Moving Beyond the Top 10 Hands

Written By Chouhab on vendredi 23 janvier 2009 | 10:53

By Michael Monroe

Those starting out at playing poker are advised to sticking to the top 10 hands in order to ensure that they win as often as possible. However, if a player is wishing to become competitive against more seasoned players eventually they are going to have to learn to play hands other than the top 10, because otherwise they are never going to make it to the top tables. Learning to play the other hands is not difficult, but it does take some practice and concentration.

Many good hands do not fall into the category of top 10, yet they are still very hands. Some of these hands are actually better than a top 10 hand, so learning to play them will increase your chances of winning big.

Let's say that everyone at the table has a Jack and a Queen, but you have two 6's. In this case your hand is better than everyone else's and you actually have higher odds of winning than they do. It's not likely that this will happen, but it shows that sometimes a top 10 hand isn't the best way to go.

There are occasions when a top 10 hand is best, yet there are other occasions where they need to be folded. You could be playing a big pot and have a 6-7 suited, while the other players have a KK or AA. In this case the two players with the pairs have lower odds than you do of winning. If you can stick with it, and the other players don't handle their bets appropriately, you could be in for a big win.

The best times to have the top 10 starting hands is when you are going at it with a player or two ahead of the flop. If you are going to go all in or put a lot of your money into the pot you want to be ahead when you do it. You cannot be ahead if you do not have at least a top 5 starting hand before the flop. After the flop it doesn't matter; from there the starting hand means nothing unless it hit.

Poker is a game of chance, but of course the chances can be calculated with reasonable accuracy. If you are interested in progressing as a player beyond the top 10 hands then you need to calculate the odds of each hand. Once you have done this you will know which hands are good to play against the others, and which ones aren't.

Even the good hands are not good all the time, it depends on the pot and how the other players are betting. A 6-7 suited seems like a great hand, and it is, but there are still circumstances where you will need to fold before you get too deeply invested in the pot.

Learning the odds means getting to know pot odds, implied odds and position so that you are better able to judge whether your hand can win the pot. While the top 10 starting hands don't require a lot of focus or strategy, at the same time they are not going to get you very far. To get to the next level you need to start learning the odds.

Beginner players can do very well for themselves with the top 10 starting hands, but there will come a point where they realize that they aren't winning like they used to, likely because the others around them have been doing their homework on what other hands they can play successfully. By taking the time to learn other great hands and when to play them you can win bigger pots more often.

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