Poker Mistakes: Worst Starting Hands
New poker players tend to make mistakes whenever they are making decisions. This is pretty common – even today’s best poker players made mistakes when they were younger – and the best thing to do about it is to learn more about poker and learn from the mistakes. In this part, we are going to discuss about a common mistake most poker beginners make: playing with the wrong starting hand.
2-7 and 2-8, even when they are same-suited, are considered the two lowest possible starting hands in poker. Unless you want to play the hand just for fun, you should always fold these two hands. There is no way you can construct a straight with this kind of starting hand. A Flush is possible when same suited, but it will be a low Flush and can still be easily beaten.
2-10, known as the “Doyle Branson”, is a mediocre starting hand. However, it is definitely not for beginners. The same goes for 3-7, 3-8, 2-6, 2-9, 3-9, 4-9, and the “Dolly Parton” 5-9. They are still playable, but statistically they are not the best gambles in the long run. Remember that poker is all about staying profitable in the long run, and these starting hands will not help you whatsoever in achieving that goal.
Playing an unsuited Ace + low card is also not advised. When suited, the hand can be quite powerful. Unsuited, it is just not good enough. Unless the stake is low and you can live with losing the money just to see the Flop, or Turn, then you should fold instead.

