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Limit Hold’em Tips. Fixed-Limit Texas Holdem has been waning in popularity since poker exploded around the turn of the millennium. That being said, it was once the standard in casinos the world over, and to this day it is a very popular form of poker in both cash games and tournaments alike. Nov 25, 2017  Since stumbling towards retirement nine years ago, Andrei Joseph has played low limit hold 'em in more than 100 poker rooms across 20 states. He would be $37,000 ahead — if there were no rake! Here's the second of two articles from Joseph in which he continues to explore some.

Starting Hand Selection:Chen Formula : Sklansky Starting Hand Groups

May 13, 2009  When you think about Texas Hold'em starting hands in this light, you'll realize that you should be folding around 80% more hands than you should be playing at any given Hold'em table. Naturally, the hands you play, and how you play them, will change depending on thousands of different variables at the table.

The Sklansky & Malmuth starting hands table.

Group	Hands
1	AA, AKs, KK, QQ, JJ
2	AK, AQs, AJs, KQs, TT
3	AQ, ATs, KJs, QJs, JTs, 99
4	AJ, KQ, KTs, QTs, J9s, T9s, 98s, 88
5	A9s - A2s, KJ, QJ, JT, Q9s, T8s, 97s, 87s, 77, 76s, 66
6	AT, KT, QT, J8s, 86s, 75s, 65s, 55, 54s
7	K9s - K2s, J9, T9, 98, 64s, 53s, 44, 43s, 33, 22
8	A9, K9, Q9, J8, J7s, T8, 96s, 87, 85s, 76, 74s, 65, 54, 42s, 32s
9	All other hands not required above.

This table comes from the book Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.

This is a strategy book for limit Hold'em, but the starting hand groups do have some practical use in no limit Hold'em.

What is the Sklansky and Malmuth starting hands table?

The table is a general ranking of hands in Texas Hold'em.

The Sklansky and Malmuth starting hands table groups together certain hands in Texas Hold'em based on their strength. Starting with the strongest set of hands that you can be dealt in group 1, the hands get progressively weaker working down the table until the virtually unplayable hands in group 9.

The rough idea is that a hand in one group has roughly the same value and can be played the same way preflop as any other hand in that group.

How to use the starting hands table.

In their book, Sklansky and Malmuth provide some in-depth guidelines for starting hand strategy in limit Texas Hold'em using this table. Unfortunately, I'm not going to work out any guidelines for you for the NL Hold'em game using this table because:

1. It would be quite a tricky job.
2. It would be difficult to remember and implement.
3. Like any starting hand strategy, it would have its flaws.
4. You should avoid using strict guidelines and set rules as much as possible during play.

So really there is not a lot to take away from this table from a purely strategic perspective. Nonetheless it's interesting to see how specific starting hands compare to one another based on their preflop value.

If you're really after a starting hand strategy guideline, try the Chen Formula.

Sklansky and Malmuth hand rankings evaluation.

Although it's a very popular hand group rankings table, it's not going to do you too much good to learn the whole thing off by heart. In my opinion, the real value of this table is being able to see how different starting hands can be grouped together and ranked based on their value before the flop.

For other useful charts and tables, see the odds charts page from the Texas Hold'em tools section.

Go back to the awesome Texas Hold'em Strategy.

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Table Of Contents

Introduction

Six-plus hold’em (also known as short-deck hold 'em) is a new variation of traditional Texas hold’em that mostly follows the same rules albeit with a significant difference — the use of a smaller 36-card deck rather than the full 52-card deck. Most first heard of the game after it was introduced among the mix in the high-stakes cash games in Macau.

The 36-card deck is created by removing the 2xs, 3xs, 4xs, and 5xs from the deck (16 cards). That leaves the 6xs up through the Kxs as well as the Axs. As in regular hold’em, the aces still count as high or low when making straights, which means the lowest possible straight becomes Ax9x8x7x6x (think of the ace as essentially replacing the missing 5x).

Other than that, six-plus hold’em is played similarly to regular hold’em with two hole cards, five community cards, and four streets of betting — preflop, flop, turn, and river. However, there are some other differences in rules often used in six-plus hold’em which you should know about before playing.

Six-Plus Hold’em Variation — Hand Rankings

Six-plus hold’em can be played according to the exact same rules as regular Texas Hold’em. The betting can be fixed-limit or no-limit (although most often the game is played no-limit), and the same hand rankings can be used as follows:

• High card (lowest)
• One pair
• Two pair
• Three of a kind
• Straight
• Flush
• Full house
• Four of a kind
• Straight flush
• Royal flush (highest)

However, six-plus hold’em more often is played employing a different hand ranking system. Here are the alternate hand rankings for six-plus hold’em (note the differences in bold):

• High card (lowest)
• One pair
• Two pair
• Straight
• Three of a kind
• Full house
• Flush
• Four of a kind
• Straight flush
• Royal flush (highest)

Low Limit Texas Holdem Starting Hands G Hands Ranked

As you can see, following these alternate hand rankings three of a kind actually beats a straight (instead of vice-versa), and a flush beats a full house (instead of vice-versa). These changes were introduced because of the because the removal of cards from the standard deck alter the probabilities of making certain hands. For example, with only nine suited cards (instead of 13), a flush is harder to make in six-plus hold’em than in regular hold’em.

Six-Plus Hold’em Variation — The Deal (Fifth Street)

One other popular variation often introduced in six-plus hold’em has to do with the way the river is dealt.

The game can be played according to the same procedure followed in regular hold’em, with the community cards coming in the same way — flop (three cards), turn (one card), and river (one card) — and betting rounds after each street.

More often, though, instead of a river card being dealt to complete a five-card board, players are each dealt a third hole card instead. Players then make their five-card poker hands by using exactly two of their three hole cards and three of the four community cards. The building of hands resembles the procedure followed in Omaha where players must use two of their four hole cards plus three board cards to make a five-card poker hand.

Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart

Some Strategic Considerations

As you might imagine, the removal of low cards and use of the 36-card deck makes it more likely to make higher value hands, a change that tends to introduce more action.

That also means players should adjust their thinking about relative hand values from what they are used to in regular hold’em. For instance, the smaller deck makes it easier to make two-pair hands, which means a hand like top pair-top kicker is no longer as strong in six-plus hold’em as it is in regular hold’em. Straights and full houses are also easier to make in six-plus hold’em than in the regular version of the game (a reason for the alternate hand rankings).

The odds of hitting certain draws change, too, in six-plus hold’em. Just to highlight one example, filling an open-ended straight draw becomes more likely in six-plus hold’em, because while you’re still looking for the same eight outs there are fewer total cards in the deck, thus increasing the percentage you’ll make your straight.

The smaller deck also affects the likelihood of being dealt certain hands. For example, you’re more than twice as likely to get pocket aces in six-plus hold’em than you are in regular hold’em!

Finally, players being dealt a third hole card instead of there being a fifth community card obviously affects hand values as well, making it even more likely that players improve their hands — yet another factor that has to be taken into account when calculating odds and considering your final-round betting strategy.

Texas Holdem Starting Hands

Conclusion

Low Limit Texas Holdem Starting Hands G Hands Cheat Sheet

six-plus hold’em introduces several exciting twists to traditional Texas hold’em, creating an action-filled alternative that many players are finding especially enjoyable to play. Furthermore, the changes from regular hold’em aren’t terribly complicated, making it easy to new players to learn and play right away.