Velvet RiverStarting Hands
The 169 distinct two-card combinations you can be dealt before the flop.
There are 1,326 possible two-card combinations, but they reduce to 169 types: 13 pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit hands. Players write them as shorthand: "AKs" is Ace-King suited, "QJo" is Queen-Jack offsuit, "77" is a pair of sevens.
The strongest starting hand is AA, which wins about 85% of the time against a random hand all-in preflop. The weakest is usually considered 72.
See all 169 ranked with real odds in our starting hands chart.