This book lists all the equity values of the starting hand matchups of Texas holdem in an easy to read format. It is a unique new tool for the serious professional player or for the recreational player who enjoys studying the game. An equity value is the probability of a starting hand either winning or drawing against another hand. For instance, Ace-Ace (AA) has .819 equity versus King-King (KK). Players who have developed a good "feel" for these values will have a decided edge over those who don't. Some of the advantages of this type of tabular listing are the following: (1)it is easy to scan a single page for the best or worst equities for any hand, (2)values of particular interest can be marked and notes can be written on the pages, (3)finding a value is not dependent on the availability of a computer, and (4)the larger print is more readable compared to a typical display. The presentation format for listing the values is straightforward. There are 1,326 possible starting hands in holdem. They can be grouped into 169 primary hand categories after the two hole cards are checked for matching suits. All 28,561 possible matchups of these 169 hands are listed in these tables along with its equity value. The presentation format of the starting hands here is the standard poker notation where the highest card is listed first and the hole cards are labeled as suited (s) or unsuited (o). Each of the 169 hole cards combinations has a separate table on a separate page. The order of the tables in the book is in descending order by the rank of the first card and then the rank of the second card from Ace to two. Along with the equity values, each page also contains an image of a sample hand and a nickname for the hand. Many of the nicknames are well known, but some are new and were created just for this book. This is a great weapon to add to your arsenal. I've used tables like these for playing poker live or online for many years. It is a convenient way to assess a hands's chances in a showdown before, during, or after a game. It can help you to study poker and to improve your poker skills. There are many instructive questions that you can ask and answer using this guide. Against AA, is KK or 65s the better hand? Is AKs ever a favorite against a pair? Is K2o a favorite over 76s? Is AKs or JTs better to have versus low pocket pairs? Whether you are an experienced professional player or just starting out, understanding these values are critically important for optimal play for both the limit holdem and the no-limit holdem versions of the games.
About the Author: The author has been been playing both online poker and live poker for many years. He is an experienced statistician with an advanced graduate degree. He lives in the USA.