If you’re playing Texas Hold’em, the two pocket cards you’re dealt will fall into a category of ranking. Different situations require that you play cards of a different rank. Here’s a breakdown of hands for Texas Hold’em.

Premium hands consist of big pocket pairs and Aces with a King or Queen. These hands have the highest winning percentage pre-flop and are normally played with a lot of aggression.

Medium-strength hands consist of Ace, Jack or Ace, 10 and medium pocket pairs, Jacks to 8’s. Suited connectors fit into this category if they’re bigger than 10, 9. Hands like K, Q also, especially if they’re suited.

Weaker Hands like 7, 8 and smaller pairs have a lower winning percentage and require that you hit a flop to make anything with them. It’s not recommended to play these hands often, but they can be valuable if you can get into the hand cheap.