Worst Starting Hands

Texas Hold Em is the most popular poker variety online, and it's played by many a poker player. However some new and beginning players can feel overwhelmed, like they just cannot choose the right hands when playing. It can feel like you are dealt bad hand after bad hand. When playing Texas Hold Em, your hand begins with the first two cards dealt. These are called your pocket cards, and if you don't have a good start it can just feel worse as the community cards are dealt out!

However, new and inexperienced poker players may need a few pointers to help learn which hands are typically the worst hands you can be dealt when playing this very popular poker variant. In order to give you a helping hand we'll list the five very worst initial two card hands you can be dealt. If you're dealt these pocket cards, your odds of winning are quite small with that hand. Often, the best course of action is to fold that hand as quickly as you can.

Number One Worst Starting Poker Hand

The absolute worst hand that you can be dealt while playing Texas Hold Em poker is the 7 2 off suit. Out of all the thousands of possible cards that you can be dealt this pair offers the least amount of 'outs'. This means that of all the many different hands you could be dealt this one is never attractive and the likelihood of building a winning hand with the community cards is unlikely. That makes it highly unlikely that this hand is even worth bluffing with. If anyone takes you on when you hold such a poor hand its odds on you are going to lose!

Second Worst Starting Poker Hand

The second worst hand that you can be dealt into your pocket when playing Texas Hold'em Poker is 2 – 8. This hand, even when suited offers players so few opportunities to building a solid hand that the best course of action is generally fold your hand and wait for the next game to start. Even if the community cards dealt out are favourable for you, the pocket pair you're starting with is not a strong one and can easily be beat. You will rarely if ever win with such a poorly ranked starting hand.

Third Worst Starting Poker Hand

From here, this is where the actual hand standings vary. There are two hands which typically are considered the third worst starting poker hands that can be dealt in Texas Hold Em. No matter which you get, they are still some of the worst pocket cards to hold. These hands are the 3 - 8 and the 3 – 7. Like the previous lists, what makes these cards so unfortunate is that there is so little chance for players to come out with any winning potential, no matter which of these two hands they are dealt. Once again the best strategic move for you to make when you get one of them is generally to ditch them as quickly as you can.

Fourth Worst Starting Poker Hand

Going down the list of the worst possible starting hands, when you get to the fourth worst hands most new players would pause. It may seem at first like being dealt 2 - 6 as your pocket pair is not a bad hand to play. It seems at first that it shouldn't be too wild to hope that the dealer will deal the 3, 4, and 5 cards into the community. However this is still one of the worst starting hands you can be dealt. The opportunity for players to build a strong poker hand is very limited. It's generally a good idea to simply fold this hand when you're dealt it.

Fifth Worst Starting Poker Hand

While this is the 'best' of the worst hands that you can be dealt in Texas Hold EM Poker, that doesn't mean that they aren't still very poor hands. The fifth worst poker hand is pretty much a three way tie between the 2-9, 3-9, and 4-9 hand. Any one of these sets of cards, even suited, are not the hole cards you want to see. When these cards are dealt to you, one of the best options for you no matter what your poker strategy is generally to simply fold them.

The reason all of these pocket cards are considered such bad hands is because there are very specific cards that must be dealt to the community. The likelihood of these very few, very specific cards dealt is extremely slim, and it's far more likely that your opponent will have much better pocket cards. It is possible to luck out and bluff your opponent out of the pot, but when it comes to the showdown players need strong cards to win.