The rough idea is that a hand in one group has roughly the same value and can be played the same way preflop as any other hand in that group.
Starting with the strongest set of hands that you can be dealt in group 1, the hands get progressively weaker working down the table until the virtually unplayable hands in group 9. The Sklansky and Malmuth starting hands table groups together certain hands in Texas Hold'em based on their strength. The table is a general ranking of hands in Texas Hold'em. What is the Sklansky and Malmuth starting hands table? This is a strategy book for limit Hold'em, but the starting hand groups do have some practical use in no limit Hold'em. This table comes from the book Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.
Starting Hand Selection: Chen Formula : Sklansky Starting Hand Groups The Sklansky & Malmuth starting hands table.
