Poker tables that will help you if you are a beginner

Surely, if you are just starting out in poker, you will have noticed that there are many terms, concepts, strategies and plays that you must take into account in order to get some performance in your games. It is normal that at first it feels like chaos, because as in everything that is new, there are always a lot of doubts. However, as you become more familiar with the game, you will see that it is not that difficult. One of the things that can really help you to understand what your best plays are and which hand you should go for is to know what the poker tables are, it's almost almost the most basic thing.

In this article we're going to explain everything you need to know about poker value tables - and which are the most commonly used tournament poker tables. We'll also answer some questions about them that you might find useful. Let's get to it!

What are poker tables?

As we said in the introduction, poker tables are one of the most important and essential accessories a player should have. They will help you to progress in the game and to aspire to be a better player. When we talk about poker tables or poker value charts, we are referring to the percentage odds of winning a hand. These charts analyse the odds based on the time of the game, the type of poker game or some specific occasions.

Poker tables are very useful to know when to bet and in which situations - depending, for example, on the community cards on the table and our hand - and even on the position and the percentage of hands played. However, you should bear in mind that many of the percentage tables are only effective in heads-up play, an example of which are the poker tables for tournaments.

Poker table: top poker tables to use for reference

Poker tables are many and varied. In this article we do not intend to analyse them all, as that would be impossible. However, we look at the most common ones so that beginners can familiarise themselves with them and learn how to use them. We look at them.

Poker hand charts

The poker hand chart is a tool that shows the 10 best starting hands in Texas Hold'em - the most popular form of this card game - but it is not the best hands, as you would not know the community cards. However, these hands will give you a better chance of winning at the start of a poker game and of making some of the best combinations later on. In order from best to worst, these are:

• Pair of aces: AA 
• Pair of kings: KK
• Pair of queens: QQ
• AS + king of the same suit: AKs
• Pair of jacks: JJ
• Pair of tens: TT
• Ace + King of different suit: AKo
• Ace + queen of the same suit: AQs
• Ace + Jack of the same suit: AJs
• King + Queen of the same suit: KQs

Poker table according to position

Another thing you should know is the name given to the position you are in at the poker table with respect to the button -or dealer-. These are the different positions:

• Big blind (BB): Or big blind, immediately to the left of the small blind.
• Small Blind (SB): Or small blind, immediately to the left of the button.
• Button (BTN): O dealer.
• Cutoff (CO): Immediately to the right of the button.
• Hijack (HJ): Immediately to the right of the cutoff.
• Under The Gun / EP1 (UTG): Immediately to the left of the big blind.
• Under The Gun + 1 / EP2 (UTG + 1): Immediately left of UTG.
• Under The Gun + 2 / EP3 (UTFG + 2): Two places to the left of UTG.
• MP1 (UTG + 3): Or middle position, three places to the left of UTG.
• LJ / MP2 (UTG + 4): O Lojak, four places to the left of UTG.

Table for playing starting hands at short tables

Shothanded poker tables are tables where the maximum capacity of players is 6. This type of table usually requires a more active strategy where a larger number of hands are played, which is why the level of commitment and aggression is higher. The information these poker tables give you is the hands you should play according to your position at the table. That is, if you are UTG, HJ, CO, BTN or SB.

Source: 888 Poker

In this case, blue is first position, Under The Gun; pink is second position, Hijack; third position is green, for Cutoff; fourth is purple, for Button; and fifth is yellow, for Small Blind.

Poker tables for tournaments

In poker tournament tables we are interested in knowing what the estimated winning percentage of our hand is in relation to what our opponent might have - i.e. the calculation applies to a head-to-head or a one-on-one outcome. This data is very interesting to take into account in the high blinds phase, when the only viable moves are all-in, call an all-in and fold. 

Here is one of the most common tables for all-in showdowns in the preflop stage. It looks at the possible match-ups between two players' pairs of cards and measures them as average winning percentages of those hands. These winning percentages of both hands also take into account ties (when the two percentages add up to 100%). We see:

Source: Poker10.com