Advancing Past the Top 10 Hands
Those starting out at playing poker are better off sticking to the top 10 hands in order to ensure that they win as often as possible. However, if a player is wishing to become competitive against more seasoned players eventually they are going to have to learn to play hands other than the top 10, because otherwise they are never going to make it to the top tables. Learning to play the other hands is not difficult, but it does take some practice and concentration.
There are a lot of wining hands in poker that are not part of the top 10 hands. In fact, there are some situations where the hands that are not in the top 10 are better then some that are in the top 10 hands.
Let’s say that everyone at the table has a Jack and a Queen, but you have two 6’s. In this case your hand is better than everyone else’s and you actually have higher odds of winning than they do. It’s not likely that this will happen, but it shows that sometimes a top 10 hand isn’t the best way to go.
It really depends on the table as to what hands are the best to have. Imagine that you are sitting at a table with a huge pot and many players. In this case if you get a hand such as a 6-7 suited you are going to be pretty happy, as you have a pretty good chance of winning against an AA or KK hand. Depending on how the other players handle their bets you could be in the perfect position to take the pot.
The best times to have the top 10 starting hands is when you are going at it with a player or two ahead of 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.
Knowing the pot odds is something that every experienced poker player should learn, as this will help you play beyond the top 10 starting hands. This is of course more difficult to learn, which is why many players just stick to the top 10 hands and never become really good players.
Anytime you have a hand and you are not sure what to do, you should leave that hand. While a 6-7 suited seems like a good hand, there are still times where it needs to be let go in order to save you from a loss.
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.
You must start somewhere and there is no better place to start then with the best starting hands. Once you are ready to move ahead of the top 10 hands, you will see a high increase in profits and pot sizes and it all comes in time.
