Poker Software and the Sklansky Group Hand Rankings

You may have noticed that while using your poker calculator that it displays your hand odds while also using terminology like “hand rank”, “group”, or “group rank” – all of which (in some way or another) refer to author David Sklanksy’s Group Hand Ranking for hold’em poker. Originally described in the classic book, “Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players”, Sklansky rated all the possible starting hand combinations and put them in groups according to their long term win rate.

By clustering hands based on win rate and strength, it’s easier to keep track of basic betting strategies associated with each individual hand. For example, in Sklansky Group 3 hands you will find 99, AQ, ATs and JTs among others. The best cluster though is Sklansky’s Group One which includes AA, KK, KK, QQ and JJ. These hands are going to show very high percentage win rates on your poker calculator as well as “raise” and “re-raise” recommendations.

In adopting the Sklansky Group of Hands, your poker calculator could in effect make you a “book” player, because many – especially the mathematical style poker calculators don’t take other factors into consideration at the poker table. However, as a guideline, your poker software is going to have the exact odds and correct mathematical indicators served up for you. Ideally, you’ll want to use this information as a back drop to your decision making.

Poker software shouldn’t be relied upon as your coach – it is just a device designed by programmers, based only on math. Math is an important component to the game, and most poker software will offer the user relatively the same type of tracking data. Sklansky can describe solid mathematical analysis, but just like the software, it takes a lot more to be making consistently profitable decisions at the table. Position, profiles, tournament, cash game, moods, stage, player skills etc. are just some of the factors to be taken into account at any given moment during a hand.

Although published years ago, using the Sklansky Group of Hands your poker software has a base from what to work with from and this is nowhere more valid than choosing your starting hands based on hand strength and position at the table. If anything, this is where poker software can help beginner players make more astute and patient decisions when deciding to enter a hand in the first place.