These Texas Hold’em preflop hand charts provide a practical starting point for deciding when to raise, call, fold, or shove. They are designed for quick reference before or during a session, with position, effective stack, table action, and format assumptions made explicit so you can adjust them rather than follow them blindly.
Overview
Preflop decisions become easier when you separate four variables: your position, the effective stack, the action before you, and whether you are playing cash or a tournament. The effective stack is the smaller stack involved in the hand. If you have 35 big blinds and the raiser has 18, the effective stack is 18 big blinds.
The reference ranges below assume a six-handed game using standard Texas Hold’em rules, no antes in cash games, and reasonably neutral opponents. They are broad working ranges rather than solver outputs. A full-ring table, an unusually passive table, a large ante, or a tournament payout jump can all change the correct decision.
Use the charts as a baseline for real money poker only when the stakes fit your bankroll plan. A chart can improve decision quality, but it cannot remove variance or guarantee a result. For tournament-specific adjustments, compare these ranges with our guide to poker tournament strategy by stage.
Hand notation
- s means suited, such as AJs.
- o means offsuit, such as AJo.
- + includes stronger versions of the same hand class, such as 77+.
- RFI means raise first in, when everyone has folded to you.
What to track
Start with an unopened-pot chart. For stacks of roughly 40 big blinds or more, the following ranges are a usable six-max baseline. Open-raise sizing should be consistent with the table and room structure; the important point here is the hands selected, not a fixed bet size.
| Position | Baseline RFI range | Primary plan |
|---|---|---|
| LJ/UTG | 55+, ATs+, KQs, QJs, AJo+, KQo | Raise the strongest broadways and pairs; fold the weakest offsuit hands. |
| HJ | 44+, ATs+, KJs+, QJs, JTs, AJo+, KQo | Add suited broadways and selected suited connectors. |
| CO | 33+, A8s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, ATo+, KJo+ | Widen when the button and blinds are tight. |
| BTN | 22+, any suited ace, A8o+, K9s+, KTo+, Q9s+, QTo+, J9s+, T9s, 98s | Apply the most positional pressure, while respecting active blinds. |
| SB | 22+, A2s+, A9o+, K8s+, KTo+, Q9s+, J9s+, T9s | Use a more selective raise-or-fold approach; calling out of position is costly. |
The big blind does not have an RFI range because it acts after the flop opener. Against a single late-position raise, defend more hands than you would from earlier positions because you are closing the action and already have chips invested. Against an early-position raise, fold more of the marginal offsuit hands. Suited hands, connected cards, and pairs generally retain more playability than weak disconnected offsuit cards.
Facing a raise
When another player opens before you, use a three-part decision: continue aggressively with hands that can comfortably play for stacks, call with hands that realize equity well, and fold hands that depend too heavily on hitting a narrow draw.
- 3-bet for value: AA–QQ, AK, and usually JJ or AQs, depending on position and the opener.
- 3-bet or call selectively: TT, AJs, KQs, and some suited wheel aces can be mixed according to the opener, position, and sizing.
- Call more often in position: medium pairs, suited broadways, suited connectors, and some suited aces become more playable when you will act later after the flop.
- Fold more often out of position: dominated offsuit aces, weak kings, and disconnected queens can create difficult postflop decisions.
Do not treat a call as automatically safer than a 3-bet. Calling can invite additional players and give opponents a cheap chance to realize equity. Conversely, 3-betting a hand that performs poorly against continuing ranges can create an unnecessarily large pot.
Stack-depth adjustments
| Effective stack | Preflop emphasis | Typical adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 40 big blinds or more | Position and postflop playability | Use the widest normal opening ranges in late position. Suited and connected hands gain value when implied odds exist. |
| 20–30 big blinds | Pot control and commitment | Reduce speculative calls, especially out of position. Favor hands that can continue against a 3-bet or shove. |
| 10–15 big blinds | Raise-fold and shove-fold decisions | Open fewer hands that cannot withstand pressure. Look for profitable first-in shoves, particularly from late position. |
| Under 10 big blinds | First-in fold equity | Prioritize a clear shove-or-fold plan. Limping and calling leave less room to recover when the flop misses. |
A short-stack shove chart should be read by position and action, not by hand strength alone. A first-in shove from the button can include hands that are too weak to call an early-position shove. Facing an all-in, tighten according to the shover’s position and the number of players still to act.
Cadence and checkpoints
Keep a simple preflop review log rather than relying on memory. For each marked hand, record the date, game format, position, effective stack, action before you, your hand category, decision, and the reason you deviated from the chart. Useful categories include premium pair, medium pair, ace-broadway, suited ace, suited connector, offsuit broadway, and marginal holding.
Review the log at least monthly if you play regularly, or quarterly if you play less often. The goal is not to change ranges after one memorable hand. Look for repeated patterns:
- Are you opening the cutoff and button less often than intended?
- Are you calling too many raises with dominated offsuit hands?
- Are you folding blinds automatically despite a favorable price?
- Are you making tournament shoves without considering the players left to act?
- Are your decisions changing because of stack size, or only because of recent results?
During a session, use the chart as a fast checkpoint. Before acting, identify the position, count the effective big blinds, and state whether the pot is unopened, raised once, 3-bet, or all-in. This short routine prevents a common error: using a cash-game opening range in a tournament spot with antes or a short stack.
How to interpret changes
Range changes should follow the cause of the change. If the table has several players who rarely defend their blinds, widen late-position opens gradually. If the blinds call frequently and play aggressively after the flop, tighten marginal opens and favor hands with stronger top-pair and draw potential.
Position changes the value of the same hand. KJo may be a reasonable open from the button but a fold from early position. A small pair may be a comfortable call in position at a deep effective stack and a poor call when stacks are short and a raise leaves little room to maneuver.
Tournament factors require another layer of caution. Antes make unopened pots larger, while approaching a payout threshold can make the cost of busting more important than chip accumulation. Do not apply a shove-fold chart without checking the number of opponents, stack distribution, blind level, and payout context. Our guide to poker bankroll management by game type can help keep tournament decisions separate from cash-game bankroll decisions.
Finally, distinguish strategic evidence from short-term results. Losing with a correct shove does not prove the shove was wrong, and winning with a loose call does not validate it. Review the available information at the moment of the decision: position, ranges, sizing, stack depth, and likely reactions.
When to revisit
Return to these Texas Hold’em preflop charts before moving to a new stake, changing from cash games to tournaments, joining a six-max or full-ring format, or noticing that your decisions feel rushed. Recheck them after a monthly or quarterly hand review, especially if your log shows repeated calls, missed late-position opens, or unclear short-stack spots.
Update the chart assumptions when a poker room changes its blind structure, adds antes, alters tournament levels, or introduces a different table format. You should also revisit the ranges when your regular opponents change materially. A chart built for passive recreational tables may need tightening against experienced 3-bettors; a chart built for aggressive games may leave profitable steals unused at a quiet table.
Before your next session, print or save the following checklist:
- Confirm the table format and whether antes are in play.
- Count effective stacks in big blinds.
- Identify your position and the action before you.
- Compare your hand with the relevant opening, calling, 3-bet, or shove band.
- Adjust only for a clear reason, such as opponent tendencies, payout pressure, or stack commitment.
- Mark uncertain hands for review instead of trying to solve them during the session.
Used this way, a preflop chart is not a rigid answer sheet. It is a repeatable decision process that helps you notice leaks, track changing conditions, and return to the same baseline whenever your game or table structure changes.
