Starting Hand Guide For No Limit Texas Holdem:

• AA:     Always raise.
• KK:     Nearly always raise. The one exception is if you get a raise and a reraise in front of you from very tight players.
• QQ:     Nearly always raise. Possible fold against an extremely tight player raising in front of you. Fold to raise and reraise.
• JJ:       Raise first in, raise with one limper, raise with multiple limpers, Fold or reraise to previous raiser. Fold to raise and reraise.
• TT:     Raise first in, raise one limper, raise multiple limpers. Fold to raise and reraise. Fold or reraise to previous raiser.
• 99:       Raise first in. Usually raise one limper, sometimes call in early position. Call two or more limpers. Fold to raise in early position and mid position. Call or reraise in later positions when raiser might be on a steal.
• 88:       Raise or fold first in. Usually call one or more limpers. Fold to raise.
• 77-22:  Attempt to see the flop as cheaply as possible. Call but be prepared to throw away to large raise.
• AKs: Always raise. Be prepared to put all your money in pre-flop unless tight player raises or reraises. If you get all your money in first, you may get 50:50 shots such as JJ and TT to fold.
• AQs: A trap hand. When out of position, attempt to keep pot as small as possible, checking and calling unless you have hit your flush or straight. However, worth a raise in late position.
• AJs: An even bigger trap hand. AQs and AJs get inexperienced players into a lot of trouble. Once again, try to keep the pot small if you are out of position. Be prepared to throw this hand away preflop to a raise.
• ATs-A9s: Worth a speculative raise in late position if you are first in or if there is one (loose) limper. Otherwise, be afraid, be very afraid.
• A8s-A2s:         Big trouble in early position. I would throw these hands away unless there were hardly ever any raises preflop. Worth an occasional blind steal attempt if you are in late and there have been no callers. Worth limping in late if there have been several callers. Worth completing in the small blind (but you want to hit a flush or two-pair – you do not want to be calling big bets on a draw!)
• KQs: Raise in late if no previous callers or one (loose) caller. Limp if several callers. Throw it away in early. Limp or throw it away in middle position. Another trap hand loved by limit players. It is far less powerful in no limit.
• KJs: As with KQs, but more so. Be very careful with this hand
• KTs-K9s: Danger. Warning. Just about worth completing in small blind or calling a small raise if you are in Big blind. You want to hit big here.
• K8s-K2s:         In early position, dreadful. In middle seats, dreadful. In late position, usually played by players with “I feel lucky!” badges on their lapels. I hate these hands.
• QJs, QTs: Nice hands to get in cheap with, if you can. Less likely to be dominated, and with potential for great wins on flops such as AKJ and AKT when you are up against AK, AJ, AT. The two pair can usually be induced to go all-in, even though he has only four outs. Even against a set you are favourite with a made straight.
• Q9s-Q2s: As a rule, rubbish
• JTs: Another nice hand, but does not seem to have the same winning potential as QJs or QTs. Worth seeing a cheap flop from middle and late positions. In early position I would chuck it.
• J9s: Very speculative. Often played by loose players who then dig their own grave when they flop two pair and a runner runner backdoor flush chance. Backdoor flushes are useful in limit poker. In no-limit, they are rarely worth factoring into your calculations.
• Other suited connectors: 98s, 87s, 76s are speculative, but have big win potential (usually with the straight rather than the flush). 65s down to 32s have less potential than you might think. Occasionally worth getting in cheap with and then “accidentally” exposing when you fold, giving the impression that you are looser than you are.
• All other suited hands should be folded.
• AK: Raise first in and put in a good sized raise if there are limpers. You do not want weaker Aces calling you from behind, putting you out of position and then leaving you in potential trouble on a flop of, say AJ9. Try to win the button by raising.
• AQ: Worth a raise of a single limper if you are in middle-to-late. Do not just call with this hand. It is horrible against many opponents. In early position I would be tempted to throw this hand away. If you call, you face a multi-wayer. If you raise, you either win the blinds or find yourself in trouble.
• AJ: A serious trap hand. Usually if you raise and are called, you are in trouble. If you fail to raise, you are likely to be in bigger trouble. Worth a speculative raise in late
• AT-A9: Worth a raise in late if there are no previous callers or just one loose limper. Otherwise, ditch it.
• A8-A2: Hands that sleep with the fishes. Walk away
• KQ: Worth a speculative raise in late. Be prepared to lay down to any reraise. Like AJ, this is a trap hand. You rarely have the nuts and can often end up losing your entire stack. KQ is a much worse hand in No Limit than it is in Limit.
• KJ: Where was that “I feel lucky” badge? Usually, just fold and wait for another day.
• KT-K2: Hands liked by people with an aversion to money. Walk away.
• QJ, QT: Like their suited counterparts, hands that have potential, but not nearly as much as if they were suited. I’d want to be fairly sure of getting in very cheap before I played these.
• Other unsuited connectors: All very speculative. Worth completing with in the Small blind, but as a rule I would fold.
• Any other hand. Fold. Watch other players for the rest of the hand.

Follow this guide when you play online poker or poker at your local card room or tournament event and your success rate will improve. Knowing what starting hands to play is a good stat, but there is so much more to this game.