Traffic Lights:Green, Amber and Red are
used to rank and weight 2-card hands based on probabilities of winning games. The system gives each card a score.
Extra points are given for:
Pairs, Suited and Connected cards.
This is justified because it increases the Ways-of-Winning and the number of outs. A pair-in-the-hand often wins the game. Having
Suited Cards increases
the chances of a Flush. Connected Cards increase the chances of a straight. Having two Court Cards
increases the chances of getting a high pair.
Generally any pair with one card <7, except A & K is a poor bet , with Q & J combinations only worthy for 2-3 players.
Number of Ways of winning is an extra consideration which is incorporated into the bonus scores system for pairs connected and suited and all A cards. The scoring system is based on the probabilities of winning with a hand of two cards.
See Resources for analysis of how the hand scores relate to the probabilities.
These Traffic Lights Rules is related to the Thrice is Nice Rule-of-Thumb.
NOTE: There are 169 possible two-card combos that can be dealt. Of these about 30 meet the criteria below (>7) => about 1:5 deals.
RULES OF THUMB for Starting Pairs ||
RED shows extra options-few players
No Card < 7
EXCEPT A & K Combos SUITED All =>
AA AK AQ AJ A10 A9 A8 A7 |+| SUITED A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 early All => KK KQ KJ K10 K9 K8, K7 |+|
SUITED K6 K5 K4 K3 K2 early few players All => QQ QJ Q10
|+|
SUITED Q9 Q8 Q7 early few players All => JJ
|+| SUITED J10 PAIRS > 7
(others early for Triples)
Adjacent and Adjoining Cards >7 & SUITED
Aim to play fewer players with weaker cards => play in late position or natural low numbers
ACE with kicker hands <10 are problematic, only play with few players and late in hand, Except very late in the 'game shoot' out, when few players remain
Ride with a best, or second best, pair match, 'bird in the hand', but watch the betting as what you probably have is obvious, and look at what others may have. Early small bet is good for testing waters
Pre-bet for AA, KK, QQ only, rarely call others pre-bet unless have gun hand. Range of card strength of opponents varies,
but generally they will have good cards => need to be sure you can beat them. Aim for a 3-bb raise.
Early => Look-see with weaker hands and low value pairs <7, cost is low
Middle => Play tight with Premium Hands
Late => Higher Cards are better A K Q J its a shoot out! Straights and flushes are less important. Low pairs come back to the fore, Play weaker cards, try for Both Cards >7
Key error
=> Don't continue with good (winning?) hand when high bet against you => key way of losing =>
Read the signs in ways of losing + beware of triples. Your opponent can guess your hand especially with single high pair. High bluff is rare.
The System
Card Scores
A => 6
K => 5
Q => 4
J,T(10) => 3
9,8,7 => 2
6,5,4,3,2 => 1
Extra Scores
Pair => extra 4
Suited => extra 2
Connected => extra 1
Suited & Connected => extra 3
Traffic Lights Ranking
Simplified Traffic Lights Ranking Rules
Lime Green - Best Bets - Score > 9Green - Good Bets -Score = 8Orange - Cautious Bets - Score 4 to 7Red - Poor Bets Score < 7
Traffic Lights Ranking - Full Details & Hand Listings
Note: Pairs with more than two ways of winning are shown in RED
Lime Green - Best Bets Rules
Pairs AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT
AK, KQ, AQ, AJ, A10 suited and unsuited
KJ, K10 suited
A9, A8, A7 Suited
A6, A5, A4, A3, A2 Suited [Less than Four Players]