How to Read and Use Preflop Charts

Preflop charts show which action to take with each starting hand in a defined poker situation. To use one correctly, match the chart to your game format, table size, position, effective stack, ante structure and prior action. Then find your hand in the 13-by-13 matrix and follow the corresponding open-raise, call, 3-bet or fold label as a baseline—not an unconditional command.

A chart built for a 100-big-blind cash game cannot be applied automatically to a 20-big-blind tournament spot. Always read its assumptions before using its recommendations.

How the 13-by-13 starting-hand matrix works

Texas Hold’em has 169 distinct starting-hand classes when suits of the same strategic type are grouped together: 13 pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 offsuit hands. A matrix displays all of them using ranks from ace through deuce.

• Diagonal cells are pairs, such as AA, TT and 44.
• Cells above the diagonal are suited hands, marked with an “s,” such as AKs.
• Cells below the diagonal are offsuit hands, marked with an “o,” such as AKo.

The “s” means both cards share a suit; it does not name a specific suit. AKo includes any ace-king combination with different suits. For more detail on paired starting hands, see how pocket pairs work.

How to interpret chart labels

Strategy charts usually add colors, letters or percentages to the matrix. Read the chart’s own legend rather than assuming that the same color means the same thing everywhere.

For example, a button open-raise chart applies only when action folds to the button. It does not tell you what to do if an early-position player has already raised. That requires a response chart, such as button versus early-position open. If terms such as “top of range” or “3-bet range” are unfamiliar, review poker range notation and terminology.

Choose the chart before looking up the hand

1. Select the format. Start with cash game or tournament, then choose the specific game and table size.
2. Match the table size. A six-handed chart has different seat assumptions from a nine-handed chart. Use the actual seat, not merely “early” or “late.” See the guide to poker positions if the seat names are unclear.
3. Match the effective stack. The effective stack is the smaller relevant stack between players who can contest the pot. Your 100-big-blind stack does not make the spot 100 big blinds deep if the only opponent involved has 25.
4. Check antes and blinds. Antes add money to the pot before cards are played and can materially change incentives. A big-blind ante chart is not automatically suitable for a no-ante game.
5. Identify prior action. Separate unopened pots, limped pots, single-raised pots, 3-bet pots and situations with multiple callers.
6. Verify position and action. Choose the chart for your seat and the position of the raiser or callers.
7. Check sizing and rake assumptions. A chart facing a small open may not apply against a large one. In cash games, rake can make marginal calls less attractive, especially when the rake structure differs from the model.

Cash-game and tournament charts are not interchangeable

Cash-game charts commonly assume stable blind levels, reloadable stacks and a stated rake structure. Many are organized around a recurring depth such as the game’s standard buy-in, but the displayed stack assumption still needs to match the hand.

Tournament stacks change as blinds rise. Antes are common, and the same seat can require different charts at deep, medium and short effective stacks. Tournament payout pressure can also change decisions near a bubble, final table or large pay jump. A chip-value chart that ignores those effects should not be presented as an exact answer for those situations.

Neither format is simply “always tighter” or “always looser.” Antes, stack depth, rake, raise size and payout conditions can pull ranges in different directions.

Use a chart as a baseline, not a command

A well-documented chart gives you a repeatable starting strategy for its stated assumptions. Real games rarely match every assumption perfectly, so adjustments may be appropriate—but they should have a reason.

• If players behind are unusually aggressive, marginal opens may face more 3-bets than the baseline expects.
• If opponents fold far too often, some late-position opens may become more attractive.
• If a raiser uses a much larger size than the chart assumes, continuing with the same calling range can be inappropriate.
• If cash-game rake is higher than the source model, marginal calls deserve particular caution.
• If tournament payout pressure is significant, use a chart or model designed for that situation rather than improvising from a chip-value chart.

Avoid changing many hand classes after a small sample of unusual play. Start with clear, repeated tendencies, and keep the original baseline available so that an adjustment does not become an unsupported habit.

A manageable chart study routine

1. Learn one format and depth. Do not mix cash and tournament charts in the same session.
2. Start with unopened pots. Study one position at a time, moving through the seats in order.
3. Group hands by shape. Review pairs, suited aces, offsuit broadway hands, suited broadway hands and suited connectors instead of memorizing isolated squares.
4. Mark boundaries. Focus on hands near the transition between raise and fold, or between call and 3-bet. Obvious premium hands require less study time.
5. Recall before checking. Pick a position and hand, state the action from memory, then verify it.
6. Add response charts gradually. Study one matchup at a time, such as big blind versus button open, with the exact stack and sizing assumptions attached.
7. Review mistakes by category. Note whether the error came from hand notation, position, stack depth or prior action.

Common preflop chart reading errors

• Confusing suited and offsuit cells: AKs and AKo occupy different sides of the diagonal and represent different hand classes.
• Treating a pair as suited: AA is simply a pair. “AAs” is not a standard starting-hand class.
• Using an open chart after a raise: An RFI chart applies only when nobody has entered the pot before you.
• Using your stack instead of the effective stack: The shorter relevant stack limits how much can be won or lost between players.
• Ignoring table size: The first seat at a six-handed table is not strategically identical to the first seat at a full-ring table.
• Assuming colors are universal: Green may mean raise on one chart and call on another.
• Rounding a mixed strategy without disclosure: Simplifying can aid execution, but it creates a new practical strategy rather than reproducing the source exactly.
• Calling a chart “optimal” without provenance: A result is only meaningful in relation to its game model, inputs and source.

The best preflop chart is therefore not the one with the most colored squares. It is the one whose assumptions match the decision you face, whose labels you can interpret correctly and whose source is clear enough to show what the chart does—and does not—claim.