If you're new to Texas holdem poker, having a keen grasp of some of the basic strategy elements of the game will help you compete with some of your more experienced opponents. One of the best ways to close the gap is by understanding the concept of hand selection.

Texas Hold'em Poker Hand Selection: Why Be Selective?

Not all poker hands are created equal. Since all players in a Texas hold'em hand share five cards, the two cards that you alone start with are of paramount importance. As with all forms of poker, if you start out with the best hand, you will more often end up with the best hand. While players like Gus Hansen and Daniel Negreanu may successfully play starting hands like 5-2 and T-7, if you try this as a beginner, you are likely to go broke fast. At most poker sites you can find players who try to use that strategy, but they are very rarely successful.

Texas Hold'em Poker Hand Selection: Premium Hands

David Sklansky first popularized the idea of grouping hands into categories of strength. He put hands like A-A, K-K, A-K suited into the first group, hands like Q-Q, J-J and A-K unsuited into the second group and so on. In general, high pairs and high cards are the most valuable. If you have two cards ten or higher, you often have a playable hand, depending on your position and the action before you. If you have two low or medium cards, especially if they are not close together in rank, you usually have a hand that should be folded, especially to a raise. Suited cards give your cards a slight boost in value, but it is not particularly significant. You should focus more on cards that are of high value than on cards that are suited or connecting (like 9-T or 6-7). Pros, especially in no-limit situations, like to play tricky hands like 8-9 suited because they can make a well-disguised powerful hand that can win a big pot. However, for a beginner this approach can be very dangerous. Get a list of the hand groupings and memorize them if you can. Once you are comfortable playing the strongest hands, you may consider expanding your starting hand repertoire. If you are getting no action on your good hands, your opponents have realized that you only come in with premium hands and you will have to throw in a junk hand every now and then to keep them guessing.

Texas Hold'em Poker Hand Selection: Position

Position, or where you act in the hand, should be a factor in your starting hand requirements. Since being later to act means you have more information, you can play a wider range of starting hands more profitably. In an early position, where there are many players who can raise you or call to catch a hand that can beat you, you should be coming in or raising with the strongest hands. If you are one of the last to act, you can experiment with suited connectors like 89 suited, since you are unlikely to be raised and will get to see what your opponents will do on the flop before making a decision on how to proceed.

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Texas Hold'em Strategy: Hand Selection