Starting Hands II
*Please note that suits are important for hands that are unpaired*
Group 1 Hands
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Five premium hands for Group 1. These are ranked in order from left to right That is AA being the best possible hand. AA and KK are substantially higher ranked then all of these other hands. That includes QQ. These hands should all be raising pots between 2-3 times what is in the pot pre-lop when action reaches you depending if it has been raised or re-raised. These hands are re-raising other people's raises, going all-in and of course slowplaying.
Group 2 Hands
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Group 2 hands are shown above. AK and 10 10 should be raising pots from any position and can even call all-ins from loose players. AK does not perform well in multi-pots and should be played with few players which is why to make big raises with it. The other hands should be played most of the time, do a small raise from early position, big raise if in late or middle position and try to see a flop with them. If you have less than 10bb these are good hands to push with.
Group 3 Hands
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These hands can be played by doing a small to medium raise. Try to play small pots with them and not to go ALL-in with them pre-flop unless your low chip stacked. I would call to see a flop with these hands in a tournament when faced with a raise and only re-reraising against opponents who are likely to fold or be holding very weak hands. When you are well below avg stack these hands can be pushed when folded too. With respect to ring games these hands can be relatively strong depending on the number of players.
Group 4 Hands
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This group of hands are reasonable in most positions depending on your table. They don't need to be played aggressively aand can be folded to a re-raise. They sometimes can be great at cracking large pairs if you hit the flop. In cash games they're pretty good hands to see a flop with.
Group 5 Hands
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These are tougher hands to play in tournaments depending on your table. If you're well stacked and respected these are good hands to steal blinds with and sometimes see a flop with. In cash games they're good hands to see a flop but most often will be folded if you miss.
