There are (52 × 51)/2 = 1,326 distinct possible combinations of two hole cards from a standard 52-card deck. However, since suits are only relevant for flushes, many of these hands are indistinguishable from the point of view of pre-flop strategy. In fact, considering suits to be equivalent unless both cards are the same suit, there are precisely 169 distinct possible starting hands in hold 'em.[3]
As an example, although J♥ J♣ and J♦ J♠ are distinct combinations of hole cards, they are indistinguishable as starting hands. Any starting hand comprising two Jacks is called pocket jacks and is denoted JJ. Similarly, any starting hand comprised of two Aces is called pocket Aces and is denoted AA, and any starting hand comprised of two 7's is called pocket sevens and is denoted 77. Each of these starting hands is called a pocket pair or a wired pair.
The starting hands which are not pocket pairs fall into two classes – the suited hands and the unsuited hands. An example of a suited hand is 8♠ 7♠. Any starting hand comprised of an 8 and a 7 of the same suit is called 8-7 suited and is denoted 87s, where "s" is an abbreviation for "suited". An example of an unsuited hands is Q♣ 9♦. Any starting hand comprised of a Queen and a 9 of different suits is called queen-nine offsuit and is denoted Q9 (or sometimes Q9o, where "o" is an abbreviation for "offsuit"). Remember, an "s" always denotes a suited starting hand, while the absence of an "s" always denotes an offsuit starting hand.
In almost all poker writing, the rank of 10 is abbreviated with the letter "T", so that all the ranks can be written with a single character, unless cards are featured pictorially when "10" is often used.
Consecutive cards of the same suit are called suited connectors. Many starting hands have colloquial names.
Notes
- ^ Alspach, Brian (2005). Counting starting poker hands. (pdf)
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
Need an webmaster? Click HERE
Technorati Tags: 
Post new comment