If 2-7off is supposed to be the worst starting hand, then why is it a 55%-25% favorite against 2-3 off?

Question

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_odds/texas_holdem#

If you punch in 2-7off against 2-3off, 2-7 wins 55%, 2-3off wins 25%, and there is an 18% chance of a tie. I thought that 2-7off was supposed to be the worst starting hand, wouldn't that make it a dog against any hand heads-up pre-flop?

Answer 1

Those two hands aren't likely to face each other.

And because 7 2 has no real straight draw and 2  3 does. And the chances of those two hands going against each other are slim. Those stats are for an all in situation.

Its also because they share the 2 and theres a chance the 7 might play. If it is 7 2 vs 3 4 the odds are probably more even.

And apparently if you simulate out enough hands the 2  3 will win out most times. Thats poker.

If the flop brings a 4 5 , theres 11 cards that will help the 2 3 and 3 to help the 7 2

Answer 2

27o is the worst starting hand in poker.  But they got this statistic by running each of the 169 possible starting hands against various other random starting hands millions of times.

So the full rule is against RANDOM hands 27o is the worst starting hand.  You can still find a specific hand that may seem worse on paper.

In the example you gave, you ran 27o against 23o.  But 27o is going to dominate 23o some of the time.  If the board has a 2 on it, and the kicker plays, the 7 will out kick the 3 for a win.  So now the only real hope for the 23o is to catch an unlikely flush or straight or pair the three.

But simply running this test does not mean that 23o is a weaker hand that 27o.  We are kind of splitting hairs here since both hands are c**p.  But at least a 23 can theoretically make a straight with both cards.  The reason that 27 and 83 suck so badly is the fact that you are affectively throwing away any chance for a straight.

Answer 3

good question but the reason it is the favorite preflop is because you have a 7 high compared to the 3 high. post flop the odds will change and you could be the dog then. 2 - 7 off is the worst starting hand. with 2 - 3 off, you have a better chance to make a straight than the 2 - 7. like i said about the preflop and the 2 - 7 off being the favorite then is only because of the higher card. hope this helps.

Answer 4

Based on statistics, 27 is indeed a better hand than 23.

As you said 27 vs 23 wins the pot 55% of the time.

Against a random hand (24o-AA) , 23 wins 32% of the time.

Against a random hand (23-AA), 27 wins 34.5% of the time.

So how can 23 be better? It can actually make a quality hand! With 27 when you flop top pair ( ex:754) your hand is often no good when you face action.

With 23 you cant even flop top pair or middle pair. However, you can flop a straight (456) and when you do face action your hand is often times good.

SO BASICALLY 23 STATICALLY IS THE WORSE HAND. 27 IS THE WORST HAND BASED ON PLAYABILITY.

Answer 5

2-3, if you get any doubles or anything 2-7 can get a better double, also, the odds of getting a double are reduced because the other player has a 2, and in most games I have played it ended in either a double, fold, or occasional triple.

Answer 6

I don't have a better answer than ZCT, I think he is right on. 23 would be better than 72 when you are facing a better hand such as QQ for example...72 off gives you less of a chance preflop to beat QQ than 23 since there is no possibility of hitting a straight using boths cards w 72.