Poker starting hands, by position.
Most of your profit in poker comes from one decision made before the flop: which hands to play at all. These charts show what to raise from each seat when nobody has raised yet, and what to do when someone has.
How to read a chart
- There are 169 different starting hands. Pairs like QQ, suited hands like AKs (both cards the same suit) and offsuit hands like AKo.
- Pairs run down the diagonal, suited hands sit above it, offsuit hands below it. Read a cell as its row's card plus its column's card.
- Suited hands are better than the same cards offsuit — they can make flushes — which is why the top-right of every chart fills up first.
- If your hand isn't coloured, fold it. Folding most hands is not timid; it's how winning players play.
First in: nobody has raised
38% of handsRaise to about 2.5 big blinds with these from BTN; fold the rest. Don't just call (limp) — raising first lets you win the pot right away and take control. From the big blind you never open: if everyone folds, the pot is yours.
Facing a raise
3-bet 3% · call 24%Someone raised before you. Re-raise (3-bet) your best hands, call with hands that play well after the flop, fold everything else. The big blind defends widest because it already has a chip in and gets the best price. These are simplified charts for 6-max cash games at 100 big blinds — a strong default while you learn.