HOW MUCH IS A HAND WORTH?
That depends. The question really is what does hand value depend on? It depends on a lot of things,only one of which is the hand itself.
More than any other factor, it depends on how well you play relative to the other poker players at the table and on the particular kinds of mistakes the other players at the table tend to make.
It’s possible that it’s correct to play tight and also correct to play loose.
It’s possible that there is no single, correct answer to the question being posed here.
All other things being equal, it’s correct to play tight in a low-limit raked game.
However, if the players are very loose calling stations, it might be correct to play looser pre-flop and tighter after the flop.
If you can see the flop cheaply, it might be right to play a lot of suited hands-but if the players are tight passive after the flop, you won’t get paid off much, and it might not be right to do that.
Some of the questions to consider are:
1. How cheaply can you see the flop?
2. What kind of price are you getting to see the flop (number of callers)?
3. How weak are they pre-flop? (Will a raise by you buy the button, for example?)
4. How aggressive are they after the flop?
5. How loose are they after the flop?
6. How weak are they after the flop?
It’s the answers to all those questions (plus a couple more I’m sure I left out), taken together, that help you select hands to play.
Just because you can see the flop cheaply doesn’t mean you should play 7 
5 and just because you’re getting a good price doesn’t mean you should play 4 
4 
, and just because they are aggressive after the flop doesn’t mean you should play 7 5 .
Top Pair Value
High-card value is enhanced when both your cards are big cards.
The high-card value of K Q is much greater than the value of K 8 .
There are two reasons. From an odds perspective, the K Q just has more ways to flop the top pair.
A Queen is much more likely to make the top pair than an 8.
From a domination perspective, the K Q will have a good kicker no matter which card pairs the board. In the case of K 8 , you’ll only have a good kicker if the eight is paired by the board.
CARSON HAND GROUPS
It’s common for poker writers to try to rank starting Holdem hands.
For reasons I’ve already discussed, I don’t think that’s a worthwhile endeavor and I’m not going to do that, but I’m going to give you some hand groups that should help you in thinking about the important playing characteristics of starting hands.
These hand groups are not intended to be a prescription for when to play certain hands. The groups are intended as a guide for how to think about hand values.
Hands should be played when the conditions are right to give the hand value.
Exactly what these conditions are tends to be sufficiently complex that it really isn’t worth while to try to develop a specific rule-based hand selection system.
Pick the Right Table / Picking a Seat / Theories of Poker / Betting Theory: The Odds
A Theory of Starting Hand Value
A Theory of Flop Play: Counting Outs and Evaluating Draws
The Dynamics of Game Conditions / Table Image / Player Stereotypes
Women and Poker / Spread-Limit Games / Double Bet on the End Games / Kill Games
Short-handed Games / Tournaments / No-limit and Pot-Limit Poker
