Hello,

Just want to ask if what’s the percentage of hands won by the following -100 hands:

flush ex- 10%
straight ex- 12%
full house ex 5%
3 of a kind ex 7%
2 pair ex 35%
1 pair ex 25%
high card ex 3%
straight flush ex 1%
royal flush ex 1%
4 of a kind ex 1%

Any thoughts?

Many thanks,
Albert
Albert,

This looks about right and normal. Two pair is the average winning hand in Holdem. Straight flushes and royal flushes I would say is a little less than 1% of the time.

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Hello,

I know that the odds on seeing a hand may be similar in various games. But how about in Draw vs. Holdem?

Last night I was in a game. At some point I saw a royal along with some players, more or less 5. Do you think there’s a better or worse chance to see a royal flush on the table with more or less players? Well, for some, the more players, the more chances to see a royal as more cards are actually in play. But for those who are mathematically inclined, number of players doesn’t matter, the odds of seeing a royal flush still the same whether there are 10 or 2 players. Any thoughts?

Thanks a ton!

Best regards,
Tristan
Tristan,

When you say on the table, do you mean on the board or do you mean with one of the players having the hand complete it? My guess is the latter. I would say that the odds to see a royal will increase with more players in the hand, if a royal is possible, but also it depends on how many of the cards are on the board. I think that if it requires two cards from the player, the odds probably stay the same. They would go up, if there were 4 to the royal on board.

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Hi,

For 18 months now, I’ve been playing holdem and been reading some helpful books. Good thing now is, I can already calculate pot odds after the flop, turn, and river. However, I still have no idea how to calculate odds before the flop. Any idea?

Say I was dealt KQs and then raised on the button and consequently was re-raised. Do you think in case I put my opponent on AA, I’d be a 2-1 or 3-1 dog? I haven’t found any chart on this.

Another thing, how much of a dog is 7-2 vs. AA 10-1 etc.? Your thoughts please.

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Lloyd
Lloyd,

Pocket Aces are an 87% to 12% favorite over 7-2. That’s around a 7.25 to 1 underdog. The best thing would be to get a preflop odds calculator or draw up a chart of common hands. Many odds calculators can be found online.

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Hi there!

I just want to know if what’s the average winning hand strength in a ten player holdem game. Do you have any idea on this?

Say you played 10,000 hands and all ten people stayed in each hand, do you think the average winning hand be two pair or three of a kind?

Similar from the one above, what’s the average winning hand for a game where 5 players played all the way?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Alex
Alex,

The average winning hand for a ten handed game is two pair.

Although I haven’t ran the stats personally, I would assume that 2 pair would also hold true as the average winning hand for a five handed game as well. I do expect that a single pair will move up some in percentages. The reduction in the number of players will alter the numbers some, but I doubt it would change it very significantly.

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Hi,

I remember that in one of your Q&A articles your last sentence was something about the possible two-card hands (starting hands in holdem), which for you equaled to 2,652. I’m sorry but I believe it should be 1,326, 2,652 should be divided by 2. Well I honestly can’t remember why it should be divided by 2 but I think it’s correct. Also, it can be supported by some facts or realities like the odds of getting pocket aces which is 220 to 1 and the 6 possible combination of pocket aces divided by 1,326 possible hands = 0.45249% or 220 to 1.

My intention for this is not to offend you but instead to just share what I think can be a great help. I’m still your fan.

Many thanks,
Janz
Janz,

I’m not sure which article you are referring but there are 1,326 possible card combinations in Holdem. (52 × 51)/2 = 1,326 would be the calculation.

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Hi,

Any idea of the weight of the chips used in holdem tournaments? Sorry for this, I hope I make sense here.

Thanks in advance!

Warm regards,
Jim
Jim,

Most casino chips are around 10 grams in weight.

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Hello,

I just want to know what’s a rake in holdem and how does it works. Your thoughts?

Please I need your help. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Janz
Janz,

The rake in Holdem is the amount of money the casino takes from each pot to run the game. In a game where there is a 10% rake, by the river, 10% of the pot is removed and goes to the casino.

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Hello,

I’m here to ask couple of questions. But before I lay them down let me first thank you for creating and maintaining a site like this one. It has been a great help to me and to many others. Keep up the good work!

Now, here are my two questions:

1. You once said that the odds of a pair pre-flop are 6% but the odds of AA or KK preflop are 9%. Why is this so? Is there any difference?
2. Why do you think poker is getting more and more popular? Do you think the Rounders movie has something to do with this? How about the power of television?

Thanks in advance!

All the best,
James
James,

1. The odds of being dealt a preflop pair are around 6%. The odds of being dealt Aces or Kings is no different than being dealt deuces.
   
2. The popularity of poker has been mainly due to ESPN’s World Series of Poker and Chris Moneymakers win in 2003. Rounders is a great movie, but only helped make Holdem popular in a small way. Thank Chris Moneymaker for the current poker boom.

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Hi,

Some say it actually takes seven shuffles to randomize a deck completely and normally players shuffle three times between hands. Well, I figured out that in holdem, cards are not usually grouped in any particular order to be a hand. Do you think there’s really a great need to shuffle a lot between hands? Your thoughts on this please.

Thank you in advance.

All the best,
Lance
Lance,

In order to shuffle properly, you probably should shuffle the cards around 5 to seven times to ensure some randomness. You can also do some quarter cutting of decks between shuffles to help randomize more.

Practice shuffling. With some practice you can become fast and 5 to 7 shuffles will take no time.

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Hello,

Just 4 months ago, I started playing holdem at Poker Stars. First I was okay playing at play tables but later on was constantly being beaten. Well I know that playing on play money tables is unstable and erratic but still I want to try my luck. Luckily, I later discovered your site and after reading some of your writings, I improved a bit. Thanks to you!

As of the moment, I’m trying some real money sites. I’m more on no limit games in low games. I have already ventured into the $5/$10 games. I know it’s important to have perseverance at all times to eventually learn everything and so I’m trying to maintain it at all means.

I now live in Montreal Canada and unfortunately the casino here has no Holdem games at all therefore I just play online.

Now my question is, do the same probabilities apply in playing online through a computer program which deals the cards as playing live at a casino where there’s a manual dealing of the cards? At times I think so however I am not so sure. Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Kit
Kit,

The same odds and probabilities apply online as they do live. The only difference is that live you get way fewer hands than you do online. You can always download software or use certain calculators online to help you figure out percentages if you are stumped.

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For more than 20 years now, I’ve been playing poker for more than 20 hours a week, mainly online. I play well in $2/4 6max NL holdem but then just recently I decided to try my luck in other level and so I moved up to $3/6NL.

I’ve tried to read some poker books and visit some forums and for several times I’ve encountered the idea about AT-AQ, and KT-KQ being a crap. And is true that tight-aggressive poker can be a winning poker and bluffing weak players is the dumbest thing one could do?

Before, I used to fire three bullets with over cards, typically would call raises with AJ out of position. I would also play unusually and would bluff a lot. I usually win with such kind of approach, normally win between $600-1000 a day. I was then considered as one of the most aggressive and best short handed players on my site. However, after I started the reading and all, some things have changed.

As of the moment, I’m having a trouble with regards to winning at $.10/.20 full ring games. I believe the golden rules below have something to do with my problem.

• Don’t play loose, tight poker is winning poker 2. Don’t bluff weak players, they simply won’t fold
• Don’t be weak/tight, be aggressive!
• Don’t call raises out of position with weak hands

I tried the Super System before and I would typically raise preflop with ATo then get called by the big blind. Flop would appear and would bring something like 9c7h2c. BB then would check and I would bet the pot. BB then would call and then turn would bring in something as 4s. BB would check and then I would place BB on a flush draw and then would bet the pot one more time. BB would call and river would be something like Jh. BB then would check and I would push all in, BB would fold. I would then win lots of money.

Right now, I played differently and winning is already an impossible thing. Many things are troubling me and my aggressive style before doesn’t work anymore. It doesn’t scare people like it used to. Please, I need your help.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks and more power to you!

Regards,
King
King,

Tight poker is winning poker and at lower limits, it’s nearly impossible to bluff. Your style will work better at more reasonable limits.

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Hello,

I love playing no limit holdem with some colleagues. Typically they’re a bit loose. Some loves to see the flop even if it’s already been raised and re-raised pre-flop particularly when blinds are cheap.

Well, to later have positive results that would favor on my side, I believe I should play a lot of sub-par hands to adjust to the overall game pace and not be pushed around. Investing some time even with marginal hands as bottom pair with a couple of far-fetched draws or middle pair without kicker can also be of great help.

One thing, do you have any advice for me as to when I should rather muck my hand and keep my money in games with my colleagues?

Thanks!

Regards,
Lord Ian
Ian,

I would play a lot of cheap flop. If you can get in without a raise or get into a multi way pot with your substandard hands, you can make money when you flop lucky. But do this sparingly. Otherwise, you will bleed off chips.

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I’ve been into online holdem for almost two years now. Well, I’ve been into no limit in general. Just recently, from full tables I moved to short-handed ones. The outcome of my decision was not that awesome but I promised to myself I’ll be good soon.

I know you’re the best person to help me. Do you know any good and effective strategy tips applicable in short handed tables?

Hope to hear from you in no time.

Thanks in advance!

Brent
Brent,

Don’t be afraid to play middle and even bottom pair if you think it is best. Players tend to miss the flop and 6 handed, when you flop middle pair, it is much stronger than at a full table. That’s not saying it wont be behind at times, but at times, middle pair and even bottom pair will win.

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