Don’t underestimate their power! When I first started playing poker, I didn\u2019t even know how to hold my cards right. But I studied diligently and three months later, when I entered my first poker tournament, I won first place. The secret? Mastering the fundamentals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn\u2019t a poker tells guru or mathematical whiz. What I did know was which cards to play and when – that alone was enough to have an extreme edge on my competition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For starters, remind yourself of the poker hand rankings<\/a>, so you know what hands you’re trying to make.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But this poker hand cheat sheet alone isn’t enough to make you a great player. As with my story, the first place you really need to start is with what\u2019s called your starting hands.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n It may surprise you to know that professional poker players<\/a> fold close to 80% of their hands<\/strong>\u2026 BEFORE the flop! Most hands are bad hands not valuable enough to enter the pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I say in my book “A Girl’s Guide to Poker<\/a>“, the first peek at your cards provides a mini rush, until you realize most of your hands are destined for the muck \u2013 poker\u2019s trash pile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Truth is, most poker hands are awful. Statistical miscreants. Mathematical losers. That one D-list celebrity who can just never seem to get it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s right\u2014the first thing you need to know about poker is that most hands are statistical losers. The fastest and easiest way to get ahead is by playing better cards than your opponents.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a moment, you’ll see how to adjust which starting hands you play based on your position at the table. But for now, here\u2019s your starting hands cheat sheet separated into three different levels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Play any two cards that can make a royal flush. Said another way, BOTH of your cards need to be the same suit and either an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, or Ten. Nothing else counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you implement this strategy, you will find yourself folding A LOT. That\u2019s OK. Poker is a game of discipline – good habits start now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re ready to level-up and take your poker starting hands to the next level, stick to the following three categories: BROADWAYS, PAIRS, SUITED CONNECTORS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are card categories you can loosely play in any position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You really begin to develop your edge when you fine-tune which cards to play based on position. This is a preflop raise first-in guide. These are the hands you raise if no one else has raised ahead of you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n First what you do is determine your position at the table. Then you check this cheat sheet to see which starting hands you should raise.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What if I don\u2019t want to follow these rules? Poker is for you\u2014obviously play the game you want to play. This is just a foundation. As your skill level increases, you can deviate from these norms based on player types, stack sizes, preflop action, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, you do want to know the general reasoning behind these tight guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why not just play any starting hand with an Ace? The problem is that you will often find yourself \u201coutkicked\u201d \u2014meaning if you do this, your Ace-Eight will lose to someone else\u2019s Ace-Jack. It is going to cost you significantly because you will hit a good hand that is second-best. Poker doesn\u2019t reward silver medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When two of your hole cards match, it\u2019s called a pocket pair<\/a>. This is great because you already have what\u2019s called a \u201cmade hand\u201d\u2014you don\u2019t need to connect with the flop! A pair is a pair and no one can take that away from you. (Not even the government.) It\u2019s also surprisingly hard to flop a pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Number cards are the hardest to play because they are much less likely to be the best hand at showdown. Flopping a pair of sixes isn\u2019t going to hold up frequently enough\u2026 and even if it does, the pot will surely be small. You play suited connectors for their ability to hit straights and flushes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is also not a guarantee, which is why you shouldn\u2019t play these starting hands until you\u2019re comfortable bluffing<\/a>. You need to be confident playing draws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you have 8\u2660-9\u2660 and the flop is A\u2660-K\u2660-4\u2665. Sure, another spade will improve you to a flush and most likely give you the winning hand\u2014but what do you do if another spade doesn\u2019t hit? You\u2019re going to need to have a back-up plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For all the times your straights and flushes don\u2019t come in, you\u2019re going to need to know when a bluff will be successful vs. when it\u2019s better to give-up (sometimes your opponent just isn\u2019t folding).<\/strong> Suited connector starting hands require more advanced post-flop strategy, unlike a hand like pocket aces which is strong enough to win on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a beginners cheat sheet for poker odds. You can print this out like a master list or keep reading as I break the most important ones down in more detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though this is a poker cheat sheet for beginners, you\u2019d be surprised how many regulars don\u2019t know some of these essentials. People chase backdoor flushes all the time – even though they\u2019ll miss with near 95% frequency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip: A backdoor flush is when you need both the turn and river to be the same suit in order to make your flush. For example, if you have K\u2665J\u2665 and the flop is 8\u26609\u26603\u2665, you need both the turn and river to be a heart in order to complete a flush.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n You can also refer to this poker odds cheat sheet featuring common scenarios to help you calculate odds when trying to improve your hand.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Making a flush or straight with one card to come rather than two\u2014ex. You\u2019ve flopped a straight draw and want to know your probability of hitting your straight on the turn\u2014means you just cut the statistic in half. So making a straight is about 16% and a flush is about 17.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pocket pair vs. two overcards is a scenario commonly referred to as a FLIP\u2026 because it\u2019s nearly a coin toss. A hand like pocket tens vs. Ace-King will win just over 50% of the time. Poker players will frequently say, \u201cwe\u2019re flipping!\u201d when you\u2019re racing a pair against two higher cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I recommend all beginners do is download a poker odds calculator app on your smartphone (there are many) and plug-in the hands yourself. If you do this enough, you will see the same probabilities appear over and over again. It\u2019s an easy way to begin to recognize standard situations and statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An alternate way to look at your hand\u2019s chances of winning is calculating \u201couts.\u201d Think of how many cards are available in the deck to give you the best hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need to hit an open-ended straight draw for example, then you have eight outs. For example, you hold 7\u26636\u2663. Flop is 9\u26668\u26653\u2660. Any 5 or 10 will make you a straight. There are four 5s in the deck and four 10s, meaning you have eight cards to hit for the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flush draws contain nine outs (there are 13 cards of each suit in the deck, subtract the two in your hand and the two on the flop). Multiply 9 x 4 to calculate your likelihood of hitting your flush by the river (36%) and multiply 9 x 2 to calculate your likelihood of hitting your flush by the turn (18%).<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people prefer to calculate outs and run these equities in their heads. I can assure you however it\u2019s not necessary\u2014if you follow this poker cheat sheet, then you will see the same odds and statistics pop-up so regularly you\u2019ll naturally store them to memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use the links below to print poker cheat sheet PDFs, or download them to refer to later.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPoker Hands Cheat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Poker Starting Hands Cheat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Beginner<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Intermediate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Advanced<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Guidelines Explained <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why do you want both cards to be broadways? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why do you want to play pairs? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Why do you want to play suited connectors? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Poker Odds Cheat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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These are the 3 most vital poker probabilities for you to know:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Calculating Outs Cheat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Example:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Printable Poker Cheat Sheets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n