Premium Starting Hands in Texas Holdem

It doesn't really matter whether you're playing no limit Texas holdem or limit holdem, you'll usually want to raise preflop when you get premium starting hands. A lot of poker strategy is nothing more than applied common sense. When you get a good hand, raise with it. When you get a bad hand, fold it. Often, the simplest and most obvious move is the correct move.

Some Texas holdem players don't get this. They're convinced that every play they make in a Texas hold'em game has to be deceptive. So they'll slowplay their premium hands preflop, and they don't earn as much money with their big hands as they should. Or they'll get crappy cards preflop and try to bluff with them, but they bluff way too often. Be grateful for such players, but don't play like they do.

What are premium starting hands in Texas holdem? Any AA, KK, QQ, or AK is a premium hand preflop. Only rarely will someone else have you beat in this situation. You might have to slow down a little bit with the betting on the flop--you might even have to throw your hand away--but while you're ahead in the race, you need to be getting money into the pot.

For one thing, if you go to a showdown, you'll show that you were raising with premium cards. This will set you up for potential semibluffs or bluffs later in the game. For another thing, the better your hand, the more money you'll want in the pot. And getting money into the pot requires betting and raising.

And sometimes all of your opponents will fold in the face of your preflop raise. That's okay too, because you win those chips without a showdown. There's no possibility of someone drawing out on you when everyone folds. In fact, you don't even have to show your hand, which is the best kind of deception you can hope for in a poker game.