In chapter 5 of Small Stakes Hold’em, the authors group starting hands into categories that share similar postflop behavior and preferred game conditions, then give practical guidance on when to fold, limp, raise, reraise, or avoid a hand entirely.
Why Hand Categories Matter
Rather than treating all 169 starting hands separately, the authors sort them into families that “play” similarly after the flop. For each group, they explain what the hand is trying to accomplish (win small pots with top pair vs. win huge pots with big draws/sets), which table textures help it most (loose, passive, aggressive, short-handed, multiway), and what kinds of preflop investments it can realistically afford.
Pocket Pairs
Monsters (AA, KK)
These are universally premium. They perform well in any lineup—short-handed or multiway, passive or aggressive—because they often win unimproved and also have huge upside when they improve. The authors recommend almost always raising and reraising, regardless of position or prior action, to build the pot with your advantage.
Big Pairs (QQ, JJ, TT)
Also excellent across most conditions, but slightly more vulnerable than AA/KK because overcards appear more often. The authors warn against playing scared just because an overcard might come. Typical advice: raise when you can, and usually reraise a single raise.
Medium Pairs (99, 88, 77)
These have two main profit modes:
-
Short-handed vs. weak ranges: they can win a decent number of pots without improving.
-
Multiway “set value”: when they flop a set in loose games, they can win very large pots because opponents with one-pair hands are drawing very thin.
Preflop, they often prefer limping early, sometimes raising late in a very specific “isolate a weak limper” spot, and calling raises mainly when a multiway pot is likely (to avoid getting trapped against bigger pairs in a small field).
Small Pairs (66–22)
These are mostly “hit a set or fold” hands. They do not win often unimproved, so they need:
-
cheap entry (ideally one bet, sometimes two),
-
and enough opponents / action to make big money on the rare times they flop strong.
They are generally playable in loose small-stakes games when unraised, but become much worse in heavily 3-bet-or-more environments—especially from early position. Versus a raise, they usually require a clearly multiway pot to justify continuing.
Suited Broadways
Big Suited Broadways (AKs–ATs, KQs, KJs)
These hands combine strong top-pair potential with the ability to make powerful flushes, so they work both short-handed and multiway and in passive or aggressive games. In unraised pots, the authors typically prefer raising (with occasional early-position limps in unusually tight games to entice weaker calls). Versus a raise, the key issue is domination: AKs and AQs can stand up to tighter raisers better, while the others need either a looser raiser or more players in the pot to justify calling.
They also note that “tight raisers” are not all the same: some widen their raising range in late position, which changes how often your hand is dominated and whether you can profitably reraise.
Little Suited Broadways (QJs, KTs, QTs, JTs)
These make top pair often enough to win against weak hands, but their one-pair hands are more fragile than the big suited broadways. Their stronger straight potential pushes them toward multiway pots. Typical approach: limp earlier to encourage more callers; raise more often in late position; and only continue versus a raise when the pot is likely to go multiway.
Suited Aces and Kings
Suited Aces (A9s–A2s)
These are mostly speculative, with value coming from making the nut flush—especially in loose, passive games where big multiway pots form and opponents pay off. The authors emphasize that kicker size still matters: the bigger suited aces win more often in “ace-high pair” situations and avoid costly kicker problems.
Guidance trends: playable unraised (more so in passive games), cautious early in more aggressive games, and generally folded versus raises because cold-calling with them—especially short-handed—is a common leak.
Suited Kings (K9s–K2s)
Weaker than suited aces because they make weaker pairs and face more domination problems. They need loose, passive conditions and careful position selection. The better ones may be limped in late or in very favorable passive games, but the authors strongly advise never cold-calling a raise with them.
Suited Connectors and Similar Speculative Suited Hands
This group (stronger to weaker suited connectors and close relatives) relies on straights, flushes, and playable draws rather than top-pair strength. They do best when:
-
the game is loose and passive (so you can see turns cheaply and realize equity),
-
you can see the flop for one bet,
-
and you’re not frequently facing raises that price you out.
The weaker versions especially suffer versus aggressive opponents because they often flop marginal draws that get pressured off their equity. The authors recommend folding them early unless the game is very passive, playing more of them in middle/late position for one bet, and generally folding to raises unless conditions are strongly multiway and your hand is among the stronger ones.
“Junk” Suited Hands
Any suited hand not covered above is labeled too weak to play profitably in normal circumstances. The authors call playing these a very common small-stakes mistake because they simply don’t win often enough, even when they occasionally make a flush.
Offsuit Broadways
Big Offsuit Broadways (AK, AQ, AJ, KQ)
These are the best offsuit hands because they frequently make strong top pair. Still, offsuit hands are inherently worse multiway than suited hands. The authors recommend opening and usually raising with them, but they stress a major adjustment versus a raise: except for AK, these hands are vulnerable to domination and often should be folded against tight raisers. Against loose/wild raisers, the range widens and hands like AQ (and sometimes AJ/KQ) can become reraise candidates.
Little Offsuit Broadways (AT, KJ, QJ, KT, QT, JT)
These are treated as marginal and situation-dependent. They often make weak top pair and, being offsuit, lack the flush “escape hatch.” They work best in unraised pots against a small number of loose opponents. They are particularly bad against tight limpers (who may already have hands that dominate them).
The authors repeatedly flag a major leak: cold-calling raises with these hands. They argue it is almost never right, even versus loose raisers, because domination risk and poor postflop prospects overwhelm the potential value.
Junk Offsuit Hands
The strongest warning in the chapter: don’t play them. This includes many hands that inexperienced players love (offsuit small aces, offsuit connectors). In loose small-stakes games, these hands are usually at their worst. The authors allow only a tiny, cautious set of possible button exceptions for one bet—and even those are described as barely profitable.
Final Emphasis: Adjust to Game Texture
The authors close by noting their upcoming specific charts assume a “typical” small-stakes environment: loose and passive or mildly aggressive. If your game is significantly tighter or more aggressive preflop, you must adjust. Knowing the category logic—how each hand makes money and what it needs to do so—is what allows those adjustments without blindly memorizing charts.