Poker Preflop Charts: Why 1,326 Combinations Become 169 Hands
Two hole cards from a 52-card deck form 1,326 distinct combinations, which collapse into 169 strategically different starting hand types. The difference between those two numbers is the whole reason a preflop chart fits on one page. Group Count Examples Pocket pairs 13 AA, KK, QQ, … 22 Suited non-pairs 78 AKs, T9s, 76s Offsuit non-pairs 78 AKo, T9o, 76o Total 169 All starting hand types Why combinations collapse Suits are interchangeable before the flop. A pair of aces in spades and hearts plays the same as a pair of aces in clubs and diamonds, so all of those combinations share one line in a range chart. What remains is the rank shape and whether the two cards share a suit. Pocket pairs form one group, non-pairs split into suited and offsuit, and that is the entire grid. ...