Poker Night 2 tells you blatantly in the face that in order to win cool-looking TF2 and Borderlands 2 items, you must EARN them by not sucking at poker and playing smart. One of the first steps to accomplishing this is to know when to play your starting hands (hole cards) and when not to. Although you may not realize it, you’re most likely playing too many of your starting hands. You may think that an unsuited J-7 is worth playing, but what a smart poker player would do is save that call money for something even better and fold that J-7, especially if another player has added a raise to the blind bets. Believe it or not, this is also true for starting hands as high as an unsuited A-6, or K-8.

Now the idea of folding these acceptable hole cards may sound a bit insane, particularly because the other four guys at the table aren’t likely to do something like that. However, despite their appearances, the other guys aren’t poker professionals either. They have a habit of playing almost every hand, and because of that you know that at least one of them is playing with a mediocre hand. This is where you bring your poker-smarts to the table and take advantage of them by playing with better hands that they don’t have. So one of the biggest tips to playing better at poker is to simply “know when to fold ‘em”. Yes, It’s no doubt that every single hand that you play has some chance at winning the pot, but in the end, it’s better safe than sorry.

This nifty little starting hands chart straight from the professionals themselves (slightly modified by me for this game specifically) should help you win more tournaments as long as you follow it. Please understand that the purpose of this chart is to simply help you play better at poker and win more Poker Night 2 tournaments. It does not guarantee that you will win every single hand or tournament if you follow it, but it will definitely help you on making less bad choices during the game. One more thing, even though this guide will help you decide to play your starting hands or fold them, the rest is still completely up to you and your play style. Whether you like to bet to increase the stakes and scare off players, or if you're very conservative of your money, the play style is what will lead you to win the pot in the end.

Disclaimer: This guide is meant for Poker Night 2 and should not be used for real life poker.

Here is the chart split into two parts. Although it is mainly focused on Texas Hold 'Em, it can also be used for Omaha since you can only use two of your best hole cards anyway.



The first part of the chart is for suited hands and pairs only. Take note from that chart that even though you have a suited hand, it doesn't mean you should always play them in hopes of a flush.



The second part of the chart is for the rest of the starting hands that are not suited or pairs.

When you start the round and receive your hole cards, look at the chart above and find the hand that you have. Follow the color key of your hand, and the chart will tell you whether you should play them or fold them. The chart is specifically organized so that the closer your hand is to the top-left, the more you should consider playing them (A-A being the best starting hand of them all).

Here are the color keys in greater detail:




These starting hands are definitely worth playing. Go ahead and call until you see the flop. If you feel like you have a strong hand, go ahead and raise the pot a little. However, be cautious on calling to very large raises or all-ins from the other players. If they do something as hectic as this, chances are they have a much better starting hand than you do (unless it’s a bluff or exaggeration). In these cases, you might consider folding, especially if you have one of the weaker playable hands (such as an 8-8 or unsuited K-J) or if you're risking yourself being eliminated if you call. As everyone knows, an A-A is the best poker starting hand to play. So If you have this hand or anything close to it on the chart, you usually have nothing to worry about if you call to a large raise. Remember though, try your best to avoid going in a showdown pre-maturely and make sure to see the flop first before you start making big decisions.


These starting hands are playable, and it won’t hurt to call. Although they’re not as special as the blue-colored hands, you should at least pay to see the flop. Despite their playability though, they aren’t worth raising. Just keep calling until you see the flop, and from there you can decide what to do next. However, it’s important that you limit yourself on how much you’re willing to call. If the payment for the flop starts to get too pricy from other raises, it’s probably best to fold.


These starting hands might be playable, but they definitely aren’t worth any more than the price of the blinds. Go ahead and call or check, but as soon as someone raises the pot, fold them. If you called the pot before another player raises it, and then fold, you unfortunately lost a few chips. Because of this, it’s helpful to fold in advance every now and then instead of always calling and then folding. Folding in advance is probably the best solution if the blinds start to get high and you’re short on money. If you paid the big blind, all you need to do is check after everyone has called or fold if someone raised the pot. If you paid the small blind, you may try calling and hope that the big blind player will just check, but you won’t know for sure if he will end up raising the pot or not. Make sure to think carefully when playing a yellow hand during a one-on-one match since you always have to pay for blinds.


Fold. Simple as that. No excuses, just fold. If you paid for the big blind and have the option to check, then do so. Hopefully you may find something in the flop that you can bet with, but usually you either: a) don’t have anything or b) have a weaker hand from the rest of the table. Pretty much the only options you have with a red-colored hand is Check and Fold. Don’t bother betting or calling to anything unless you know FOR SURE that you have the best hand. Yes, it’s true that you’re going to fold very often, and yes, it’s true that you’re going to miss out on a lot of hands that you would have won if you’ve stayed. But, as Glados herself said, about 50% of professional poker moves are folds. You have to play it safe like the professionals do and only attack when you've got the bigger guns at the table.

Good for you! Now you have a better understanding of the chart and know when to play your hole cards. But here are a few important things to remember when playing them:

• Never forget that the community cards are the ones that judge the winning hand, and not the hole cards. This is why it’s super important to see the flop first before getting ahead of yourself. Try to avoid being dragged into pre-mature showdowns if possible, especially if you’re risking yourself being eliminated. See the flop first, and from there you could start checking, calling, or betting more calmly and wisely. During the entire round, you should only think about calling to all-ins if you have something much higher than just a few pairs.
  
  
• The majority beats the minority. Don’t rely on your hole cards to win over the community cards. No matter which way you look at it, not all hole cards can be winners if the community goes against it. Let’s say you’ve cheerfully called with an A-K while having high hopes of a good flop. Then shortly after, the flop revealed itself to be 4-9-J. Another player makes a bet, but instead of folding like the rest, you’ve called since you think your hole cards are strong enough to beat whatever he has. You kept playing until the river, and the final set was 3-9-J-K-9. The result? You had a Two Pair, but lost to a Full House because the other player had a J-9. Ouch!
  
  
• Although it's part of the game to figure out how the other players play their hands, you have to remember that the cards are your priority. Instead of only thinking if the other player is bluffing with his large bet or not, try looking at the community cards and imagine what exactly the other player could possibly have to make such a bet. If you find a pair in the community cards, chances are the other player is betting for his Three of a Kind. Unless you have something higher than that, like a Full House or Four of a Kind, it's a good idea to just fold. After all, It's not smart to call out a bluff if you don't have anything else either.
  
  
• If, for whatever strange reason you decide to play with an unplayable (red-colored) hand, don't get too cocky if the flop turns out to be in your favor. The chart tells you to fold them early on for a reason. If you decide to play with a suited 5-2 and manage to get a flush with the community cards, don't be dissapointed when you find out that you were beaten by a higher flush. You were warned something like this would happen. Since anything in poker can happen, you never know if you actually will end up winning with an unplayable hand. However, if you truely want to stop taking risks at losing more tournaments, do what the chart says and fold.
  
  
• When you play your cards right by following this chart, you'll usually end up having the upper hand in most of rounds that you play. No matter how much you want to accuse the AI of cheating or being too lucky, they're just a few average Joes who want to win some money. That’s why they were programmed to play in more hands then they should, or be easily pressured in falling for traps that could have been avoided. Soon you’ll find that Ash WIlliams will be one of the most pathetic players you’ve come up against, and Sam or Brock won’t be too much of a problem anymore now that you’ve got the better cards.

Thanks for reading! I hope this will be the first step in helping you win more loot in this game. Although starting hands are one of the aspects at playing better at poker, remember that it’s still ultimately up to your play style that will help you win your pot. So when you’re up there on the table against the big boys with your money on the line, remember: Play smart, play crazy, but play safely.