Worst Pocket Hand In Texas Holdem
Best To Worst Hands In Texas Holdem

One of the worst hands in Poker that you might face in Texas Hold’em Poker is 2 and 7 offsuit. These two cards are the lowest that you will not be able to make a straight with them. No matter whatever the scenario the game gets, the pair of 2 and 7 makes a very weak hand. Thus, even if they fit, they still make low flush.

The Situation:

You’re playing heads-up $5/$10 No-Limit Texas Hold’em cash with full 100bb stacks. Your opponent is a player who will call a shove with any two cards.

The Question:

The say 7-2 is the worst starthand you can have. The problem with A-A is probely that these hands overraise the expectation of winning and we overdue.
In this video, I show you the worst starting hands in poker. If you are dealt these cards at the beginning of a game of No Limit Hold'Em, then your odds of w.

What’s the worst possible hand you could jam with in this situation?

(a) 7-2 offsuit
(b) Q-2 offsuit
(c) 3-2 offsuit
(d) Other

Please leave your answer in the comments below before scrolling down and reading the analysis and answer.

Done that? Great. Now read on for the analysis and answer…

The Analysis:

Conventional wisdom in poker is that an offsuit 7-2 is the worst possible hand you can open with before the flop. In fact, many popular side bets in poker center around winning with the so-called 7-2 “beer hand.” Against a top 20% hand, for instance, 7-2 is in fact the W.H.I.P., or Worst Hand In Poker….

…ah, but in the specific situation of this quiz, in which your opponent will call a shove with any two cards, regardless of their strength, offsuit 3-2 is actually a slightly worse hand.

To see this, we can run an equity calculator (such as the awesome Poker Cruncher app) and compare the three quiz answer hands against a range comprised of ATC, or Any Two Cards.

7-2o Against ATC:

The Answer:

(c) 3-2 offsuit is the WHIP—in this specific scenario.

The Discussion:

Worst Pocket Hand In Texas Holdem

There are a few things worth adding to the discussion:

Close Equities. The respective equities of 7-2 and 3-2 against ATC are not very different; they’re both in the low 30% range. And these values actually aren’t terrible. If you were facing an all-in situation with your last $32 and there was $100 in the pot, you’d be justified in making the call with an offsuit trey-deuce.
Calling Ranges Matter. Against a top 20% hand range, 7-2 offsuit slips below 3-2 offsuit in strength, with just 27.7% equity against 29.2%, respectively.
The (Not So) Mighty Q-2. The Q-2 offsuit hand is nearly a coin-flip against an ATC calling range. But against a top 20% hand range, the equity drops significantly to just 31.3%. I.e., against someone who calls with ATC, Q-2 is a fairly strong hand, but against someone more discerning with their calling range, Q-2 ain’t great.
Equity Calculator. If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend getting an equity calculator and learning to use it. For Mac users (like me) and iOS and Android users, I highly recommend Poker Cruncher. And if you’re on a Windows machine, the industry standard is Flopzilla. Both programs are powerful and easy use.
Other WHIPs. Finally, what was amusing to me when I first posted this question was the number of non-standard responses I received from readers, including AQ, AK, KK, and JJ. The question these folks were actually answering was not “What is the worst preflop starting hand heads-up against ATC,” but rather “What hands do they lose the most money with and/or have the most trouble with?” These are very different kettles of fish altogether…

The Bottom Line:

Always carefully read a hand situation closely before jumping in with the answer/decision to make. Like everything in poker, the answer usually depends. Against a heads-up opponent who will call with any two cards, 3-2 offsuit is the WHIP. But against a stronger calling range, 7-2 offsuit is the WHIP. And if you move beyond the flop… well, all bets are off. Pocket Kings just may in fact be your own personal worst hand in poker!

Best To Worst Hands In Texas Holdem

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Worst Hand In Texas Holdem