Hold'em
Texas Hold'em starting hands
You are dealt 169 non-equivalent starting hands. You should play a fraction of them, and that fraction depends on the seat, the stacks, and who is already in the pot. A chart is a starting point. A chart used from every position is a leak.
The shape of a raising range
Early position (under the gun in a 6-max game): strong pairs, strong broadways, some suited aces. Button: that, plus suited connectors, more suited aces, more kings, more offsuit broadways. Blinds: mostly defending against a steal, not inventing a third range of 'hands I like'. Pairs go up in value as stacks deepen; offsuit junk goes down.
What 'any ace' costs
Ace-rag offsuit looks playable and is dominated by every better ace. You flop an ace, get action, and lose to ace-king or ace-queen. Suited aces have a flush backdoor and can be defended more widely from late position. The suit is not a decoration — it is the reason the hand is in the range.
- Raise or fold as the default; limping is a special case, not a personality
- Tighten up when the big blind is a 3-bet machine; widen when they fold too much
- Suited connectors need position and implied odds; they are not calling hands from the blinds for 12bb
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