Poker · Starting hands
1,326 deals. How often yours.
There are exactly 1,326 possible starting hands in Hold'em. Knowing how often each type shows up kills an expensive illusion: premium hands are rare, and waiting for them is not patience — it is giving away blinds.
The idea
Premiums don't come: you have to play without them.
A pair of aces comes once every 221 hands. If you sit and wait for the perfect hands, the blinds eat you before you see them. Poker is won by playing the mediocre well — because mediocre is almost everything you will be dealt.
HandProbabilityFrequencyPer 100 hands
A specific suited hand (e.g. AKs)0.30%1 / 3320.30
A specific pair (e.g. AA)0.45%1 / 2210.45
Ace-King (AKs or AKo)1.21%1 / 831.2
A premium pair (AA, KK or QQ)1.36%1 / 741.4
Any pair5.88%1 / 175.9
At least one ace14.93%1 / 6.714.9
Any suited hand23.53%1 / 4.323.5