W.C. Fields, after winning several hands:
'Beginner's luck, gentlemen... although I have devoted some time to the game.'

Texas Hold'em may, at first glance, seem like a simple game. In fact, the rules are easy to master but the strategy runs deep. One of the key decisions comes early; should you play your first two starting cards or should you fold them.

There are 169 possible two-card starting hands. It's difficult enough to commit to memory the correct action for each of the 169 possibilities. You could, with some time and patience, memorize a chart similar to the second one on our Mistakes page. The problem with this is that the correct play changes depending on:

Remember, you might have to search a few different ways. If you’re looking for “how to play AA”, search for “splitsuit AA” or “splitsuit pocket Aces”. Google search is getting smarter, but it doesn’t fully understand poker jargon and parallel topics quite yet. So make sure throughout the week you’re watching at least one video. Calculating Poker Odds for Dummies - A FREE, #1 guide to mastering odds. How to quickly count outs to judge the value & chance of winning a hand in 2021.

Poker Charts To Memorize Countries

1) Your seating position
2) How many players have entered the pot
3) Whether the pot has been raised
4) Whether the pot has been reraised
5) Whether you are making the small blind bet
6) Whether you are making the big blind bet

Poker Charts To Memorize Numbers

Poker Charts To Memorize

The difficulty is further compounded by the fact that each decision is not simply play/fold. You need a strategy for raising and even reraising. Even a moderately advanced system would require far more memorization than the 169 cell chart.

Poker Charts To Memorize Words

We have developed the Hold'em Shortcut system to eliminate 99% of the memorization required for strong play of those first two starting cards. Here is how we did it: