Computer Hand

1. Texas Hold'em hole cards Queen-Seven offsuit.

Origin

There are two stories that explain the origin of "computer hand." The first, and most likely incorrect, version is that someone ran a Texas Hold'em simulation way back when and found that Q-7 offsuit was the "worst" profitable hand. That is, while Q-7 still eeks out a small profit an average when all-in pre-flop against a random hand, it is the least profitable of all the profitable hands.

The second explanation comes from Ray Zee, who says he was present when a gentleman ran simulations over a small sample size on a Tandy computer in the 1970's. By dumb luck, Q-7 ended up winning the most often.

Real Statistics

When run through Poker Stove, Q-7 shows 51.77% equity versus a random hand, better than a few other hands that still have greater than 50% equity. Included among these are Q-2 suited, which has 50.17% equity, and Q-5 offsuit, which has 50.13% equity. J-5 suited is almost exactly break even, with 49.99% equity against a random hand.

Bottom Line

Q-7 offsuit is not a good starting hand.