5 Bad Poker Hands Amateurs Love (But All Pros Avoid!)

Poker amateurs love to play these 5 bad poker hands, but all poker pros know to avoid these hands like the plague!
Do you play any of these 5 bad poker hands? Let me know in the comments below!
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The poker strategy advice in this video is for educational purposes only. If you choose to play poker for real money, please always play responsibly and within your limits.

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Do you play any of these 5 bad poker hands? Also, check out my other video on the 5 bad poker strategies you must avoid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3a5m3WmibB7e9k

[@stevejones600]

I love this guy teaching he’s the best

[@rileygrill2369]

King 9 and bad aces are definitely the most overvalued hands. KJ seems to get a lot of people in trouble too.

[@camsnow9822]

KJ gets people's in a lot of trouble I rarely call raises with it. Maybe if I have the button, we're deep and villain is a slam dunk to pay me when I flop gin. Otherwise it's a 3 bet or fold. It's a nice 3 bet bluff hand bc it blocks AK, KK, and JJ and I can fold with confidence knowing I'm crushed if I get 4 bet

[@aztecwarrior9729]

Funny cause I watched this before playing and I had KJ and raised $9 and then it went reraised to $31 and before I knew it I had $51 pre flop. And tired to bluff the flop and turn and guy didn't fold 99

[@jwilliams6002]

AJ off, should absolutely be on this list. And, amateurs loooove baby pairs to 3-bets. I am amazed how often I see them jam little pairs, after two raises.

[@Stefanburakov]

Aj terrible 9 handed

[@Boymeetsworld16]

@@Stefanburakov not if you 3b

[@fulltimehustler3979]

I was expecting this hand always either loose with it or get called with pocket Kk by some fish

[@Dan0rioN]

Any hand can be good

[@47Mortuus]

@@Dan0rioN Am i right? You NEVER know what comes on the flop or even Turn and River! That's why you should call any bet pre- and post flop with anything, always! Math sucks after all, as many have already concluded by saying "what am I gonna need that for in life" in high school.

[@darrelwilson]

Surprised KJ wasn’t on this list. #1 over rated hand in poker.

[@decarlocalloway01]

Definitely agree with all of these. Slightly off topic but I would also add any bottom 2 pair. Easily counterfeited or sucked out on. Seen plenty of players over play small-middle pocket pairs as well. They can't stop barreling even against multiple opponents.

[@joseluizpereirafilho7222]

Agree, but if you just call the low pairs to try to hit one more on the flop it is pretty profitable

[@47Mortuus]

Anything but top pair is a bluff catcher

[@helenpepper472]

Thank you for all your work, it is really helpful

[@willardkaderli7585]

KJ gets me in the most trouble. It used to be over valuing AQ but I've moved on from that lol

[@DPearls24]

I agree with the hands you discussed. I think it is difficult to get away from paint if you are not under the gun. Good advice though and really something to think about in small cash / tourney games

[@BrotWurst]

i HATE A6 so much. if theres no Ace, you cant do anything. even hitting the 6 seems to be worthless because of so many highcards on the board. no value for now. EVEN if you hit the Ace, you will only be called by a stronger ace, any two pair or set kind of hands. almost all of the time. so even if you hit the ace almost every hand you could beat be out of the way immediately. just because you cant bet without screaming "i got top pair i got top pair". ok tbh im playing it sometimes (online, not real money) and i hate myself even more for it haha

[@sarahdeshay1394]

Every hand’s playability is effected by number of players, position, and effective stack size. This video is a basic strategy and of course their are times to play everyone of these hands, an extreme example is you would raise most all of them heads up and fold all of them short stacked out of position in a ring game. The advice he gives is SOLID ADVICE but in general terms.

[@dingleberry4013]

5.-3. are all winning hands for me according to my tracker. 2. and 1. have been an absolute sh*tshow. Still believe I have the most problems making money from the middling suited connectors but I do play somewhat theory-based and therefore need them to balance my nutted preflop hands (i.e. in order to make more money from those types of hands by having bluffs in my range).

[@scrubfive9239]

Honestly, if your facing the most profitable opponents, they won't be thinking this way. GTO is to beat the better, thinking players . This is just my opinion but I like to make money of opponents who don't even think about my image and hand ranges . Only thier cards.

[@matthewriebel5792]

With 50bb or larger stacks, I open QTo on the CO or later; T7s sometimes on HJ, always on CO or later; 64s on BTN only; K9o on CO or later; and A7o on BTN only. In short-stacked situations deep into tourneys, I open QTo, K9o, and A7o more, T7s and 64s less.

[@doctorpaul34]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but what do you mean by in the cut off or later? Isn't the next position to the left of the cut off the button? Thanks thanks in advance, I'm still learning

[@MarianneMcVeigh-xz2yv]

King nine is my favourite hand (canine - K9 - love doge). I always seem to win on it. I wouldn't play the other hands though.

[@tommybaker4330]

10/7 is D'negs favorite hand, so I always fold it.

[@Stefanburakov]

D neg is by far THE most overrated player in history

[@battlingphoenix3847]

@@Stefanburakov 50 million earnings, nuff said

[@danieldiez8497]

Thanks for these tips man, really enjoy the 10 min videos too

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Glad you like them!

[@ryangallegos3218]

In My experience Ace Jack can be trouble alot as well, in a raised pot you are rarely up against A9 or A10 usually run into AQ or AK.

[@elemerkovacs5048]

After I watched this got a QTo a guy raised infront of me was thinking about to play my hand then remember this hand from the video and folded it :D

[@jeffhernandez6856]

I've lost out with AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, making sets on 3 of them in my last 3 outings in the casino. Straights and sets beat me out. I think my biggest lesson is learning to let go of these monsters.

[@itsKrisFox]

Your sizing might be off. I used to run into that until I learned to size much more appropriately

[@lloydchristmas1086]

Thats poker. Ive been getting coolered alot lately and being card dead for full sessions. It will swing back though

[@47Mortuus]

Guess what I lost AKo vs AKo on the bubble just yesterday to a flush. Variance bro. Long term =/= 1 hand

[@lloydchristmas1086]

@@47Mortuus I lost QQ vs QQ two days ago one to a flush three way all in pre. QQ QQ 10 10. The downswing continues. 😵‍💫

[@RetroGamerEightyOne]

I feel like KJ or KT costs me the most money Some of those hands just fail miserably against a crowd so I’m probably not elbowing people out effectively

[@Krogzaxants]

Followed your advice and won just over 100% of my starting amount.

[@Shannon_Robbie]

Hands to avoid: QTo, T7s, 64s, K9 suited or offsuit & A6/A5/A7/A8/A9o.

[@andrewdixon7894]

Totally agree. My worst is Ace middling kicker

[@Stefanburakov]

Can be used for 3b bluffs

[@MrSleepyzzzz]

Over the last year J,10o is the hand I've lost the most times with.

[@roleyondawrist3077]

Ace queen for me

[@burkhartlaw1]

I totally agree. I stopped playing that hand completely now.

[@hyphenizm]

i avoid it like the plague. I'll play JT suited if I'm in position and I almost always 3bet it.

[@deanalbertson7203]

One day I sat for several hours and got no playable hands. Fold, fold, fold. Then I decided to stop playing poker.

[@Stefanburakov]

One Time i went To casino Malmö Sweden 25-25 buy in 10k sit 8 hours fold all hands before see flop had 66 mp fold to utg open and EP big 3bet, later limp JJ utg it was raise, 3b and 4b i fold 3b Guy 5b Shove and stack off QQ vs AA 400bb deep terrible fish. Then went Home and Said there Will be more days, pacienia...

[@xxxYYZxxx]

I saw a guy open with T7s, button & blind called. Flop was J97. Blind checks, T7s bets, button & blind call. Turn is J97J. Checked around. River is J97J8, blind shoves, T7 tanks, then shoves, button calls. Blind had AJ, button had 88. AJ & T7 both got it all in dead. Button did absolutely nothing but call and stacked them both. 😄

[@bobroth1951]

I don't even like one-gappers as you only have four outs to get the middle card. I do admit that I do play them once in a while, not often and only in late position.

[@chilogutierrez8760]

Ace five is a monster. I will always play it.

[@havu2236]

Basically all hands are playable just depends on your position and what is being bet.

[@john_colter]

Seen lots of your vids & improved a lot in a short time. I want Hellmuth. JK but this video is the best so far bc you give the reasons behind WHY we need to pass up these hands. Very helpful!

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Glad you like them!

[@creatinator44]

I generally like to see a flop if I have A6s or something like that - only if suited just to see if I can hit a nut flush. Good idea? (If I don’t get a draw I usually fold it)

[@schroederluck7984]

When your hole cards are suited, you'll flop a flush draw about 11% of the time. Lots of factors, but if you play Ace-Rag suited and aren't the aggressor pre flop, you'll be c-betted out of the pot on the flop very often.

[@alexanderpgarcia314]

Thanks, Nathan. You are a poker angel to me. 👍

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Glad to help!

[@apollion888]

Well explained, good info, thanks man

[@martinclark3285]

You have picked all my favourite hands.

[@carolecarr5210]

Back when TV Poker got popular Daniel Negraneu said, 10/7 was his favorite hand, so I'll bet more than me fell for it as a good one, just learning game.

[@cdniracer]

your advice is great........my play is getting better

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Thanks for watching my poker videos, glad they help!

[@kickdeboll]

Weirdly, K8 suited plays better than K9 because usually I know where I’m at and I’m looking to hit two pair or a flush for big pots. You also have a bonus of the weird/disguised hand. K9 gets you into more fish spots like 2nd nut straight Just from a little experience

[@Ilaay23]

Do you call a 3bet from the sb or bb after you have opened QJo from the button?

[@crookidmusic323]

for me personally - any pair that falls in my hand 9/9 or lower - when the flop is ugly with say a couple of higher cards etc and i don't hit the trips..... I always seem to lose a lot of chips on those hands. whats the best way to play those hands?

[@crookidmusic323]

bare in mind - i do often raise and re raise pre flop dependent on position but i would never go all in pre flop with them unless really short stacked.

[@davee.4847]

Depends on how strong your pocket pair is and how many overcards there are. If I have 77 and the board comes something like J625 I think you can definitely call 2 streets. If it comes KQ5 I'm probably folding the flop

[@bayramyenikaya1383]

It depends on number of players. One player only most likely won't hit a pair. You can raise. More than one player and If flop has 2 or more over cards, do not raise. Call small raises, fold big raises.

[@Hiphopandfriends]

Play the player….. if you know their range…… you will know what to do.

[@KH-ic9zt]

AK Off was particularly costly to me when I went through PokerTracker after 17k hands or so... I think cause I am getting a lot of callers despite my raises. KQ/JQ/KJ Off up there too ... 1 Pair was particularly costly to me as well even with a great kicker cause I think I overvalue it. A lot of people will limp and call anything to catch. I found that 2 pair won 60% of the time aprox. and then accordingly Set/Straight/Flush/House/4 Of a Kind/Straight Flush.... 2 Pair is falls in the profit but rarely 1 pair. These are in .2/.5

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Well said, thanks for watching my poker videos!

[@JunMoo1993]

Thanks for all these videos man . Helping out =)

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Happy to help!

[@jefenterprises8006]

K9 & A5 suited on the button facing only sb & bb is generally profitable

[@johnnyblaze8030]

Great vids!! New subscriber and these have been helping me out alot🤩🤩

[@GertAvikson]

My bad card is KK because there will always be a pair of Aces

[@CruseVegas]

Limit game, I folded AcAs on the flop, button and blind called flop, flop 10c 8c 6d I bet, button raised (I was planning on 3 betting the button, but the blind 3 bet it, it felt like a set and he seemed very confident, with the thought that I m wasn’t closing the action, the draw heavy board, feeling like I was up against a set, after some thought I folded, button had JJ, blind flopped a set of 10’s. I only lost 1 1/2 big bets.

[@richiguru7564]

How do suited connectors make more hands than 1 gappers or 2 gappers? Surely this isn't mathmatically accurate

[@mikebordeaux8218]

Ace rag is my nemesis.

[@McRuffin]

JJ should be on this list. Every time I 3 bet it somebody pairs Q,K, or A. Can’t seem to win with it

[@Stefanburakov]

Try limp call it 150bb plus and limp Shove it less then 50bb in 50-150bb its Hard and depends Who You play vs and if 6 or 9 handed

[@beatingu8347]

Does anyone with pocket jacks

[@sarahdeshay1394]

“Every time”? You are either exaggerating or playing in a fixed game. Sounds like the most common thing you seem to hear every time someone has KK they say “an ace always hits the flop” which is far from true, although it hits the flop more when you aren’t holding one. I love to hold KK and point out after the hand ever time an ace does not hit the flop.

[@wildsoulalice252]

Enjoyed this - thanks for sharing.

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@TwiztedTProductions]

The hands causing me the most trouble right now is 22=99 I'm getting wrecked when I hit a set. I'm wrecked if I have an over pair, I was raising with them losing. Flatting losing three betting losing. No matter how I play I end up wrecked.

[@zerrez9791]

i do have a favourite hand that I occasionally like to play when I am in position and that is K7s. just one of those hands I like and thus like playing.

[@47Mortuus]

Same for me with the 4-7 of hearts but not when dealt as 7-4 of hearts. See how stupid that sounds? Get away from that or lose all your money.

[@christopherstec1636]

Totally agree with these hands I just toss them away as well. Especially Q10 suited

[@mouadabbad3266]

I have problems with AJo in cash game and mtt usually beaten by K or Q

[@smackastan5697]

Aren't we blocking villains' aces by holding an ace? And if we hit a pair of aces, then there are only 2 left in the deck, which reduces even more the times that they will be holding an ace.

[@agentlesoul1975]

I find myself getting beat with 3 of a kind, or two pairs and sometimes even with a full house. And my biggest "drip" loss is I tend to pay for the one card to see if I hit anything. Then if someone bets anything I fold. And more often than not if I had stayed in I would have won. How can I fix this?

[@KeyserTheRedBeard]

good content BlackRain79Poker. I smashed the thumbs up on your video. Keep on up the amazing work.

[@sriramram3780]

Hi nathan I got qq on a tournament but opp won by 57 and it's 775 how he could think and bet it won

[@mihaimihai9770]

The hand which gives me most trouble is aces. 70 percent of the time when I raise with them everyone folds so I win no money and 30 percent of the time I get called by random 2 cards and they just happen to hit the straight or the flush

[@markusbecker802]

Hi Nathan, didn't you recommend to play 4-6s more often in one of your vids, cause it's kind of underrated?!🤔🤷🏼‍♂️

[@parkerzielinski6724]

I agree except my favorite hand is q10 suited. You always catch a piece of something. Yet can still get away from the hand unlike hitting with ak or something if an over card hits you get a straight draw. Plus you said nobody plays a worse q or 10 but then said ametuers always play hands like 10/7 lol with the q/10 you will beat the 10/7 and 10/9 type hands and if they hit the queen gives you outs to a straight or higher two pair.

[@geraldhenderson8474]

Is there a quick rule I can adopt??? It feels like if you have a ten kicker, your screwed.

[@bellyhead67]

KTo is costing more money to average players than anything, including QTo I would think. They show up on the river with a horribly played KTo more often it seems. And for more money.

[@Stefanburakov]

In 9 handed vs Good players or multiway vs bad players aj and kq the 2 worst hands if 100bb or more

[@MsKalaskul]

All these hands have a preflop equity of 27-28% against 3 players (include yourself), these hand can be played if you entering the pot cheap and use strict pot control. On avergae you should risk 8bb if you are 200bb deep!

[@Stefanburakov]

The point is they win smal pots and loose big pots except 46s that can be great 300bb deep

[@princea5886]

These hands have decent raw equity, but the point is that they have big reverse implied odds.

[@Tazdingo01]

Love your content. Thanks!

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@wolverinex4243]

Poker is easy but you must play at a table you are comfortable with in bets and in total buy in.

[@wolverinex4243]

Last time I play and won the table was hot on deuce hands so I told my buddy to play the deuce. They don't believe me, but I kept winning them. Lol. Sometimes it's the flow.

[@fllwurhrt]

I think bad aces can be ok but you need to be playing for 2 pairs or top pair top kicker on low boards.

[@peterbruno657]

I don't even like suited connectors. Seems like too often I hit 2 cards towards what I need and I'm left with a decision to fold or chase. I almost always fold bc I try to never chase cards and I wish I folded from the beginning. I'm not good though. Maybe I just need to learn how to play them.

[@47Mortuus]

The best way to play them is including them in your pre flop raise/3 bet range and semi bluff on draws. Daniel Negreanu style.

[@dandattola]

Q10 is called Hawaii. Cuz you could take your family to Hawaii with all the money you lose a year playing those two cards.

[@juhdah2146]

Once in awhile l get to play with checkers and callers so l Play with all of these hands.

[@michaelmichaleto452]

Does Poker Tracker work when playing free games on Poker stars? Thanks for the great videos !

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Not sure if it works in the free games, glad my poker videos are helping you, thanks for watching!

[@mh_golfer]

K9 and Q9 use to get me in trouble whenever I made a straight with them I ran into the nut straight. No longer play either one.

[@47Mortuus]

How are you still in the pot with K9 vs AK post flop? Your mistake

[@llcoolmartine]

So Le Chiffre clearly made a mistake playing A6. But did James Bond make a mistake playing 75s? Surely not since he won right?

[@franksteele2262]

Thanks

[@ascherreinberg8826]

I feel like pocket aces cost me the most over the years also the 64 suited can Crack aces way more then k10 then

[@Stefanburakov]

Then You probably play AA wrong like 4x open and stack off 100bb plus on 279 flops off course You loose then

[@johnlawrence9007]

thank you

[@BlackRain79Poker]

You're welcome

[@maxmusclem]

Some great information

[@clayton4917]

I was playing 1/2 last night at lone butte AZ and guy to my right was playing everything he had. Sucks i was running terrible. Played four 1/2 hours. Best hands Kings once, jacks once. Couple broadways thrown in. Whatever though. He was actually much better player than me cause he had the experience. Not much I could do but grind out a 100 win after four hours and go home. I aint mad.

[@aliroostaei9122]

I've seen amateurs go all in preflop with Q7o!!!

[@mattman3495]

Famous last words "but they were suited."

[@kennethbken]

Agreed

[@mikezilberbrand1663]

The only hand I disagree about is 64 suited. It is OK multiway.

[@br4insful]

Well, to be fair, each of these depends on the position and the quantity of players. QT in 6-max stands better than in 9-max, especially on SB when CO opens. The lower the stakes are the more ridiculous hands you'd see at showdown. People like to play Q8os even more often than QTos, because both cards hit high and low range. Or they love J4 or K3. This is also depends on some symbolic meaning for a nationality of the player, for example. You'd rarely see these crazy moves at high stakes but low stakes games are full of it

[@Stefanburakov]

You dident play to Much micro zoom on stars right?

[@br4insful]

@@Stefanburakov micro stakes attract too many allin psychos to analyze their game

[@47Mortuus]

Ace 6789 are way worse than Ace 2345 because the latter can hit the wheel straight but you're really hoping for two pair. Ace 6789 are really unplayable in the scenarios you've mentioned in your premise.

[@frankformella6834]

Good stuff thanks

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@krisinsaigon]

Yeah i don’t play king-9, I’ve found myself that it’s a bad hand

[@fortunatusnine2012]

🤔 strategy can be adapted with these hands if you have situational awareness 🤔

[@buthomrk]

If the price is right pros play 72 offsuit also

[@roleyondawrist3077]

7 10 suited is my favorite hand 😂 but I wouldn’t play it after a raise or from any early position . Only to flat with it or close the action

[@gamingwithsamrat2075]

My pair ace got cracked so many times now I think every card is good and bad

[@captzachevil]

K9 just seems like it's a pretty obvious sucker hand to me. (If it's being played for a straight. Suited K9 does have decent flush value actually.) Hands like A10 and AJ are probably much worse leaks for Amateurs.

[@therominator8709]

I watch the pros on poker after dark and I learned to fold a lot of "good" hands

[@willardkaderli7585]

I hate A with a middle card.

[@bobroth1951]

Doyle Brunson says that if you play K-9 you better go to the bank and get more money.

[@TechTop5Hub]

my luck is and this happens to me a lot is that I'll get something like A7 I'll fold it because that's what a pro would do and then here comes The flop another Ace followed by two sevens BAM i just folded a full house and then somebody else wins with just a measly pair of sevens

[@BroadwayGaming1984]

So playing 1 gappers like Q-10 is bad, but in another video you say to play it

[@JackSmith-kp2vs]

Some of these hands are worth playing in certain games like spin n go’s

[@jbachman01]

Just like he mentions at the beginning of the video?

[@JackSmith-kp2vs]

Exactly, but I was just giving an example of a certain game format where it’s worth considering playing them

[@Stefanburakov]

Thats 3 handed 25bb totaly different game and yes off course You should play Them (not 46s)

[@Gingnose]

AKo is also difficult hand to play

[@carolecarr5210]

The "KICKER" factor is so hurtful. I've gone away black & blue on my butt way too often.

[@alexmcgee6962]

ive found on 1/2 tables that ace/mid card seems to win over 50% with some aggressive betting, but the other hands are ones that ive mostly avoided for exactly the stated reasons

[@buthomrk]

We will never improve because we are being taught something which pros don't practice...