Starting Hands
Two cards, one decision — which hands are worth playing at all.
Level 66 lessons
Best Starting Hands in Poker: What to Play and What to Fold
Raise the big pairs and ace-king from any seat, fold most of what you are dealt, and open wider three-handed — with the preflop equities behind each call.
What Is the Worst Hand in Poker? (And Why 7-2 Gets the Blame)
Fold 7-2 offsuit and you have lost nothing you still owned. Here is what the hand is worth all-in, and why the blind in front of you is not yours.
Poker Starting Hands Chart: How to Read One and When to Ignore It
A 13×13 grid folds 1,326 card combinations into 169 squares. Here is how to find yours, and the two assumptions no published chart prints on itself.
How to Play Pocket Aces (Without Losing With Them)
The strongest two cards in the deck still cost beginners their stacks. See the matchup numbers, then the flops that turn them into one pair.
What Is a 3-Bet in Poker? (And How Big to Make One)
Preflop, the big blind is already the first bet — which makes your re-raise over an open the third, and a 3-bet. See what it does and how big to make it.
Short Stack Poker: How to Play When You're Down to a Few Blinds
A few big blinds left changes which decisions exist at all. See what to count, when the raise stops working, and what your two cards are still worth.
Practice this in Vibe Poker
Short three-player matches, free play-money chips — the same concepts, at a real table.
Free, play-money only. 18+.