What is a poker range?
A poker range is the full set of hands a player could be holding in a spot, not one specific hand. Because you never see your opponent's cards, you think about every hand they would play the same way and react to that whole group at once.
Say a tight player raises from under the gun. You can't know they have exactly AK. But you can be confident their range is something like the big pairs, strong aces, and a few suited broadways. That group of hands is their range, and it is far more useful than guessing at one holding.
Thinking in ranges is the single biggest shift between a beginner and a winning player. Beginners ask "what does he have?" Winning players ask "what does his whole range look like, and how does my hand do against it?" The grid above is just a way to see a range at a glance.
How to read the 13x13 grid
The grid holds all 169 starting hand types. Pocket pairs run down the diagonal from AA to 22. Suited hands sit above the diagonal (top right) and offsuit hands sit below it (bottom left). Highlighted squares are in the range, everything else is a fold.
There are 1,326 possible two-card combinations in Hold'em, but they collapse into 169 types once you ignore the exact suits. That is what the grid shows: 13 ranks across and 13 down. The top-left square is AA and the bottom-right is 22.
Suited hands live in the top right because they share a suit (like AKs), and there are only 4 ways to make each one. Offsuit hands live in the bottom left (like AKo), and there are 12 ways to make each one. Pairs sit on the diagonal, with 6 combinations each. Click any square in the tool to add or remove that hand.
Poker hand notation explained
Notation is shorthand for a group of hands. 66+ means every pair from 66 to AA. AQs+ means every suited ace from AQs to AKs. The s means suited, the o means offsuit, and a dash like A5s-A2s covers everything in between.
The text box in the tool accepts standard notation, so it helps to know the rules:
- Pairs: 99 is just pocket nines. 99+ is every pair from 99 up to AA. TT-77 is the pairs between TT and 77.
- Suited: KQs is one hand. KTs+ keeps the king and climbs the kicker (KTs, KJs, KQs).
- Offsuit: AJo is one hand. ATo+ means ATo, AJo, AQo, and AKo.
- The plus sign always means "this hand and every stronger version of it within the same group."
Try typing TT+, AQs+, A5s, KQo into the box and watch the grid light up. That is a compact way to write a range that would otherwise take a full sentence to describe.
How to use this Range Visualizer
Load a preset with the position buttons, switch between 6-max and 9-max, flip between opening and 3-bet ranges, or type your own range in the box. Click individual hands to fine-tune, and watch the combo counter update in real time.
The tool above gives you four ways to build a range:
- Position presets: tap UTG, CO, BTN, and so on to load a standard range for that seat.
- Format toggle: switch between 6-max and 9-max to see how the same seat tightens up with more players at the table.
- Action toggle: flip between an opening (raise-first-in) range and a 3-bet range.
- Type a range: enter notation by hand, then edit single squares to test ideas.
The counter shows how many combinations you have selected and what percentage of all hands that is. It is a fast way to feel how wide or tight a range really is.
Turn these ranges into instinct
Reading a chart is one thing. Making the right call in two seconds at the table is another. Poker Reflex drills opens, 3-bets, 4-bets, and all-in spots hand by hand, with instant feedback and an ELO rating that tracks your progress. Free to download.
Opening ranges by position
You open tight in early position and wide in late position. The reason is simple: acting last after the flop is a lasting edge, so the button can profitably play roughly three times as many hands as under the gun.
Position is the single biggest factor in how wide you should play. Under the gun you have the whole table left to act behind you, so you stick to hands that flop well and hold up multiway. On the button, only the blinds are left, so you can add suited gappers, weak suited aces, and offsuit broadways.
Compare the two grids below. The under-the-gun range is compact and value-heavy. The button range spreads across most of the suited region and a big chunk of the offsuit hands. Same player, same stack, very different ranges.
Under the Gun (UTG)
Button (BTN)
Want the full breakdown of every seat? Our guide to poker positions walks through UTG to the button, and the best starting hands guide covers which hands belong in each one.
6-max vs 9-max ranges
With more players left to act, your hand has to beat more opponents, so early-position ranges in 9-max are tighter than in 6-max. The button and small blind stay wide in both formats because few players remain behind you.
In a full-ring 9-max game, the under-the-gun player has eight opponents left to act. In 6-max, that same seat has only five. More players means more chances someone wakes up with a big hand, so you tighten your early-position ranges in 9-max. Flip the format toggle in the tool and watch UTG shrink while the button barely moves.
This is why a hand like A9s is a fine under-the-gun open in 6-max but a clear fold from the same seat in 9-max. The hand did not change. The number of players who can punish it did.
3-bet ranges
A 3-bet is the first re-raise before the flop. A good 3-bet range mixes value hands you want to build a pot with (like QQ+ and AK) and a few bluffs (like suited aces such as A5s) that play well when called and can fold out better hands.
Opening is only half the preflop game. When someone raises in front of you, your strongest hands want to re-raise for value, and a handful of bluffs keep your range balanced so you are not only 3-betting the nuts. Toggle the action to 3-bet in the tool to see typical re-raising ranges by position.
Notice the shape. The value hands sit in the top corner (big pairs and AK), and the bluffs are often suited wheel aces like A5s and A4s. Those hands block the aces and kings your opponent would continue with, and they make straights and flushes when called. For a deeper look, read what a 3-bet is and when to use it.
GTO vs exploitative ranges
GTO ranges are balanced so they cannot be exploited no matter what your opponent does. Exploitative ranges deviate on purpose to punish a specific weakness. Start from a solid GTO baseline, then adjust when you have a clear read.
The presets here are close to game-theory-optimal baselines for 100 big blind cash games. GTO play is balanced by design: it is not trying to beat one opponent, it is trying to be unbeatable on average. That makes it the right default when you do not have a strong read.
Exploitative play is the next layer. If the player to your left folds too much to 3-bets, you widen your 3-bet bluffs to attack that leak. If a station never folds, you cut the bluffs and 3-bet a pure value range. New to this idea? Our GTO poker for beginners guide breaks it down without the math headache.
Combos and percentages
Each pocket pair is 6 combinations, each suited hand is 4, and each offsuit hand is 12. There are 1,326 total. Counting combos is how you measure a range's real size, since one offsuit hand is worth as much as two suited hands.
The grid hides something important: not every square is worth the same. A single offsuit hand like AKo is 12 combinations, while a suited hand like AKs is only 4. So an offsuit hand counts three times as much toward your range as a suited one.
That is why the combo counter matters. Type TT+ and you get 5 pairs, which is 30 combinations, or about 2.3% of all hands. It feels small because pairs are rare. The counter keeps you honest about how wide a range actually is, which is exactly what you need when you pair this with a pot odds calculation to decide whether a call is profitable.
Common mistakes with range charts
The biggest mistakes are treating a chart as a fixed rulebook, ignoring position and stack depth, and trying to memorize every hand instead of understanding the boundaries. Charts are a starting point, not a script.
- Treating one chart as universal. A 100 big blind cash range is wrong for a 20 big blind tournament stack. Ranges shift with stack depth.
- Forgetting position. The same hand is a raise on the button and a fold under the gun. Always read a chart together with the seat it belongs to.
- Memorizing instead of understanding. You only need the edges of each range. Learn the weakest pair, weakest suited ace, and weakest broadway you play from each seat.
- Never deviating. Against a clear weakness, the chart is the floor, not the ceiling. Adjust when you have a read.
Build the reflex, not just the knowledge
The grid shows you the answer. Poker Reflex makes the answer automatic. Swipe through real preflop spots, get instant GTO feedback, and watch your accuracy and ELO climb. 6-max and 9-max, every position, free to download.
Frequently asked questions
What is a poker range?
A poker range is the full set of hands a player could have in a spot, not one specific holding. Since you never see their cards, you reason about every hand they would play the same way and respond to the whole group at once.
How do I read a 13x13 poker range chart?
Pocket pairs run down the diagonal from AA to 22. Suited hands are above the diagonal in the top right, offsuit hands are below it in the bottom left. Highlighted squares are in the range, and everything else is a fold.
What does notation like 66+ or AQs+ mean?
66+ is every pair from 66 to AA. AQs+ is every suited ace from AQs to AKs, with the ace fixed and the kicker climbing. The s means suited and the o means offsuit. A dash like A5s-A2s covers the suited aces in between.
How many hands should I open from each position?
You open tighter early and wider late. A common 6-max baseline is around 14% under the gun, near 26% in the cutoff, and about 39% on the button. Position is the reason: acting last after the flop lets you play more hands profitably.
What is the difference between 6-max and 9-max ranges?
With more players left to act, your hand has to beat more opponents, so early-position ranges in 9-max are tighter than in 6-max. The button and small blind stay wide in both formats because few players remain behind you.
Should I memorize poker ranges?
No. Learn the boundaries of each range instead: the weakest pair, the weakest suited ace, and the weakest broadway you play from each seat. Understanding why ranges shift by position and stack depth beats rote memorization.
Are these GTO ranges?
They are standard reference ranges for roughly 100 big blind cash games, rounded to be easy to learn. They are close to solver output for common spots but not exact GTO solutions, which change with stack depth, rake, and opponent tendencies. Use them as a starting point, then adjust.