Longhand and shorthand to most are outdated terms that were used back in the days before computers, when secretaries took memos while sitting on the boss’s knee. In poker, the terms “longhand” and “shorthand” describe how many people are sitting at your table. A longhand game resembles a house party with free beer and a buffet table. You can’t swing a dead chicken in the room without hitting somebody who wants to play at your table. Longhand poker generally has 8 or more people playing.

Conversely, shorthand resembles a day when you have begged all your friends and relatives to help you move from one house to another. In short, there are a lot of excuses why folks couldn’t show up, and very few actually bodies in the vicinity. Shorthand poker is when six or less people are facing off around the table.

There has been a lot written about both these games and how they should be played. In this article let’s focus on the beginning. What starting hands should you be looking for in shorthand and longhand games?

When playing shorthand poker, your starting game is going to be determined by the sort of people you are sitting at the table with. If the action is fast and furious with a lot of raising, re-raising and players throwing money around like Michael Jackson at a Toy’s R Us, then you fold any starting hand that is less then AA, KK, AK, QQ, and JJ. Trying to stay in this sort of aggressive, shorthanded game may mean losing in a meaningless war of attrition. When the players at the table are more cautious and playing with their money closer to the vest, you can play with hand values that are a little less then the ones stated earlier.

Yes, the game of longhand poker is obviously technically the same game as shorthand. The cards, the rules, and the card hierarchy is identical, but the presence of extra people makes a change in strategy neccesary. Poker Grand Poobah, David Sklansky, identifies several categories of starting hands you will be looking for when playing longhand poker.

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK
These are the best hands, bar none. Raise like a group of Amish on barn building day when you are holding these cards. If you hold AA, you especially want to swell the pot as much as possible.

TT, 99, AQ, KQ
Good but not great, some restraint will benefit you when holding these hands. You generally need help from the board. Almost always in low-limit, you will need to hit a set with TT or 99 to win.

88, AJ, AT, KJ, QJ, JT, QT
These are good hands. However, be careful playing AJ, AT, KJ as these hands are vulnerable to losing to a higher kicker (i.e. if an Ace is on the board, but someone else has AK, you would lose because he has a higher 'kicker').

Ax suited (x means any small card), Kx suited (x should be 7 or higher preferably) 77, 66, T9, 98, 87, 76 (only play the connecting cards if they are suited and you can play hands with a one card gap, like T8, as well). These hands win about as often as Ms. Michigan wins the Ms. America contest. If you play with these cards, you will need a lot of help from the board.

Small pocket pairs (55, 44, 33, 22)
Don’t play these hands unless you are the type of person who thinks using pasta as a bungee chord is a good way to enjoy a weekend outing.

Be mindful of your starting hand because this is where most players win or lose their money.

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