What Hand Would You Take Every Time?

[David Sklansky]

Assuming everyone has amnesia after each hand, what cards if dealt to you every hand, would result in greater profits than you presently enjoy? I think this is a useful question for all games and tournaments as well. (Except that in tournaments it matters whether you realize or not that you will perpetually get the same hand.)

Lets answer for 10-20 limit holdem first. Pair, suited, unsuited. How bout 99, QTsuited, and AT offsuit? Not saying those are my answers.

EDIT. For those who didn't realize this I meant the worst hand you would take.

[wiper]

actually, QT suited was what popped in my mind before i got to your examples...

so, i'll take queen-ten of spades every hand...though i figure any paint/paint combo would do, deceptive enough to get paid off on large straights, decent kickers for top pairs, etc..

[goofball]

can this question be rewritten as 'what hands lose value because people are noticing the way you play'?

[orangepeel]

I don't get it.

[soon2bepro]

Um, AA?

I don't get the question either.

[Gobgogbog]

To clarify, the question is, which hands would you be willing to take every time.

If given the opportunity, would you take 72o? No.

Would you take AA, if given that different opportunity? Yes.

Would you take QTs if *that* was what was offered to you? These are the harder ones.

[Gobgogbog]

[ QUOTE ]
can this question be rewritten as 'what hands lose value because people are noticing the way you play'?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a completely different question -- the question in the OP has everyone getting amnesia every hand.

[goofball]

so i get dealt the same hand every time, and my opponents don't remember. Which ones do I want? Is that the question?

[Gobgogbog]

[ QUOTE ]
so i get dealt the same hand every time, and my opponents don't remember. Which ones do I want? Is that the question?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the question is, which hands would you accept that deal with?

A pretty close way to think of the question is that you're dealt two cards, and you're allowed one mulligan. That is, you're allowed to secretly send two cards back to the deck to get two new cards at random (could be the same ones). Which hands would you keep, and which hands would you send back?

[Deorum]

I think David's question is this:

If you were in a game in which you would be dealt the same two cards every hand, what is the worst possible two card combination that would allow you to win more money than you would if the game were straight. Assume your opponents play as though the game were straight.