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UltimateBet

The Bill Chen Formula
(from Hold'em Excellence)

The formula below was developed by Bill Chen. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information regarding Bill Chen on the Internet, otherwise I would include more information. Basically he developed a mathematical formula to determine if a hand is playable based on giving the cards certain values. For the most part, the formula works well and we used it in our Starting Hand Quiz .

Determine your highest card and score as follows: (only use your lower card for gap and suited analysis)
  • Ace = 10 points
  • King = 8 points
  • Queen = 7 points
  • Jack = 6 points
  • 10 through 2 = half of face value (i.e. 10 = 5, 9 = 4.5)
  • Pairs, multiply score by 2 (i.e. KK = 16), minimum score for a pair is 5 (so pairs of 2 through 4 get a 5 score)
  • Suited cards, add two points to highest card score
  • Connectors add 1 point (i.e. KQ)
  • One gap, subtract 1 point (i.e. T8)
  • Two gap, subtract 2 points (i.e. AJ)
  • Three gap, subtract 4 points (i.e. J7)
  • Four or more gap, subtract 5 points (i.e. A4)
Sample scores
AA = 20 points
98s = 7.5 points
K9s = 6 points

The information below is not strictly from the Chen formula as he believed the system only told you what to play, not when to come in for a raise. There are too many factors in determining when to raise, call or fold. The scores below can be used as a general rule of thumb.

Early Position
  • Raise = Score is 9 or higher
  • Call = Score is 8 or higher
  • Fold = Score is lower than 8
Middle Position
  • Raise = Score is 9 or higher
  • Call = Score is 7 or higher
  • Fold = Score is lower than 7
Late Position
  • Raise = Score is 9 or higher
  • Call = Score is 6 or higher
  • Fold = Score is lower than 6




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