You're sitting there. The blinds are circling like sharks, and you look down at King-Jack offsuit. It looks pretty, right? Two face cards, decent potential, feels like a "play." But honestly, this is exactly where most people start bleeding chips without even realizing it. Knowing what hands to play poker isn't about memorizing a static list of "good" cards; it’s about understanding range, position, and how many people are trying to take your lunch money.
Tight is right. Most beginners play way too many hands because folding is boring. Nobody goes to the casino or logs onto a poker site to watch other people play, but if you're playing more than 20% or 25% of your hands in a full-ring game, you're probably a "fish." That's just the reality.
The Mathematical Truth of Your Starting Range
Poker is a game of math disguised as a game of people. If you play garbage, you get garbage results.
The top tier is obvious. Pocket Aces ($AA$), Kings ($KK$), Queens ($QQ$), and Ace-King suited ($AKs$). These are your "bread and butter" hands. You play these from anywhere. You raise with them. You re-raise with them. If someone 4-bets you, you're usually happy to get it all in. But here's the kicker: you only get dealt these premium hands a tiny fraction of the time. If you only played these, you'd get blinded out before you ever saw a flop.
So, you have to expand. But how far?
It depends on where you're sitting. Position is everything in this game. If you're "Under the Gun" (the first person to act), you have to be incredibly picky. Why? Because there are eight other people behind you who could have a monster. You play maybe the top 10% of hands here. But on the Button? You can play almost 35% of hands because you get to see what everyone else does first. Information is the most valuable currency in the room.
Small Pairs and the "Set Mining" Trap
Pocket pairs like 2s through 6s are seductive. They look like a "made hand," but they're actually quite weak if you don't hit a set on the flop. If you're wondering what hands to play poker when the table is aggressive, these low pairs should often hit the muck.
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The math of "set mining" is pretty brutal. You're roughly 8-to-1 to flop a set. If you're paying a large raise to see that flop, and you don't hit your 3-of-a-kind, you've just wasted chips. You need "implied odds"—basically, you need to be sure that if you do hit your set, your opponent has a hand strong enough to pay you off big time. If you both have short stacks, it's a mathematically losing play.
Suited Connectors: The Pro's Favorite Weapon
Hands like 8-9 suited or 7-8 suited are the "fun" hands. They aren't great on their own, but they have "nut potential." They can make straights and flushes that are disguised. When an amateur sees a flop of 5-6-9, they aren't usually thinking someone has 7-8.
But don't overvalue them.
The biggest mistake people make with suited connectors is playing them in early position or calling huge raises with them. You want to play these in "multi-way" pots (where lots of people have called) or when you have the advantage of position. If you're heads-up against a guy who only plays Aces, your 7-8 suited is actually in decent shape because of the "equity" it has, but you still need to hit the board hard to win.
The Problem With "Trap" Hands
Ace-Ten. King-Jack. Queen-Jack offsuit.
Professional players call these "trap hands" for a reason. They look good, but they often come in second place. If you play King-Jack and the flop comes King-high, you feel great. You bet. Someone raises you. Now what? They likely have King-Queen or King-Ace. You're "dominated." You have a good hand, but someone else has a better version of that same hand.
Learning what hands to play poker requires the discipline to fold these "pretty" hands when you're out of position. It feels wrong to fold King-Jack in the small blind, but over a thousand sessions, that fold will save you thousands of dollars.
Table Dynamics and Why Charts Lie
You can find a "starting hand chart" anywhere online. They tell you exactly what to do. But charts don't account for the guy to your left who has had six beers and is raising every single hand.
If the table is "tight" (everyone is folding), you should play more hands. Steal those blinds. If the table is "loose" (everyone is calling), you should play fewer hands, but make sure the ones you do play are high-value cards like big pairs and big Broadways (Ace-King, Ace-Queen).
You're playing the players, not just the cards. If you're at a table with world-class pros like Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu, your hand selection needs to be airtight. If you're at a home game with your cousins who think a pair of 2s is the nuts, you can widen your range significantly.
The "Squeeze" Play
Sometimes, the hands you play don't matter as much as the situation. The "Squeeze" is a classic move. Someone raises, someone else calls, and then you—sitting in the blinds or on the button—put in a massive 3-bet.
You're "squeezing" the original raiser. They have to worry about you and the person who called them. Often, they'll both fold, and you win a decent pot without even seeing a flop. You can do this with hands that aren't traditionally "great," like Ace-5 suited or King-9 suited, because these hands have "blockers" (having an Ace in your hand makes it less likely your opponent has one).
The Mental Game of Folding
Folding is a skill. It’s actually the most important skill.
Most players lose because they can't stand the idea of being "bluffed." They play mediocre hands because they're curious. Curiosity kills the bankroll. When you're deciding what hands to play poker, you have to be okay with being bored. You have to be okay with folding for two hours straight if the cards aren't falling your way.
The legendary Doyle Brunson once said that the key to No-Limit Texas Hold'em is "putting your opponent to a decision for all their chips." You can't do that if you're always starting with the second-best hand.
Adjusting for Stack Sizes
If you have 200 big blinds, you can play more "speculative" hands like small pairs and suited connectors. You have the "depth" to survive a few missed flops to hit a monster.
If you're "short-stacked" (say, 15 big blinds in a tournament), your strategy flips. Suited connectors become worthless because you don't have enough chips to wait for a draw. At that point, you're looking for "high card strength." Any Ace or any two face cards suddenly become "all-in" candidates.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
Don't just walk into the cardroom and wing it. Poker is a business for the people who win. Treat it like one.
First, track your position. For the next hour you play, consciously note where you are relative to the dealer button. Only play the top 15% of your hands from the first three seats. This single change will likely boost your win rate immediately.
Second, stop "limping." Limping is when you just call the big blind instead of raising. It’s weak. It tells the table you have a hand you like, but you aren't confident in. If a hand is worth playing, it's worth raising. This thins the field and gives you "initiative," meaning you can win the pot on the flop with a continuation bet even if you miss.
Third, evaluate your "kicker." An Ace with a 2 is a very different animal than an Ace with a King. If you're playing an Ace, make sure the other card is at least a 10 or is suited. This prevents you from being dominated in big pots.
Finally, watch the "effective" stack. If you have $500 but your opponent only has $50, you're playing for $50. Don't try to play "deep stack" poker against a guy who is about to go bust. Adjust your hand selection to match the person who can actually hurt you or pay you off.
Poker is a long-term game. You can play perfectly and still lose because the deck is a cruel mistress. But by tightening up your requirements for what hands to play poker, you're tilting the scales of luck back toward math. And in the end, math always wins.
Start by tightening your range in early position. Fold the King-Thens and the Queen-Jacks when you're one of the first to act. Pay attention to the players who are playing more than three hands in a row—those are your targets. Wait for a real hand, use your position to punish their looseness, and stop being afraid of the "fold" button. It's your most profitable tool.