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What is the worst hand in poker?
Updated November 2026
Against one opponent the worst starting hand in Hold'em is 3-2 offsuit, which wins about 32 times in 100. At a full table it's 7-2 offsuit, the hand everyone names, at about 5 times in 100 against eight opponents.
So the popular answer is right where it's most often asked, at a full table, and wrong when you're heads-up.
| Opponents | Worst hand | Wins, in 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3-2 offsuit | 32.2 |
| 2 | 3-2 offsuit | 19.5 |
| 3 | 3-2 offsuit | 13.9 |
| 5 | 7-2 offsuit | 8.4 |
| 8 | 7-2 offsuit | 5.3 |
Why is 7-2 offsuit so bad?
Why does 3-2 lose its place at a full table?
Against one player, high cards decide most pots, and a three is the lowest top card you can hold. The more players stay in, the more it takes to win, so a hand has to make a straight or better. 3-2 can make a straight with both cards, and 7-2 can't.
Can it make a straight?
How much worse do they get with more players?
Both hands fall fast, and they swap places somewhere between three and five opponents.
How often the hand wins
Dealt 60,000 times at each table size
Which other hands are close?
- 4-2 offsuitSecond worst against one opponent, at 33.3 in 100.
- 6-2 offsuitThird worst heads-up, and near the bottom at every size.
- 8-2 offsuitSecond worst against eight opponents, at 5.5 in 100.
- 8-3 offsuitLevel with 8-2 at a full table.
Should you ever play them?
Fold them nearly every time. If you're in the big blind and nobody raises, you can check for free, and that's the only cheap way to see a flop.
Even the worst hand wins about one time in three against a single random hand, so a bluff from the blinds can work. It's the bluff that wins the pot, and the cards don't help.
Against one random hand
Can you pick the worst one?
Twelve spots in three rounds.
Questions players ask
Why does everyone say 7-2 is the worst?
Because most people picture a full table, and there it's true.
What's the 7-2 game?
A side bet in some home games: whoever wins a pot with 7-2 gets paid by everyone at the table. It's an agreed rule and it encourages wild bluffing.
Are suited versions just as bad?
Slightly better, because they can make a flush, and they still fold from nearly every seat.
How the numbers on this page were worked out
We dealt each of the 169 starting hands 60,000 times against 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 random opponents and counted how often it won, with ties shared. That leaves a sampling error of a few tenths, so hands within about half a point of each other could swap places.
Know someone who plays any two cards?
Send them the numbers.