Texas Hold'em Starting Hands Chart: All 169 Hands Ranked
Two cards decide whether you play the hand at all, and most of the time the right answer is no. In Texas Hold'em there are 1,326 possible starting hands that reduce to 169 different types. Pocket aces win 85.6% of the time against one random hand and 34.4% against eight, about three times their fair share at a full table. Below is a starting hands chart built from our own simulation of every one of the 169 hands, with the odds of being dealt each kind.
Texas Hold'em starting hands chart
Each square shows one of the 169 hands and its all-in equity, meaning the share of pots it wins (ties split) if it goes to showdown against eight random hands at a nine-player table. Colors group the hands into five tiers measured against the 11.1% fair share. We ran 8,000 random deals for every hand, so values within about one point of each other are effectively equal.
| AA 34.4 | AKs 22.1 | AQs 21.1 | AJs 19.3 | ATs 19.0 | A9s 16.8 | A8s 16.3 | A7s 15.9 | A6s 15.0 | A5s 15.7 | A4s 15.5 | A3s 15.0 | A2s 15.1 |
| AKo 19.1 | KK 29.6 | KQs 20.2 | KJs 19.0 | KTs 18.4 | K9s 16.8 | K8s 15.1 | K7s 15.1 | K6s 13.8 | K5s 13.3 | K4s 13.1 | K3s 12.6 | K2s 12.6 |
| AQo 17.1 | KQo 17.1 | QQ 24.8 | QJs 18.6 | QTs 18.1 | Q9s 16.4 | Q8s 14.3 | Q7s 12.8 | Q6s 12.9 | Q5s 12.2 | Q4s 12.3 | Q3s 11.8 | Q2s 11.6 |
| AJo 16.0 | KJo 15.6 | QJo 15.2 | JJ 21.8 | JTs 18.2 | J9s 15.5 | J8s 14.1 | J7s 12.6 | J6s 11.5 | J5s 11.9 | J4s 11.7 | J3s 11.6 | J2s 11.3 |
| ATo 14.6 | KTo 14.0 | QTo 14.9 | JTo 14.4 | TT 18.9 | T9s 16.6 | T8s 13.9 | T7s 13.5 | T6s 11.8 | T5s 11.3 | T4s 11.2 | T3s 10.8 | T2s 10.7 |
| A9o 12.3 | K9o 13.4 | Q9o 11.9 | J9o 12.2 | T9o 12.5 | 99 17.7 | 98s 14.3 | 97s 13.8 | 96s 12.6 | 95s 11.7 | 94s 10.4 | 93s 10.0 | 92s 10.0 |
| A8o 11.8 | K8o 11.2 | Q8o 10.1 | J8o 10.5 | T8o 11.4 | 98o 11.1 | 88 15.0 | 87s 14.1 | 86s 13.2 | 85s 11.8 | 84s 10.7 | 83s 9.6 | 82s 9.4 |
| A7o 11.4 | K7o 10.3 | Q7o 9.3 | J7o 9.2 | T7o 10.1 | 97o 9.9 | 87o 9.6 | 77 15.2 | 76s 13.3 | 75s 12.8 | 74s 11.1 | 73s 9.9 | 72s 9.0 |
| A6o 10.4 | K6o 9.9 | Q6o 8.1 | J6o 7.9 | T6o 8.4 | 96o 9.5 | 86o 9.3 | 76o 9.6 | 66 14.0 | 65s 13.4 | 64s 11.5 | 63s 10.8 | 62s 9.5 |
| A5o 11.1 | K5o 9.0 | Q5o 8.0 | J5o 7.3 | T5o 7.2 | 95o 7.9 | 85o 8.2 | 75o 9.2 | 65o 9.1 | 55 12.5 | 54s 13.1 | 53s 11.5 | 52s 10.8 |
| A4o 11.1 | K4o 9.2 | Q4o 8.5 | J4o 7.9 | T4o 7.1 | 94o 6.5 | 84o 7.3 | 74o 7.7 | 64o 7.9 | 54o 9.1 | 44 13.0 | 43s 10.6 | 42s 10.6 |
| A3o 11.3 | K3o 8.7 | Q3o 8.0 | J3o 7.0 | T3o 7.0 | 93o 6.1 | 83o 5.5 | 73o 6.5 | 63o 7.0 | 53o 8.4 | 43o 7.4 | 33 13.0 | 32s 10.0 |
| A2o 10.2 | K2o 9.1 | Q2o 7.5 | J2o 6.7 | T2o 6.2 | 92o 5.7 | 82o 5.5 | 72o 5.4 | 62o 5.8 | 52o 7.0 | 42o 6.1 | 32o 6.3 | 22 12.2 |
The chart reads as a triangle. Pairs and suited aces fill the strong side, and the color fades toward the bottom right, where small offsuit hands sit. Suited hands beat their offsuit versions everywhere on the chart: AKs wins 22.1% against eight hands and AKo 19.1%, because the flush draws matter more as more players see the board.
Best starting hands in poker, ranked
These are the top hands by all-in equity at a full table, with their heads-up numbers for comparison. Heads-up the order changes: medium pairs like 99 and 88 move above AK, because a pair is already ahead of most single random hands.
| Rank | Hand | Vs 8 random hands | Vs 1 random hand | Combos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A-A | 34.4% | 85.6% | 6 |
| 2 | K-K | 29.6% | 82.5% | 6 |
| 3 | Q-Q | 24.8% | 80.1% | 6 |
| 4 | A-K suited | 22.1% | 66.9% | 4 |
| 5 | J-J | 21.8% | 77.3% | 6 |
| 6 | A-Q suited | 21.1% | 65.8% | 4 |
| 7 | K-Q suited | 20.2% | 63.2% | 4 |
| 8 | A-J suited | 19.3% | 65.6% | 4 |
| 9 | A-K offsuit | 19.1% | 65.5% | 12 |
| 10 | A-T suited | 19.0% | 64.3% | 4 |
| 11 | K-J suited | 19.0% | 62.3% | 4 |
| 12 | T-T | 18.9% | 74.8% | 6 |
Pocket kings win 82.5% heads-up but run into aces more often than people expect at a full table. When you hold K-K, the chance that one of eight opponents holds A-A is about 3.9%, roughly 1 time in 26.
Worst starting hands in Hold'em
| Hand | Vs 8 random hands | Vs 1 random hand |
|---|---|---|
| 7-2 offsuit | 5.4% | 34.4% |
| 8-2 offsuit | 5.5% | 37.0% |
| 8-3 offsuit | 5.5% | 37.4% |
| 9-2 offsuit | 5.7% | 39.2% |
| 6-2 offsuit | 5.8% | 33.9% |
| 3-2 offsuit | 6.3% | 32.5% |
7-2 offsuit has the lowest equity at a full table because the two cards cannot make a straight together and are too far apart to help each other. Heads-up, 3-2 offsuit is slightly worse, at 32.5%, because its high card is so low. Either way these hands win about half their fair share, so the only profitable way to play them is to fold.
How often you get dealt each kind of hand
| Starting hand | Combinations | Chance per deal | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| A specific pair (like A-A) | 6 | 0.45% | 221 |
| Any pocket pair | 78 | 5.88% | 17 |
| A-K, suited or offsuit | 16 | 1.21% | 83 |
| A-K suited only | 4 | 0.30% | 332 |
| Any two suited cards | 312 | 23.5% | 4.25 |
| Premium tier (6 hands) | 32 | 2.4% | 41 |
| Premium, strong or playable tier | 286 | 21.6% | 4.6 |
Counted another way: pairs come in 6 combinations, suited hands in 4 and offsuit hands in 12, which is why A-K offsuit (12 combos) shows up three times as often as A-K suited (4). A player who only plays the top three tiers on our chart enters about one hand in five.
What your hand flops
| You hold | Flop result | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| A pocket pair | Three of a kind or better | 11.8% (about 1 in 8.5) |
| Two suited cards | A flush | 0.84% |
| Two suited cards | A flush draw (exactly two of your suit) | 10.9% |
| Two unpaired cards | At least a pair with one of your cards | 32.4% |
This is why small pairs depend on deep stacks: about 7 times in 8 the flop misses, and you are left with a pair that is probably behind. Our guide to pot odds and outs shows how to price those draws once the flop is out.
How to use the chart
These are all-in equities against random hands, not a full strategy. Real opponents fold weak hands and play strong ones, which pushes the value of marginal hands down further. New to the game? Start with how to play Texas Hold'em and the full poker hand rankings.