The probability of getting the exact pocket pair drops to 1 in a 221, and that's how often you're supposed to get those awaited pocket aces. There are 13 pocket pairs in total, and you'll get a pocket pair 1 out of 17 times. Having that in mind, we can distinguish 169 non-equivalent starting hands in poker. The expected value of cards in different suits is virtually the same, so being dealt ace-king of clubs equals getting any other suited combo. That results in 1326 possible combinations of hole cards you can be dealt in Texas Holdem. How many starting hands are there?Īlmost every poker game starts with a 52-card deck (the most popular exception is the short deck which is played with sixes and up, which leaves 36 cards in the deck). Most of the math used on a day-to-day or even 'hand-to-hand' basis is quite simple and easy to figure out and remember.īasics. If math wasn't your favorite subject at school, we have great news: you don't have to have an economics degree to become a solid poker player (although a robust math background won't hurt for sure). To be great at poker, or at least good, you must put in some work in both figuring the math of the game and the psychological patterns other players follow.
Poker is a math game with a lot of psychology and quite a bit of luck involved.
