a mediocre hand in position beats a strong hand out of position over the long run
✅ Connected cards (like 89s, JTs) gain value in multiway pots where you can see cheap flops and hit straights or flushes
❌ Ace-rag offsuit (A2o–A9o) is one of the most commonly overplayed holdings — it dominates nothing and gets dominated by better aces constantly
❌ Face card combos like KJo and QJo look strong but play poorly from early position — they make second-best hands too often

Common Questions

The bottom line

Hand strength charts are a starting point, not a strategy. The best players use these numbers as a foundation, then adjust for position, stack depth, opponent tendencies, and table dynamics. Master the basics first — then learn when to break the rules.