Poker Starting Hands — Which Hands to Play & Which to Fold
Knowing which hands to play preflop is the foundation of winning poker. This guide gives you clear, position-based guidelines so you always know whether to raise, call, or fold.
The #1 Rule: Tight is Right (for Beginners)
Playing fewer, stronger hands from good position is the fastest way to become a winning player. You can always loosen up as you gain experience — but starting tight keeps your mistakes small and your wins big.
Interactive Starting Hand Chart
Click any hand to see details. Suited hands are above the diagonal, offsuit below.
Starting Hand Tiers
Tier 1 — Premium
These are the strongest starting hands. You'll get them rarely (~2.6% of the time combined), but they form the core of your winning strategy. Never just call with these — always raise or re-raise.
Tier 2 — Strong
Very strong hands that you can play profitably from any position at the table. Open-raise these every time, and often 3-bet when facing a single raise.
Tier 3 — Solid
Good hands that become great when played from the right position. These form the bulk of your opening range from the cutoff and button.
Tier 4 — Playable
Speculative hands that need position and the right conditions to be profitable. Suited connectors and small pairs play well when you can see cheap flops and hit big.
Tier 5 — Marginal
These hands can be opened from the button to steal blinds but are generally unprofitable from other positions. As a beginner, it's perfectly fine to skip most of these.
Quick Position Reference
How many hands to play from each position (as a percentage of all possible hands).
See our Positions Guide for detailed position strategy.
Common Starting Hand Mistakes
- Playing any Ace. Hands like A-3 offsuit or A-7 offsuit look appealing because of the Ace, but they're dominated by better Ace hands (A-K, A-Q, A-J). When you hit an Ace on the flop, you often have the worst kicker and lose a big pot.
- Overvaluing suited cards. Being suited adds about 3-4% equity to a hand. That's nice, but it doesn't turn a bad hand into a good one. K-4 suited is still a fold from most positions.
- Playing the same hands from every position. A hand like K-J offsuit is a clear raise from the button but should be folded from UTG. Position changes everything.
- Limping instead of raising. When you enter a pot, raise. Limping (just calling the big blind) is almost always a mistake — it invites multiway pots where your hand becomes harder to play.