Gaming Room

Beyond the top 10 hands there are many other hands that are still very advisable to play. In some circumstances these hands may actually give you better odds than if you were playing a top 10 hand.

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 benefit 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 figure out 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.

If you do not know when to play specific hands then you shouldn't be playing them. There is a time to play 67 suited and a time to fold it. Sure, it can be a great hand in some positions but it can be a terrible hand in other positions.

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.

Learning to be a winning poker player takes more than just learning the good hands, you need to know when to play those hands and when to fold them. This will make you a more advanced player and you will find that you win more, and the pots you take home are bigger than ever before.