The purpose of this approach is to identify hands that have a 15 percent or more probability of winning in a ten-handed game of Hold 'Em High-Low poker.
The assumptions are: One, while any hand can win high, only the hands that are eight-low or better qualify for low. Two, each player plays each hand to the finish, (i.e., to the "river"). Three, the system is not valid for hands with less than 12 pts.
To Evaluate a hand for High:
Step One: add the value of your two cards as follows:
Ace=9 pts. K=6 pts. Q=5 pts. J=4 pts. T=3 pts.
Step Two: if the cards are paired, add 7 pts. to the total.
Step Three: if both cards are of the same suit, add 3 pts.
Step Four: play any hand that equals 15 pts. or more and
consider raising with a hand of 19 pts. or more.
Examples: a pair of aces equal 25 pts., a pair of tens equal
13 pts., a suited King and Queen equal 14 pts.,
an unsuited Ace and Jack equal 13 pts. Note:
with this system, the only high hands that merit
a raise are a pair of Kings and a pair of Aces.
To evaluate a hand for Low:
Step One: add the value of your two cards, as follows:
A=11 2=9 3=8 4=7 5=6 6=5 7=3 8=2
Step Two: add 3 pts. if both are suited with an Ace high
or add 2 pts. if both are suited without an Ace
Step Three: subtract 7 pts. if the cards are paired.
Step Four: play any hand that equals 15 pts. or more and
consider raising with a hand of 19 pts. or more.
Examples: an Ace and 2 suited equal 23 pts., an Ace and 3
unsuited equal 19 pts., a 2 and 4 suited equal 18
pts., and an Ace and 7 unsuited equal 14 pts.
Note that while a pair of Aces is playable as a
high hand, no small pair qualifies as playable.
Notes: In each case, the score arrived at by using this method will be within one percentage point of the actual win percentage for a given hand. That is, if the
system indicates a score of 15 pts. for a hand, the actual win percentage will be between 14 and 16%, as determined by a Monte Carlo-type simulation. It should be recalled that the system is valid only for hands with a win percntage of 12% or more. A random hand will win 10% of the time in a ten-handed game when every player plays each hand to the finish. The maximum score is 25 which corresponds to the win percentage for a pair of Aces. The second best hand is an Ace-2 suited.
Obviously, the assumption that each hand is played to the river is unrealistic. But, in the absence of detailed information about the starting hand requirements for each player, and how each player proceeds after the flop, no other assumption is possible. It also should be apparent that a knowledge of which starting hands are worthwhile is but one requirement for success in Hold 'Em High-Low. It is hoped, however, that these limitations will not detract from the overall purpose of this system which is to provide a simple aid to hand selection for the beginning player.
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