Online Texas Holdem

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David Sklansky was the first to publish a table of the starting hands in his book Hold'em Poker in 1976. The table ranks the starting hands and an explanation is given as to the proper position from which to play them. This list of starting hands has become more or less the standard for knowledgeable players. There are some hands that will be played differently depending on the number of players, the type of the game and whether or not the pot was raised before your turn to act. A player will need to tighten up or loosen these guidelines accordingly.

As I studied the table of starting hands I thought a graphic representation would be easier to understand. I started to draw out some ideas on graph paper. I wanted a design that would help me understand the hands in relation to the dealer button.

I found I was not the only one who thought a chart was easier to help beginners understand the starting hands. In Hold'em Excellence, Lou Krieger had a "Start Chart" which consists of two vertical charts of the starting hands. One was for suited and the other was for unsuited hands. His charts were helpful but I still was looking for another way to relate to the hands.

I continued drawing out different configurations of the starting hands. I finally thought of a linear design. I drew a dealer button on the right side of the sheet. I then started drawing the pairs on the line next to the button. Since the player to the left of the dealer acts first, I put the pair of Aces to the immediate left with the rest of the Pairs in descending order with the deuces being the farthest hand on the dealer's left side. The hands closest to the dealer's left would be the early position hands. Since the poker table is circular, as you get closer to the right side of the dealer button you would be in later position. These would be the hands toward the left side of the sheet.

I proceeded to fill in the other starting hands. I placed the suited cards on the top of the line of pairs and placed the unsuited hands underneath. When I finished I noticed that the chart looked like an arrow. It also showed how the number of starting hands increased in the later positions. I found this chart helped me visualize the hands in the order I was looking for. I color-coded the hands for early middle, and late positions.

Visualizing the chart I could adjust the hands on the border of each position depending on the type of game. These positions are not written in stone and can be adjusted for the type of game I am playing in. For example, in a very loose, passive game I might consider playing the pair of 9s or 8s in early position instead of the middle position. In an aggressive game, the suited Queen-Ten may move to middle position.