Monday, March 9, 2009

Moving Beyond the Top 10 Hands

By James Johnson

Those starting out at playing poker are advised to sticking to the top 10 hands in order to ensure that they win as often as possible. However, if a player is wishing to become competitive against more seasoned players eventually they are going to have to learn to play hands other than the top 10, because otherwise they are never going to make it to the top tables. Learning to play the other hands is not difficult, but it does take some practice and concentration.

There are a lot of good hands in poker that are not part of the top 10 hands. In fact, there are some situations where the hands that are not in the top 10 are better then some that are in the top 10 hands.

For example, if you had two 7's in your hand and the other four people at the table each has a King and an Ace, you wouldn't have a top ten hand, yet you would have the lead over everyone else at the table. Yes, this would probably never happen, but it illustrates the point that not every top 10 hand is perfect.

There are times that the top 10 hands are best to have and times that other hands are best to have. If you are involved with a big pot and a lot of players you may be happy to have a hand like 67 suited. Those are the kind of hands that can win you the largest pots against big starting hands like KK and AA. Of course, if the players with those hands are playing right you won't have the chance to play with 67, but a lot of players do not play right.

The best times to have the top 10 starting hands is when you are going at it with a player or two prior to the flop. If you are going to go all in or put a lot of your money into the pot you want to be ahead when you do it. You cannot be ahead if you do not have at least a top 5 starting hand before the flop. After the flop it doesn't matter; from there the starting hand means nothing unless it hit.

Poker is a game of chance, but of course the chances can be calculated with reasonable accuracy. If you are interested in progressing as a player beyond the top 10 hands then you need to calculate the odds of each hand. Once you have done this you will know which hands are good to play against the others, and which ones aren't.

Anytime you have a hand and you are not sure what to do, you should leave that hand. While a 6-7 suited seems like a good hand, there are still times where it needs to be let go in order to save you from a loss.

Learning the odds means getting to know pot odds, implied odds and position so that you are better able to judge whether your hand can win the pot. While the top 10 starting hands don't require a lot of concentration or strategy, at the same time they are not going to get you very far. To get to the next level you need to start learning the odds.

You must start somewhere and there is no better place to start then with the best starting hands. Once you are ready to move beyond the top 10 hands, you will see a high increase in profits and pot sizes and it all comes in time.

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