2-7 Offsuit - Is It Really That Bad A Hand?
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by: jamesw
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In texas hold'em, 2-7 offsuit is the worst starting hand you can possibly have because your chances of making any kind of winning hand are slim. You could make a straight or a flush but you will only be using one of your cards, and if you do make a pair it's unlikely to be a winning one.
Despite this, however, in my experience a lot of players have a soft spot for this hand because it's so bad, and because in theory you have very little chances of winning the hand, it presents a challenge.
Therefore, it can encourage some players to bluff with this hand, particularly if they have table position, and can sense weakness amongst their opponents. They can then take great delight in flipping over their 2-7 offsuit, and seeing the reactions of the other players.
In most situations this hand should of course be an instant fold, but it's important to note that at times your chances of winning with this hand are not as bad as most people think. For instance, when you're playing no-limit heads up play, or find yourself against just one other player, it can become a playable hand.
Many less experience players fail to fully understand probabilities, and therefore automatically assume they have no chance of winning with this hand, but this assumption is wrong.
Let me demonstrate this point with a few examples.
Assuming you're holding 2-7 offsuit, your chances of winning against Ace-King (offsuit) are approximately 32.5%, Ace-King (suited) 30.5%, Ace-Jack (offsuit) 32.5%, and 10-6 (offsuit) 34%, so as you can see you would not be that much of an underdog in any of these possible scenarios.
In fact, if you believe that your opponent has two different cards, ie not a pair, then you are always going to have roughly a 1 in 3 chance of winning, which are pretty good odds.
Even if you are unlucky enough to find yourself up against a pair, your odds of winning are still reasonable.
For instance, you would have a 12% chance of winning against a pair of Ace's or 9's, for example, and a 28% chance against a pair of 4's.
There are also occasions when you would prefer two low cards like 2-7 to a higher combination. A classic example would be in a multi-table tournament which you are on the verge of going out of. In this case going all-in with your 2-7 would in most cases put you up against maybe just one other player, who would probably hold at least one of the higher valued cards. Therefore at least you would have two live cards, and could win if you hit a 2 or a 7.
So to conclude, although 2-7 offsuit is not the hand you want to see at any time, there are times when this hand is not as bad as you may think.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/
About the Author
James Woolley is a regular poker player and the author of a poker blog which is a complete guide to internet poker, and contains the very latest tips and advice to help you become a better poker player.
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