# Poker starting hands: which hands to play

Source: https://flopnight.com/en/poker-starting-hands/
Updated: 2026-11-04
Language: en
In German: https://flopnight.com/de/poker-starthaende/index.md
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to use if you credit Flopnight and link this page.

> Poker starting hands as a chart: all 169 hands in eight groups by Sklansky and Malmuth, a trainer to practice and why you play fewer hands early.

The best starting hands in Texas hold'em are a pair of aces, kings, queens or jacks and ace-king of the same suit. That is how the best-known grouping has it, the eight groups of David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth. The chart below shows all 169 starting hands with their group, and group 1 is the strongest.

Which hands you play also depends on your [position](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-terms/#position): whoever acts early needs stronger cards than the player on the [button](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-terms/#button). The groups come from a book about [limit](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-terms/#limit) hold'em. They don't carry over one to one to [no-limit](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-terms/#no-limit), but they still work as a guide.

## The starting hands chart

| Group | Hands | Groups 1 to here, share of all hands |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs | 2.1% |
| 2 | TT, AQs, AJs, KQs, AKo | 4.4% |
| 3 | 99, JTs, QJs, KJs, ATs, AQo | 6.9% |
| 4 | T9s, KQo, 88, QTs, 98s, J9s, AJo, KTs | 10.7% |
| 5 | 77, 87s, Q9s, T8s, KJo, QJo, JTo, 76s, 97s, A9s, A8s, A7s, A6s, A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s, 65s | 18.1% |
| 6 | 66, ATo, 55, 86s, KTo, QTo, 54s, K9s, J8s, 75s | 23.2% |
| 7 | 44, J9o, 64s, T9o, 53s, 33, 98o, 43s, 22, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4s, K3s, K2s, T7s, Q8s | 30.9% |
| 8 | 87o, A9o, Q9o, 76o, 42s, 32s, 96s, 85s, J8o, J7s, 65o, 54o, 74s, K9o, T8o | 40.9% |
| none | all other 84 hands | |

Groups by Sklansky and Malmuth, "Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players". s: both cards of the same suit, o: different suits. A ace, K king, Q queen, J jack, T ten.

Every square names its hand. The pairs are on the diagonal. Above and to the right of it are the hands where both cards have the same suit, called **suited** (s). Below and to the left are those with different suits, called **offsuit** (o). So the ace and king of hearts are "AKs", the ace of hearts with the king of spades is "AKo".

The suit itself doesn't matter, only whether both cards share it. Then you can make a [flush](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-hand-rankings/#flush). Which hand beats which is on the [hand rankings](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-hand-rankings/).

## Practice: play or fold?

Test yourself with random cards. You get two cards and decide whether to play the hand. Then you see its group, and the chart above marks the hand.

On the page: a starting hand trainer. Two cards are dealt, you choose "Play" or "Fold", and the answer names the group of the hand.

## How many starting hands are there?

169 different ones if you only look at the ranks and at same or different suits: 13 pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit hands. If you count every card on its own, there are 1,326 combinations. A pair comes in six ways, a suited hand in four and an offsuit hand in twelve.

So on average you get a pair once every 17 hands, and a particular pair like two aces once every 221 hands. The eight groups cover 85 of the 169 hands, which is 40.9% of all starting hands. In this system you fold the rest.

## Why position matters

Your **position** is where you sit relative to the dealer button, and so when you act. Whoever acts later has seen what the players before them did. On the button you act last in every betting round from the flop on and know whether anyone has bet. Whoever acts early decides without knowing that, and many players after them can still raise. That's why they need stronger cards.

The rule of thumb: early on you play only the top groups, and the closer you are to the button, the further down the chart you can go. Printed versions of the chart don't agree on which group belongs to which seat, so we don't give a fixed list here. The groups are meant for a full table. At the kitchen table with only a few players, you are in late position more often.

What each seat is called, from under the gun to the button, and who acts when is on our page about [poker table positions](https://flopnight.com/en/poker-table-positions/). How a whole hand plays out is in the [poker rules](https://flopnight.com/en/texas-holdem-rules/).

## Questions and answers

**What are the best starting hands in poker?**

A pair of aces, kings, queens or jacks, and ace-king of the same suit. That is group 1 in the grouping by Sklansky and Malmuth, together 2.1% of all starting hands.

**How many starting hands are there in poker?**

169 different ones: 13 pairs, 78 hands with both cards of the same suit and 78 with different suits. If you count every card on its own, there are 1,326 combinations.

**How often do I get a pair?**

On average once every 17 hands, because 78 of the 1,326 possible starting hands are a pair. A particular pair like two aces comes on average once every 221 hands.

**Why do you play fewer hands in early position?**

Whoever acts early doesn't know yet what the players after them will do, and many of them can still raise. That's why they need stronger cards than the player on the button.

## Sources

- Texas hold 'em starting hands (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hold_%27em_starting_hands
- Position (poker) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Position_(poker)
- Tom Fowler: Poker Hand Groupings (University of Toronto): https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~tfowler/PokerHandGroupings.html
- Two Plus Two Forum: Different versions of Sklansky Hand Groups for limit and no limit?: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/32/beginners-general-questions/different-versions-sklansky-hand-groups-limit-no-limit-34072/
- Poker TDA Rules 2026, Version 1.1 (Tournament Directors Association): https://www.pokertda.com/view-poker-tda-rules/

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