What is the best starting hand in Texas Hold'em?

Pocket Aces. They win 85.3% of the time against one random hand and stay the favourite against any number of opponents.

What is the worst starting hand?

By heads-up equity it is 3-2 offsuit at 32.2%, just below 7-2 offsuit at 34.5%. Most players call 7-2 offsuit the worst hand because it cannot make a straight using both cards.

How many starting hands are there in Texas Hold'em?

There are 1,326 two-card combinations, which group into 169 distinct starting hands: 13 pocket pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit hands.

How much does being suited add?

Usually 2 to 4 percentage points of equity. Ace-King suited wins 67.0% against one random hand, Ace-King offsuit 65.2%.

Why do hand values change with more opponents?

Big pairs lose value as more players see the flop, while suited connectors and small pairs gain relative value because they can make straights, flushes and sets. Aces fall from 85.3% against one opponent to 31.1% against nine, which is still more than three times a fair share.

Starting hands chart

All 169 Texas Hold'em starting hands, colored by how often they win. Change the number of opponents and watch which hands hold up. Tap any hand for its full odds.

Opponents 1

Suited above the diagonalPairs on the diagonalOffsuit below

AA 85 AKs 67 AQs 66 AJs 65 ATs 65 A9s 63 A8s 62 A7s 61 A6s 60 A5s 60 A4s 59 A3s 58 A2s 57

AKo 65 KK 82 KQs 63 KJs 63 KTs 62 K9s 60 K8s 58 K7s 58 K6s 57 K5s 56 K4s 55 K3s 54 K2s 53

AQo 64 KQo 61 QQ 80 QJs 60 QTs 59 Q9s 58 Q8s 56 Q7s 54 Q6s 54 Q5s 53 Q4s 52 Q3s 51 Q2s 50

AJo 64 KJo 61 QJo 58 JJ 78 JTs 58 J9s 56 J8s 54 J7s 52 J6s 51 J5s 50 J4s 49 J3s 48 J2s 47

ATo 63 KTo 60 QTo 57 JTo 55 TT 75 T9s 54 T8s 52 T7s 51 T6s 49 T5s 47 T4s 46 T3s 46 T2s 45

A9o 61 K9o 58 Q9o 55 J9o 53 T9o 51 99 72 98s 51 97s 49 96s 47 95s 46 94s 44 93s 43 92s 42

A8o 60 K8o 56 Q8o 54 J8o 52 T8o 50 98o 48 88 69 87s 48 86s 46 85s 45 84s 43 83s 41 82s 40

A7o 59 K7o 55 Q7o 52 J7o 50 T7o 48 97o 46 87o 45 77 67 76s 45 75s 44 74s 42 73s 40 72s 38

A6o 58 K6o 54 Q6o 51 J6o 48 T6o 46 96o 45 86o 43 76o 42 66 63 65s 43 64s 41 63s 39 62s 38

A5o 57 K5o 53 Q5o 50 J5o 47 T5o 44 95o 43 85o 41 75o 40 65o 40 55 60 54s 41 53s 40 52s 38

A4o 57 K4o 52 Q4o 49 J4o 46 T4o 44 94o 41 84o 39 74o 38 64o 38 54o 38 44 57 43s 39 42s 37

A3o 56 K3o 51 Q3o 48 J3o 45 T3o 43 93o 40 83o 38 73o 37 63o 36 53o 36 43o 35 33 53 32s 36

A2o 55 K2o 50 Q2o 47 J2o 44 T2o 42 92o 39 82o 37 72o 34 62o 34 52o 34 42o 33 32o 32 22 50

Lower win %Higher

All 169 hands ranked

Ranked by win percentage against one random hand, all-in before the flop. The other columns show the same hand against more opponents. Based on 200,000 simulated deals per hand heads-up and 50,000 per hand multiway.

#	Hand	vs 1	vs 2	vs 5	vs 9	Opening guide
1	AA Pocket Aces	85.3%	73.3%	49.0%	31.1%	Premium
2	KK Pocket Kings	82.2%	68.9%	43.1%	26.1%	Premium
3	QQ Pocket Queens	80.0%	65.1%	37.8%	22.2%	Premium
4	JJ Pocket Jacks	77.5%	61.1%	33.8%	19.4%	Premium
5	TT Pocket Tens	75.1%	57.7%	30.1%	17.1%	Premium
6	99 Pocket Nines	72.1%	53.6%	26.7%	15.2%	Premium
7	88 Pocket Eights	69.2%	50.0%	23.8%	14.6%	Strong
8	AKs Ace-King suited	67.0%	50.5%	31.0%	20.9%	Premium
9	77 Pocket Sevens	66.5%	47.1%	22.0%	13.7%	Strong
10	AQs Ace-Queen suited	66.3%	49.8%	29.5%	19.1%	Premium
11	AJs Ace-Jack suited	65.5%	48.6%	27.8%	18.3%	Premium
12	AKo Ace-King offsuit	65.2%	48.4%	27.8%	17.1%	Premium
13	ATs Ace-Ten suited	64.5%	47.0%	26.7%	17.3%	Strong
14	AQo Ace-Queen offsuit	64.3%	46.7%	25.8%	15.6%	Strong
15	AJo Ace-Jack offsuit	63.6%	45.3%	24.4%	14.3%	Strong
16	KQs King-Queen suited	63.4%	46.8%	28.6%	18.6%	Strong
17	66 Pocket Sixes	63.4%	43.2%	20.1%	12.9%	Playable
18	A9s Ace-Nine suited	62.8%	44.8%	24.1%	15.4%	Strong
19	ATo Ace-Ten offsuit	62.7%	44.5%	23.1%	13.2%	Strong
20	KJs King-Jack suited	62.5%	46.4%	26.9%	17.7%	Strong
21	A8s Ace-Eight suited	62.0%	43.2%	23.2%	14.8%	Strong
22	KTs King-Ten suited	61.9%	45.2%	25.7%	16.8%	Strong
23	KQo King-Queen offsuit	61.5%	44.5%	25.4%	15.1%	Strong
24	A7s Ace-Seven suited	60.9%	42.2%	22.1%	14.3%	Playable
25	A9o Ace-Nine offsuit	60.8%	41.5%	20.0%	11.1%	Playable
26	KJo King-Jack offsuit	60.6%	43.2%	23.4%	14.0%	Strong
27	QJs Queen-Jack suited	60.2%	44.8%	26.2%	17.1%	Strong
28	55 Pocket Fives	60.2%	39.8%	18.4%	12.5%	Playable
29	A6s Ace-Six suited	60.0%	41.0%	21.7%	14.0%	Playable
30	K9s King-Nine suited	60.0%	42.3%	23.3%	14.9%	Playable
31	A5s Ace-Five suited	59.9%	41.7%	22.0%	14.5%	Playable
32	KTo King-Ten offsuit	59.8%	41.8%	22.5%	12.9%	Playable
33	A8o Ace-Eight offsuit	59.6%	40.5%	18.9%	10.4%	Playable
34	QTs Queen-Ten suited	59.5%	43.0%	25.3%	16.7%	Strong
35	A4s Ace-Four suited	59.1%	40.6%	21.7%	14.1%	Playable
36	A7o Ace-Seven offsuit	58.6%	39.1%	18.6%	9.9%	Playable
37	A3s Ace-Three suited	58.3%	39.5%	21.0%	13.8%	Playable
38	K8s King-Eight suited	58.2%	40.5%	21.8%	13.5%	Playable
39	QJo Queen-Jack offsuit	58.2%	41.2%	22.8%	13.6%	Playable
40	K9o King-Nine offsuit	57.8%	39.1%	19.4%	10.8%	Playable
41	Q9s Queen-Nine suited	57.7%	40.5%	22.4%	14.8%	Playable
42	A6o Ace-Six offsuit	57.7%	37.9%	17.3%	9.6%	Late position
43	K7s King-Seven suited	57.6%	39.1%	20.4%	13.4%	Playable
44	JTs Jack-Ten suited	57.6%	42.2%	24.9%	16.5%	Playable
45	A5o Ace-Five offsuit	57.4%	38.1%	18.1%	10.1%	Late position
46	A2s Ace-Two suited	57.3%	38.9%	20.4%	13.5%	Playable
47	QTo Queen-Ten offsuit	57.2%	40.1%	21.4%	13.0%	Playable
48	44 Pocket Fours	56.9%	36.7%	17.4%	12.2%	Late position
49	A4o Ace-Four offsuit	56.8%	36.6%	17.2%	10.0%	Late position
50	K6s King-Six suited	56.7%	38.5%	19.8%	12.9%	Playable
51	Q8s Queen-Eight suited	56.0%	38.6%	20.8%	13.2%	Playable
52	K8o King-Eight offsuit	56.0%	36.7%	17.6%	9.5%	Late position
53	A3o Ace-Three offsuit	55.9%	36.0%	17.0%	9.6%	Late position
54	K5s King-Five suited	55.8%	37.5%	19.6%	12.3%	Late position
55	J9s Jack-Nine suited	55.6%	39.5%	22.2%	14.6%	Playable
56	Q9o Queen-Nine offsuit	55.4%	37.5%	18.5%	10.7%	Late position
57	JTo Jack-Ten offsuit	55.3%	38.6%	21.5%	12.9%	Playable
58	K7o King-Seven offsuit	55.1%	36.1%	16.9%	9.0%	Late position
59	A2o Ace-Two offsuit	55.0%	35.2%	16.3%	9.1%	Late position
60	K4s King-Four suited	54.8%	36.6%	19.2%	12.2%	Late position
61	K6o King-Six offsuit	54.2%	35.0%	16.1%	8.5%	Late position
62	Q7s Queen-Seven suited	54.2%	36.7%	19.3%	12.1%	Late position
63	K3s King-Three suited	54.1%	35.7%	18.6%	12.3%	Late position
64	J8s Jack-Eight suited	54.0%	37.3%	20.3%	13.3%	Late position
65	T9s Ten-Nine suited	54.0%	39.1%	21.9%	14.9%	Playable
66	Q8o Queen-Eight offsuit	53.6%	35.4%	17.1%	9.3%	Late position
67	Q6s Queen-Six suited	53.5%	35.5%	18.7%	11.8%	Late position
68	33 Pocket Threes	53.4%	33.8%	16.1%	11.9%	Button steal
69	K5o King-Five offsuit	53.4%	33.8%	15.2%	7.9%	Button steal
70	J9o Jack-Nine offsuit	53.1%	36.4%	18.7%	11.1%	Late position
71	K2s King-Two suited	53.1%	35.1%	18.1%	11.8%	Late position
72	Q5s Queen-Five suited	52.7%	34.4%	18.0%	11.5%	Late position
73	T8s Ten-Eight suited	52.4%	36.5%	20.9%	13.7%	Late position
74	K4o King-Four offsuit	52.3%	33.5%	14.9%	8.2%	Button steal
75	J7s Jack-Seven suited	52.3%	35.6%	19.0%	11.9%	Late position
76	Q4s Queen-Four suited	51.9%	33.8%	17.6%	11.4%	Late position
77	Q7o Queen-Seven offsuit	51.8%	33.3%	15.3%	8.2%	Button steal
78	J8o Jack-Eight offsuit	51.5%	34.1%	17.0%	9.4%	Late position
79	K3o King-Three offsuit	51.5%	32.5%	14.2%	8.0%	Button steal
80	T9o Ten-Nine offsuit	51.4%	35.3%	18.8%	11.2%	Late position
81	Q3s Queen-Three suited	51.0%	33.0%	17.1%	11.5%	Late position
82	Q6o Queen-Six offsuit	51.0%	31.9%	14.5%	7.7%	Button steal
83	T7s Ten-Seven suited	50.7%	34.7%	18.7%	12.4%	Late position
84	98s Nine-Eight suited	50.7%	35.9%	20.3%	13.3%	Late position
85	J6s Jack-Six suited	50.7%	33.7%	17.2%	11.1%	Button steal
86	K2o King-Two offsuit	50.4%	31.2%	13.7%	7.6%	Button steal
87	22 Pocket Twos	50.4%	30.6%	15.6%	12.1%	Button steal
88	Q2s Queen-Two suited	50.1%	32.6%	16.6%	11.1%	Button steal
89	Q5o Queen-Five offsuit	50.0%	31.1%	13.9%	7.1%	Button steal
90	J5s Jack-Five suited	50.0%	32.4%	16.7%	10.7%	Button steal
91	J7o Jack-Seven offsuit	49.8%	31.8%	14.7%	8.1%	Button steal
92	T8o Ten-Eight offsuit	49.5%	33.5%	17.1%	10.1%	Button steal
93	97s Nine-Seven suited	49.2%	34.0%	18.9%	12.4%	Late position
94	Q4o Queen-Four offsuit	49.1%	30.3%	13.3%	7.2%	Fold
95	T6s Ten-Six suited	49.0%	32.7%	17.5%	11.2%	Button steal
96	J4s Jack-Four suited	48.9%	31.8%	16.8%	10.8%	Button steal
97	J3s Jack-Three suited	48.3%	31.1%	16.5%	10.3%	Button steal
98	Q3o Queen-Three offsuit	48.2%	29.5%	12.7%	7.0%	Fold
99	J6o Jack-Six offsuit	48.1%	29.6%	13.3%	7.0%	Fold
100	98o Nine-Eight offsuit	48.1%	32.7%	16.6%	10.0%	Button steal
101	87s Eight-Seven suited	48.0%	33.8%	18.9%	12.9%	Late position
102	T7o Ten-Seven offsuit	47.9%	31.0%	15.1%	8.5%	Button steal
103	Q2o Queen-Two offsuit	47.4%	28.6%	12.5%	6.7%	Fold
104	96s Nine-Six suited	47.4%	32.4%	17.5%	11.6%	Button steal
105	T5s Ten-Five suited	47.3%	30.7%	16.0%	10.3%	Button steal
106	J5o Jack-Five offsuit	47.2%	29.2%	12.8%	6.7%	Fold
107	J2s Jack-Two suited	47.2%	30.6%	15.7%	10.3%	Button steal
108	T4s Ten-Four suited	46.4%	30.1%	15.7%	10.0%	Button steal
109	86s Eight-Six suited	46.2%	31.9%	17.9%	11.8%	Button steal
110	97o Nine-Seven offsuit	46.2%	30.5%	15.1%	8.8%	Fold
111	J4o Jack-Four offsuit	46.1%	28.3%	12.3%	6.3%	Fold
112	T6o Ten-Six offsuit	46.1%	29.1%	13.4%	7.3%	Fold
113	95s Nine-Five suited	45.9%	30.4%	15.9%	10.4%	Button steal
114	T3s Ten-Three suited	45.7%	29.2%	15.5%	9.7%	Button steal
115	76s Seven-Six suited	45.4%	31.9%	17.9%	12.2%	Button steal
116	J3o Jack-Three offsuit	45.2%	27.2%	11.6%	6.3%	Fold
117	87o Eight-Seven offsuit	45.1%	30.5%	15.5%	9.3%	Fold
118	T2s Ten-Two suited	45.0%	28.5%	14.7%	9.8%	Fold
119	96o Nine-Six offsuit	44.7%	28.7%	13.3%	7.6%	Fold
120	85s Eight-Five suited	44.5%	29.8%	16.3%	10.7%	Button steal
121	T5o Ten-Five offsuit	44.3%	26.8%	12.0%	6.2%	Fold
122	J2o Jack-Two offsuit	44.1%	26.2%	11.4%	6.2%	Fold
123	94s Nine-Four suited	44.0%	28.5%	14.6%	9.3%	Fold
124	75s Seven-Five suited	43.8%	30.0%	16.6%	11.7%	Button steal
125	T4o Ten-Four offsuit	43.6%	26.4%	11.5%	6.0%	Fold
126	86o Eight-Six offsuit	43.3%	28.5%	13.9%	8.3%	Fold
127	93s Nine-Three suited	43.1%	27.6%	14.2%	9.2%	Fold
128	65s Six-Five suited	43.1%	30.4%	17.0%	11.8%	Button steal
129	84s Eight-Four suited	42.8%	28.1%	15.0%	9.9%	Fold
130	T3o Ten-Three offsuit	42.7%	25.7%	10.9%	6.0%	Fold
131	95o Nine-Five offsuit	42.5%	26.7%	11.7%	6.7%	Fold
132	92s Nine-Two suited	42.2%	27.1%	14.4%	9.1%	Fold
133	76o Seven-Six offsuit	42.1%	28.5%	14.2%	8.6%	Fold
134	74s Seven-Four suited	41.9%	28.1%	15.3%	10.1%	Fold
135	T2o Ten-Two offsuit	41.6%	24.9%	10.6%	5.8%	Fold
136	64s Six-Four suited	41.5%	28.6%	16.0%	11.0%	Fold
137	85o Eight-Five offsuit	41.4%	26.1%	12.5%	7.2%	Fold
138	54s Five-Four suited	41.3%	29.2%	16.5%	11.6%	Fold
139	83s Eight-Three suited	41.0%	26.2%	13.6%	8.7%	Fold
140	94o Nine-Four offsuit	40.8%	24.4%	10.5%	5.7%	Fold
141	75o Seven-Five offsuit	40.5%	26.5%	12.6%	7.9%	Fold
142	82s Eight-Two suited	40.3%	26.0%	13.4%	8.6%	Fold
143	73s Seven-Three suited	40.1%	26.3%	14.3%	9.4%	Fold
144	93o Nine-Three offsuit	39.9%	23.9%	10.3%	5.3%	Fold
145	65o Six-Five offsuit	39.9%	26.6%	13.3%	8.3%	Fold
146	53s Five-Three suited	39.7%	27.2%	15.4%	10.8%	Fold
147	84o Eight-Four offsuit	39.5%	24.3%	10.9%	6.1%	Fold
148	63s Six-Three suited	39.4%	26.4%	14.4%	10.0%	Fold
149	92o Nine-Two offsuit	39.0%	22.9%	9.5%	5.4%	Fold
150	43s Four-Three suited	38.7%	26.6%	14.4%	10.3%	Fold
151	74o Seven-Four offsuit	38.5%	24.1%	11.5%	6.7%	Fold
152	72s Seven-Two suited	38.3%	24.4%	12.8%	8.6%	Fold
153	54o Five-Four offsuit	38.2%	25.4%	12.7%	8.3%	Fold
154	64o Six-Four offsuit	38.0%	25.0%	11.9%	7.3%	Fold
155	62s Six-Two suited	37.9%	24.8%	13.4%	9.1%	Fold
156	52s Five-Two suited	37.7%	25.4%	13.8%	10.0%	Fold
157	83o Eight-Three offsuit	37.6%	22.5%	9.5%	5.3%	Fold
158	82o Eight-Two offsuit	36.9%	22.1%	9.4%	4.9%	Fold
159	42s Four-Two suited	36.8%	24.7%	13.6%	9.6%	Fold
160	73o Seven-Three offsuit	36.7%	22.5%	9.9%	5.9%	Fold
161	53o Five-Three offsuit	36.2%	23.5%	11.7%	7.1%	Fold
162	32s Three-Two suited	36.2%	23.8%	13.3%	9.1%	Fold
163	63o Six-Three offsuit	36.0%	22.8%	10.7%	6.4%	Fold
164	43o Four-Three offsuit	35.1%	22.6%	10.6%	6.8%	Fold
165	72o Seven-Two offsuit	34.5%	20.7%	8.7%	4.8%	Fold
166	52o Five-Two offsuit	34.4%	21.6%	10.0%	6.3%	Fold
167	62o Six-Two offsuit	34.1%	20.9%	9.0%	5.4%	Fold
168	42o Four-Two offsuit	33.3%	20.8%	9.7%	5.9%	Fold
169	32o Three-Two offsuit	32.2%	20.1%	8.9%	5.6%	Fold

How to read the chart

Each square is one of the 169 starting hands. The diagonal holds the 13 pocket pairs. Above it are suited hands such as AKs, where both cards share a suit. Below it are offsuit hands such as AKo. Brighter squares win more often.

The win percentage is the hand's equity if everyone went all-in before the flop. Real hands involve betting and position, so the opening guide blends heads-up and five-opponent strength into six simple groups. Treat it as a starting point, not a rulebook.

What the numbers teach

Pairs are strong heads-up but fall fast against a crowd. Twos win 50.4% against one player and 12.1% against nine.
Suited connectors such as 87s look weak heads-up (48.0%) but hold their value in multiway pots.
High offsuit cards such as KJo are often "dominated" by better hands with the same card, like AK or KQ. Check any hand's matchups on its own page.

Want to test a specific spot? Use the odds calculator.

Questions players ask

What is the best starting hand in Texas Hold'em?: Pocket Aces. They win 85.3% of the time against one random hand and stay the favourite against any number of opponents.
What is the worst starting hand?: By heads-up equity it is 3-2 offsuit at 32.2%, just below 7-2 offsuit at 34.5%. Most players call 7-2 offsuit the worst hand because it cannot make a straight using both cards.
How many starting hands are there in Texas Hold'em?: There are 1,326 two-card combinations, which group into 169 distinct starting hands: 13 pocket pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit hands.
How much does being suited add?: Usually 2 to 4 percentage points of equity. Ace-King suited wins 67.0% against one random hand, Ace-King offsuit 65.2%.
Why do hand values change with more opponents?: Big pairs lose value as more players see the flop, while suited connectors and small pairs gain relative value because they can make straights, flushes and sets. Aces fall from 85.3% against one opponent to 31.1% against nine, which is still more than three times a fair share.