Playing Your Hands
If you are dealt two aces pre-flop, your chances of success against one other opponent will be 80.9% - the two aces are known as an overpair. If, on the other hand you are dealt two Queens pre-flop your chances against one other player are reduced to 19.1%. The strength of a pair of aces far outweighs that of Queens. If you are dealt two aces pre-flop, your chances of success against one other opponent will be 86.3% - the two aces are known as Pocket Aces. However, if you are dealt a non-pair king and queen pre-flop, your chances against one other player are only 13.6%. A pair of aces is far stronger than a non-pair. If you are dealt a pair of Jacks pre-flop, your chances against an opponent will be 56.9%. Alternatively, if you are dealt two overcards (an overcard is a pocket card which is higher in value to the community cards) then your chance of success will be 43.1%. Whilst a pair is stronger than two overcards, the difference is significantly reduced. If you are dealt a pair of nines pre-flop, your chances against one opponent will be 70.3%. However, should you be dealt one overcard (regardless of the suite) your chances will only be 29.7%. It is clearly much better to have a pair than only one overcard. If you are dealt an ace and a king pre-flop, then your chances against one other player who is also holding an ace will be 73.7%. If, on the other hand you are dealt an ace and a jack then your chances are only 26.3%. If you have a pocket card in common with another player, your chances are higher if your second pocket card is of a higher value. If you are dealt an ace and a king your chances against another player will be 62.6%. However, if you are dealt a non-pair of a jack and a ten then your chances of success are only 37.4%. Your chances of success will always be higher if you are dealt two overcards than if you are dealt a non pair. If you are dealt an ace and a five, your chances of winning against one other player will be 56.2%. However, should you be dealt a non-pair of 43.9% then your chances of success are only 43.9%. You chances will be higher if you are dealt at least one overcard. If your pocket cards hand contains a pair (for instance two sevens), then the chances of the flop containing another of those cards, and your hand containing a set is 10.8%. If your hand contains a pair, then the chances of the flop containing a third card the same as the two you hold, plus an additional pair to build a full house is only 0.7%. The chances of building a full house this way are very slim. If your hand contains a pair, then the chances of the flop cards containing a matching pair meaning your hand will contain a quad is only 0.2% If your hand contains a pair, and the first four community cards dealt do not contain a card of that value then, the chance of the river card (the final community card dealt) matching the value of your pair is 19%. This means your hand will contain a set, otherwise known as Better By the River. If your hand contains two cards of the same suite then the chances of the three flop cards all being of that suite is only 0.84%, this means it is highly unlikely to build a flush this way. If your hand contains two cards of the same suite then the chances of the hand continuing to a flush draw is 10.9%. If your hand contains two cards of the same suite, and two cards of that suite were dealt in the flop, the chances of the river card (the final community card dealt) completing a flush in your hand is 6.4%Overpair vs. Underpair
Pocket Aces vs. Non-Pair
Pair vs. Two Overcards
Pair vs. One Overcard (Unsuited)
Dominated Hands
Two Overcards vs. Non-Pair
One Overcard vs. Non-Pair
Flopping a Set
Flopping a Full House
Flopping Quads
Making a Set or Better By the River
Flopping a Flush
Flopping a Flush Draw
Making a Flush by the River
