Deciding which hands to play, and when to play them is not an easy task. Because there are an infinite number of different situations in Hold'em. Before deciding which hands to play, let's categorize that types of starting hands that you can have. Connectors Connectors are two cards that are next to each other in rank, such as 3,4 or 10,J. Suited Connectors Two cards of the same suit that are next to each other in rank. Suited Aces, Suited Kings Two cards of the same suit, one of those cards is either an ace or a king. High Cards Any two face cards. Pocket Pairs Two cards of the same rank. These can be broken into categories. 22-66 are low, 77-JJ are medium, 1010-AA are high. Tens and Jacks can be played as medium or high pairs, depending on the situation. Your position and the # of players in the pot Some hands are more valuable if played with more players in the pot, or in later position. Typically, drawing hands are played better in late position, because you will have the opportunity to see how many players will be in the pot. For drawing hands, more players is better. The reason is, unless you make your draw, you are sure to lose, so the pot must be very large when you do hit your hand. An example of a drawing hand like this is 4,5 suited. I would be willing to play this hand for one bet, in late position if there were a few callers in front of me. If I were first to act after the big blind, I would most likely fold. The same story is true for smaller pocket pairs. If you get dealt a pair of sixes, you probably need to hit a third six to win. This won't happen often, so you want more players in the hand to pay you out if you make your set.

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