Preflop charts answer one question: when action folds to you before the flop, which hands do you raise from each seat. The baseline charts below cover a 6-max table with 100 big blind stacks and a 2.5x open raise, using a simplified raise-or-fold model for every seat including the small blind. The shape is the same in nearly every published chart: the range widens from under the gun to the button. Exact hand lists differ between published charts by a few percentage points, so treat these as a baseline to learn from, not a rulebook.

How to read these charts

Every chart on this page is a raise-first-in chart. Raise-first-in (RFI) means the action has folded to you and you are the first player to put money in voluntarily. This is the cleanest preflop spot to chart, because nobody has shown strength yet and your decision depends almost entirely on your seat.

Two forces shape an RFI range. The first is how many players are still to act behind you: more players behind means a higher chance someone holds a premium hand or puts in a re-raise. The second is post-flop position: seats that act last after the flop can play more hands profitably even with weaker cards. Both forces point the same way, which is why every chart widens toward the button.

What the notation means

The hand lists use standard shorthand:

  • AA-22 means every pocket pair, aces down to deuces.
  • ATs+ means ace-ten suited and better: ATs, AJs, AQs, AKs.
  • A2s+ means every suited ace, down to A2s.
  • KQo means king-queen offsuit; the o suffix marks offsuit hands, the s suffix marks suited hands.
  • For ace-high and one-high-card sequences like those above, the + sign extends the hand along that fixed high card. For connected hands such as T9s, this page lists the intended hands explicitly rather than relying on a plus sign, because connector shorthand expands inconsistently across tools.

Suited and offsuit versions of the same hand are listed separately because they play very differently. A suited hand flops a flush draw about 11 percent of the time and plays well in multiway pots; the offsuit version rarely makes flushes and its equity comes mostly from pairs of top cards.

Open-raise charts by position

The percentages below are computed directly from the listed hands, treating each hand as played at 100 percent frequency out of all 1,326 starting hands. The hand lists use the notation from the section above.

UTG (under the gun), about 12.5 percent of hands:

22+, ATs+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, AJo+, KQo

MP (hijack), about 15 percent:

22+, A9s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, ATo+, KJo+

CO (cutoff), about 22.5 percent:

22+, A2s+, K8s+, Q9s+, J8s+, T8s+, 97s+, 87s, A9o+, KTo+, QJo

BTN (button), about 40.5 percent:

22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J7s+, T7s+, 96s+, 86s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K8o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T9o

SB (small blind), about 33.5 percent, raise or fold under this model:

22+, A2s+, K5s+, Q8s+, J8s+, T8s+, 97s+, 86s+, 76s, 65s, A2o+, K9o+, QTo+, JTo

BB (big blind): does not open, because the blind is already posted. The big blind defends against opens instead, which is covered below.

Three things stand out in these lists. The button opens roughly three times as many hands as UTG, because only two players act behind it and it closes the action after the flop. The small blind list is wide but follows a hard rule under this simplified model: with only the big blind behind and first-to-act post-flop, the chart uses raise or fold. This is a modeling choice, not a law of the game; strategies that include limping exist, and whether they work depends on rake, raise sizes, effective stacks, and how the big blind responds. These illustrative lists include all pocket pairs; that is a choice of this baseline, not a recommendation for every game.

Defending from the big blind

The big blind faces an open rather than making one, and the defense range moves with the opener’s position. Against an early-position open, the raising range is strong by definition, so defend much tighter. Against a button or cutoff open, the range is wide and weak, so defend much wider, including many hands that would be folds against an early raise.

The mix of defenses matters as much as the width. Big-blind defense depends on the opener’s range, the raise size, rake, effective stacks, and whether other players call in between. Some marginal hands can call profitably because of the price already in the pot; others belong in a mixed 3-bet-or-fold strategy, especially out of position with hands that play poorly post-flop. Flat-calling tends to fit hands that play well post-flop, such as small pairs and suited connectors that can make big hidden hands, but no hand category is an automatic call. This defense logic is positional, and the seat-by-seat logic behind it is covered in the poker position chart.

How to adjust

Charts are baselines for typical games, and three common situations call for changes:

  • Aggressive players behind you: tighten, especially from early seats, because your opens get punished with re-raises more often.
  • Passive games with loose callers: several hands that are borderline folds against tough opposition become profitable opens, so slight widening can be justified; how much depends on post-flop skill and position, not on caller count alone.
  • Shorter stacks: everything changes. Open sizes, re-raise ranges and the value of suited connectors all shift at stack depths under about 40 big blinds, and short-stack charts look different from these 100bb baselines.

Reading hand strength against a range is a different skill from reading these charts, and the hand-versus-hand part starts with the poker hand rankings chart.

FAQ

Do published charts agree with each other?

No, not exactly. Most published GTO-based charts sit within a few percentage points of each other at each seat, but the exact hand lists differ, especially in middle positions and at the edges like weak suited aces. The widening shape from UTG to the button is universal; the exact borders are not.

Why does the small blind play raise or fold?

Under this page’s simplified model, the small blind acts first after the flop on every street, so the chart uses raise or fold. A limp frequently invites the big blind to isolate with a raise or to see a free flop out of position, though strategies that include limping do exist and can perform well under certain rake, stack, and opponent conditions.

Should I open 2.5x from every position?

The 2.5x open is a common baseline at 100 big blinds. Some charts open slightly larger from early position and slightly smaller from the button. Open size and range interact: a bigger raise generally asks for a tighter range against competent opposition, so charts are not automatically more important than sizing. Pick a size and keep it consistent so your raises carry the same range.

What percentage of hands should a beginner open?

Use the charts as printed and err tight. A beginner who opens the UTG list from UTG and the button list from the button is close to a solid baseline. The most common leak is playing the same, too-wide range from every seat.

Do these charts work at full ring tables?

They are built for 6-max. A 9-handed table adds seats between the blinds and the button, which tightens every early position further. The direction of the adjustment is simple: with more players behind you, open fewer hands.

Data Used

  • Baseline model: 6-max, 100 big blind stacks, 2.5x raise-first-in opens; a simplified raise-or-fold model chosen by this page, with limping-based small-blind strategies deliberately excluded.
  • Source note: the hand lists are illustrative baselines compiled by this site; published charts differ by a few percentage points and there is no single universal chart behind them.
  • RFI percentages computed from the listed hands at 100 percent frequency out of 1,326 combos: UTG 166 combos (about 12.5 percent); MP 198 (about 15 percent); CO 298 (about 22.5 percent); BTN 538 (about 40.5 percent); SB 446 (about 33.5 percent).
  • The button opens roughly three times as many hands as UTG (538 vs. 166 combos).
  • Suited hands flop a flush draw about 11 percent of the time; 1,326 total starting-hand combos exist in a 52-card deck.

Educational content for poker study. 18+.