Someone recently asked me how a certain card game was played. “What’s the best hand?” she asked. “What do you mean?” I asked back. (Note that people don’t like to be asked questions back…) She eventually asked what the best starting hand was. Again, I said “best for what?” Exasperated, she says “For winning!”
Cards, like life, isn’t that simple. There’s a saying in Texas Hold ’em that a pair of aces (the “best” starting hand) either wins a small pot or loses a big one. With even a little experience, the reason for this becomes clear: before any of the community cards are dealt, AA is the strongest hand. Nothing beats it. But after the community cards are dealt, there are many possible hands that might beat it. People who blindly continue to believe they have the strongest hand, people who get attached to their position, end up losing a lot of money to people who had “inferior” cards at the start of the deal.
So as with all things, the strength of a starting position doesn’t necessarily determine the outcome. The “best” starting hand always depends on what happens after the game begins. Almost always, the biggest pots are taken down by those who start with “inferior” cards. And luck rarely has much to do with that.
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