Holdem Odds: First 2 hole cards

Holdem Odds are very important to understand (click here for Texas Holdem rules). All successful poker players understand the importance of odds in Texas Hold’em. Success at higher levels of competition depends to some extent on the ability to gain some knowledge of the probability or likelihood of a given card or hand being played.

Without such, many players will no doubt chose to stay in when folding would be a wider option. Some players even state that they can play by "feel," but this hardly a sensible strategy in difficult or high level competition. A good knowledge of math is necessary as well to understand some general probabilities (otherwise known as odds).

As all Holdem poker players are aware, the 2 card hand situation refers to the hole cards held by each player prior to the deal of the community cards (known as the flop). Experienced Hold’em players are often skilled at estimating the types of hands their opponents are playing. There are some available odds for playable two card Hold’em hands based on the total possibilities.

Basically, there are five different types of two card Hold'em hands most commonly played. They are listed below in no particular order, though the list contains those are most commonly played. Others are more marginal and hence rarely played due to their weakness level. Holdem odds of course begin as fractional numbers which can be converted to percents. Percents listed below are approximate.

• PAIRS - All pairs. AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22. There are 78 different possible combinations, each of which has about a 6% chance of being drawn. (1 in 17 - 16:1).

• TWO HIGH CARDS SUITED - AK(S), AQ(S), AJ(S), A10(S), KQ(S), KJ(S), K10(S), QJ(S), Q10(S), J10(S). There are 40 different possible combinations which have a 3% chance of occurring.

• TWO HIGH CARDS UNSUITED - AK, AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10. These hands come in 120 possible combinations and have a 9% chance of appearing.

• MEDIUM AND LOW SUITED CONNECTORS - Examples: J9(S), 109(S), 108(S), 98(S), 97(S), 87(S), 86(S), 76(S), 75(S), 65(S), 64(S), 54(S), 53(S). There are 52 possible combinations of these in total and the probability of them occurring is approximately 4%. (1 in 25)

• ACE AND NON-HIGH COMBINATIONS – Examples: A9, A8, A7, A6.25% of these 64 combinations (16) are suited. 75% of the 64 combinations (48) are unsuited. In total, these combinations have a 5% chance of being drawn.

A great start is to begin with a pair in the hole (particularly high cards). They may even win without any additional cards. Players must remember though, that an opponent may have a pair as well and this can be dangerous. For example, the holdem odds against a player getting dealt a Pair of Aces are 220 to 1. As a percentage, this is 0.45% for the pair and 99.55% against it.

The odds against a player getting at least one ace are approximately 6 to 1, or 14.8% for the ace and 85.2% against. These odds, along with other pairs are shown in more detail in the list below. The holdem odds of pairs occurring can be expressed in far more detail, such as:
KK or higher pair ( 0.90%)
QQ or higher pair (1.36%)
JJ or higher pair (1.81%)
TT or higher pair (2.27%)
99 or higher pair (2.71%)
88 or higher pair (3.17%)
77 or higher pair (3.62%)
66 or higher pair (4.07%)
55 or higher pair (4.52%)
44 or higher pair (5.00%)
33 or higher pair (5.43%)
22 or higher pair (any pair) (5.88%)


If these Holdem Odds were helpful find out more poker hand odds here.