What are the Worst Hands in Poker?

What is the worst hand in poker? Everyone knows that the best starting hand you can receive is pocket aces, followed by pocket kings — but the worst hand is an entirely different topic or debate.

The starting key to Texas Hold’em is the two cards that you receive in the hole. Those two cards are what you will go to battle with and use to try and make the best five card hand from the upcoming flop, turn and river.

But of course, the range of these two starting cards is vast with some being great, some being average, and some being horrible. Today, the focus will be on the horrible.

We’ve put together a selection of the worst hands in poker. While the hands on our list aren’t necessarily all statistically the worst hands in poker, they are all terrible in their own way.

A Handful of the Worst Hands in Poker

Of course, poker hands are ranked in a specific order and the goal is to make the best hand possible. To do so you will need strong starting cards (two cards).

Understanding how to play poker begins with these two cards. So here it is, a handful of the worst starting hands in poker in no particular order, with the reasoning on each selection explained.

Note that all of the hands we’ve picked are offsuit. This is because any two suited cards significantly increase equity and strength based on the increased possibility of making a flush.

7-2 Offsuit

This is the classic worst hand to be dealt in poker and the worst starting hand in Texas hold’em for a variety of reasons.

It is the two lowest cards you can be dealt without being connected, with the possibility of a straight.

For instance, 6-2 is lower but in theory can make a straight with a perfect board. That straight is not possible with 7-2.

Therefore anyone holding this putrid preflop hand can only hope to hit a miracle two-pair or full house to have any shot of making a strong hand.

There is, however, one saving grace of 7-2 offsuit.

In many cash games, it is popular to play the “7-2 game” which is a side game where everyone agrees to give a player who can pull off a bluff with 7-2 some extra side pot.

This actually gives players an incentive to play 7-2 aggressively and show the bluff if they are able to get it through successfully.

Without this side game though and in tournaments, 7-2 offsuit should pretty much never be played. It’s best for it to find its proper home in the muck quickly.

8-3 Offsuit

The next worst hand to be dealt in poker is 8-3 offsuit.

It’s effectively the same thing as 7-2 offsuit, with just one pip higher on each card. It also can’t make straights and is not very useful to make pairs with either.

8-3 also lacks the “cool factor” or aura of 7-2 offsuit since there is not any popular 8-3 game. There can be something cool about pulling off a big bluff with 7-2 as it is widely known as the worst hand, but no such aura comes with 8-3.

There is basically no reason to think twice about playing 8-3 offsuit as it is one of the worst possible hands in poker. Your poker strategy should never include this starting hand.

3-2 Offsuit

This is another one of the worst hands to be dealt in poker, especially when it comes to being heads up against one opponent.

Players will often rate this hand higher than they should just because of the fact that it’s connected and can make the wheel straight.

However, that is very unlikely and most of the time you are simply holding the two lowest cards in the entire deck. On most occasions, the board will run out higher than threes and deuces, which leaves you playing the board.

3-2 offsuit received a surge in popularity in recent years thanks to the play of Zach Rigby in the WSOP Main Event in 2021 and 2023.

He was shown on the Main Event stream, making some wild plays with 3-2 offsuit which he called “the dirty diaper”– an apparent common moniker for the hand in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.

While the allure of the “dirty diaper” may be tempting, in reality this hand should be rarely played.

10-2 Offsuit

This is another disconnected hand that has zero playability.

While there are other iterations with a deuce that are technically statistically worse hands, (such as 8-2 and 9-2), this hand is one of the worst hands in poker because of the nostalgia factor that comes with it that may tempt some players to try and play it while they would snap-fold the other hands.

That nostalgia factor comes with the hand being affectionately known as “The Doyle” in poker slang across the globe.

This is a reference to the late great Doyle Brunson who won back to back WSOP Main Events in 1976 and 1977. On both occasions, the final hand in which he secured victory just happened to be 10-2.

To this day, players are likely to acknowledge “The Doyle” when they see it in action at the table.

But you, the reader, are not Doyle Brunson and therefore should not delude yourself into thinking 10-2 will be as lucky for you.

King-Jack Offsuit

The inclusion of this hand on the list of the worst hands in poker is more a strategic one than a statistical or technical one.

Obviously, there are many starting hands that are way worse than king-jack.

Infact, king-jack is among the upper echelon of possible starting hands. But the reason it has been included on this list is because of the trouble it can get players into.

When you look down at king-jack it can look very pretty. Two face cards that are begging to be used aggressively.

You may choose to raise this hand. But then if you face a three-bet or any fight back from an opponent you are likely instantly in trouble with king-jack.

You are behind every ace-high and dominated by king-queen. If you are facing an underpair, it is essentially a coin flip. Even queen-jack has more playability in some cases thanks to its ability to make more straights as king-jack is a one-gaper.

Even if you hit a king with king-jack, there is a decent chance that you are out-kicked by ace-king or king-queen if you are facing a player who made a three-bet or continues to be aggressive.

You can never be too comfortable with king-jack. It has enough faux strength that it can get players into trouble.

There is potential to lose a lot of chips with this hand which is why it has been included here among the worst hands in poker.

Worst Hands in Poker Recap

At the end of the day, the worst hands in poker are plentiful because Texas Hold’em is a game where it is difficult to actually make strong hands both at the best online poker sites and in live games.

Most of the time, you will be dealt an unplayable two card hard and will be folding preflop more often than not. You have no control over the two cards you are dealt, but you do have full control of what you do with those two cards.

Staying clear of the truly worst hands in the game like 7-2 and 8-3 is a simple first step in making good decisions.

As you become a more experienced player you will begin to see why other hands are the worst in certain scenarios. An example would be king-jack, which does not appear bad on the surface but can be so in numerous more advanced spots.

It is also important to not let ego or nostalgia or something like a “favorite hand” cloud your judgement, which could be the case for 10-2 and 3-2.