Opening range charts
Which hands to raise first from every seat, as 13x13 charts you can keep open while you play, with notes on adjusting them.
An opening range is the set of hands you raise with when everyone before you has folded. Having one written down solves the hardest problem new players face, playing too many hands from the wrong seats, before a single card hits the flop.
How to read the charts
Every chart is a 13x13 grid of all 169 different starting hands:
- the diagonal holds the pairs, from AA top-left to 22 bottom-right;
- above the diagonal are suited hands (both cards the same suit), like AKs;
- below it are offsuit hands, like AKo.
Gold cells are hands you raise. Everything else you fold. The percentage is the share of all 1,326 possible two-card combinations the chart plays: a pair can be dealt 6 ways, a suited hand 4 ways and an offsuit hand 12 ways, which is why offsuit hands take up more of the range than they seem to.
These charts are for a six-handed game with about 100 big blinds, when everyone has folded to you. Open to about 2.5 big blinds (3 from the small blind).
Under the gun (UTG)
Five players still to act behind you, so only strong hands.
Raise Fold · Pairs / Suited / Offsuit
AA-22, AKs-A2s, KQs-KTs, QJs-QTs, JTs, T9s, 98s, AKo-AJo, KQo
Hijack (HJ)
Raise Fold · Pairs / Suited / Offsuit
AA-22, AKs-A2s, KQs-K9s, QJs-Q9s, JTs-J9s, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, AKo-ATo, KQo-KJo, QJo
Cutoff (CO)
Raise Fold · Pairs / Suited / Offsuit
AA-22, AKs-A2s, KQs-K6s, QJs-Q8s, JTs-J8s, T9s-T8s, 98s-97s, 87s-86s, 76s, 65s, 54s, AKo-A9o, KQo-KTo, QJo-QTo, JTo
Button (BTN)
Only the two blinds left to act, and you will have position on both after the flop. Open wide.
Raise Fold · Pairs / Suited / Offsuit
AA-22, AKs-A2s, KQs-K2s, QJs-Q5s, JTs-J7s, T9s-T7s, 98s-96s, 87s-85s, 76s-75s, 65s-64s, 54s-53s, 43s, AKo-A2o, KQo-K8o, QJo-Q9o, JTo-J9o, T9o, 98o
Small blind (SB)
Only the big blind is left, but you will be out of position for the whole hand. A raise-or-fold strategy keeps it simple.
Raise Fold · Pairs / Suited / Offsuit
AA-22, AKs-A2s, KQs-K2s, QJs-Q6s, JTs-J7s, T9s-T7s, 98s-97s, 87s-86s, 76s-75s, 65s, 54s, AKo-A4o, KQo-K9o, QJo-QTo, JTo
Full ring: under the gun at nine-handed
With eight players behind you, tighten up a lot. The middle seats of a nine-handed table sit between this and the six-handed UTG chart; the last four seats (HJ, CO, BTN, SB) play much like the charts above.
Raise Fold · Pairs / Suited / Offsuit
AA-55, AKs-ATs, A5s-A4s, KQs-KTs, QJs, JTs, T9s, AKo-AJo, KQo
Why these hands?
- Pairs make sets, and a set wins big pots. Small pairs are mostly playing for that.
- Suited aces make the best flush and can make the wheel straight (A-2-3-4-5), so they play well even when they miss a pair.
- Suited connectors like 8♠7♠ make straights and flushes that win big pots, and are easy to fold when they miss. They need position.
- Offsuit broadway hands (AK, AQ, KQ) win by making top pair with a good kicker.
- Weak offsuit hands like K♦7♣ make second-best hands: top pair with a bad kicker, which loses the big pots. Leave them out except on the button.
Adjusting to your game
The charts are a starting point, not a law. Adjust when:
- Someone limped in front of you. Raise a bit bigger (add a big blind per limper) and play slightly tighter, favouring hands that play well in pots with more players.
- The table calls too much, which is common in home games. Bluff less, open fewer weak offsuit hands, and value bet your good hands bigger.
- Stacks are short (under 40 big blinds). Drop the speculative hands like small suited connectors; high cards and pairs gain value.
- The players behind you fold too much to raises. Open wider from the cutoff and button.
What comes next
If someone has already raised, these charts no longer apply: you are deciding whether to call or 3-bet. See 3-betting. For the blinds facing a raise, see playing from the blinds.