Evelyn Ng's 10 Favorite Poker Hands

by Bodog Poker | Sep 28 2009

I am not a superstitious poker player in the least, so I don't have any "lucky" hands that I like to play. So, my favorites are listed in a pretty standard order, with also the consideration of your odds of improving are, and any implied odds with weaker drawing hands.

1. Obviously, the best hand to play is pocket aces... In most situations, I play them very straightforwardly, though sometimes a little deception can reward a huge pay-off.

2. AK suited is a monster of a hand, and although it's clearly not as strong a holding as AA, it's actually rarer that you will be dealt an ace with its suited king. In the event that you should make a flush, any of your preflop raising might help disguise your hand for tons of added value.

3. AKo is a hand I will rarely fold.  Although you might be in trouble if you are up against pocket aces or kings, without flopping a pair you might be able to avoid getting in too much trouble. Even if you find yourself all-in pre-flop against KK, you can still suck out a third of the time. Against aces you still have a shot and a prayer!

4. Pocket kings and pocket queens are huge holdings before the flop. I never get too fancy with them because an ace hitting the board is like a dagger to the heart.

5. Medium suited connectors are the best drawing hands, because you'll hit all kinds of medium-textured boards, and you probably won't be sharing common cards with any pre-flop raisers. If you make a straight or flush you will get paid-off most of the time by someone with a big pocket pair.

6.  Pocket jacks or 10's can be a bit tricky with the over-cards that could hit the board, and it really sucks when you're up against a higher pocket pair on a small raggedy board.

7. AQ or AJ are usually strong hands to open with, but I'm always somewhat wary of getting into raising wars with these hands. Sometimes you have to even fold pre-flop with raises in front of you.

8. Medium pairs (99, 88, 77) can be played in so many ways, depending on the situation. Sometimes they are ok for limping-in pre-flop, sometimes coming-in for a raise, and other times it's correct to put in a re-raise. The key is knowing these situations and having a strategy for when you don't flop a set.

9. Small pocket pairs are good enough to steal blinds with in late position, but usually you can limp if the price is cheap enough and with callers in front of you. Any pocket pair is about 9-1 to flop a set, and hopefully you can get some big implied odds depending on the texture of the board.

10. AXs your goal is obviously to make a flush, and with any raises before the flop, you need to be cautious when you flop your ace with a weak kicker. I am usually reluctant to flat-call a raise with this hand, usually 3-bet or folding instead. I am rarely the 1st to enter the pot unless I'm in at least middle position and this usually depends on how my table is playing and what my table image is.

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