Starting hand odds
Two cards from a 52-card deck can be dealt in 1,326 ways. Counting them tells you how often the hands you hope for actually arrive, which is less often than it feels.
How often each hand is dealt
| Starting hand | Chance | Odds | Odds against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any pocket pair | 5.88% | 1 in 17.0 | 16.0 to 1 |
| One given pair, such as aces | 0.45% | 1 in 221 | 220 to 1 |
| Aces or kings | 0.90% | 1 in 110 | 110 to 1 |
| AA, KK, QQ or AK | 2.56% | 1 in 39.0 | 38.0 to 1 |
| Ace-king, any suits | 1.21% | 1 in 82.9 | 81.9 to 1 |
| Ace-king suited | 0.30% | 1 in 332 | 330 to 1 |
| Two cards of one suit | 23.53% | 1 in 4.2 | 3.2 to 1 |
| At least one ace | 14.93% | 1 in 6.7 | 5.7 to 1 |
Pocket aces: once every 221 hands
There are 6 ways to hold two aces out of 1,326 starting hands, so you are dealt them 1 in 221 hands. The same goes for any other given pair. Any pair at all comes 1 in 17.0 hands, and the premium group of aces, kings, queens or ace-king only 2.6% of the time. Most hands you are dealt are hands you will fold.
169 different hands
For strategy, suits only matter as "same suit" or "different suits", so the 1,326 deals collapse into 169 distinct starting hands:
- 13 pocket pairs, each dealt 6 ways (for example the six pairs of aces).
- 78 suited hands such as ace-king suited, each dealt 4 ways, one per suit.
- 78 offsuit hands such as ace-king offsuit, each dealt 12 ways.
That is why ace-king offsuit comes three times as often as ace-king suited: 1 in 82.9 hands for ace-king of any suits, 1 in 332 for suited only.
What your hand makes by the river
If you see all five board cards:
| By the river, if you see all five cards | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Pocket pair makes a set or better | 19.2% | 1 in 5.2 |
| Unpaired hand pairs a hole card or better | 48.7% | 1 in 2.1 |
| Suited hand makes a flush with its suit | 6.4% | 1 in 15.6 |
Suited cards are often overrated. Two suited cards make a flush of their suit only 6.4% of the time by the river. Being suited helps, but it does not turn a weak hand into a strong one.
What these hands are worth against each other all-in is on the matchups page; what they do on the flop, on the flop odds page.