# How to Read Preflop Charts and Build Hand Ranges

> Learn to read poker preflop charts, positions, notation, combos and frequencies. Explore educational hand ranges and a practical range builder exercise.

- Source: https://toolsgambling.com/blog/poker-hand-ranges-preflop-charts
- Author: Evgeniy Volkov (ToolsGambling)
- Published: 2026-07-03
- Updated: 2026-10-12
- Cite as: "Poker Preflop Charts: How to Read Hand Ranges", ToolsGambling, https://toolsgambling.com/blog/poker-hand-ranges-preflop-charts

A poker preflop chart shows a set of hands for a specific situation, not a universal instruction. To read it correctly, first identify the game format, position, previous actions and effective stack, then check the hand notation and color legend.

A **range** is a set of plausible hands a player could hold, or a set assigned to an action such as opening with a raise, calling or 3-betting. Some charts assign each hand an action frequency. A 13×13 grid shows 169 hand classes, not 1,326 individual card combinations. The cells have different weights because different hand classes contain different numbers of physical combinations, or **combos**.

This guide covers the grid, educational ranges and an exercise in the [ToolsGambling range builder](https://toolsgambling.com/poker/range-builder). The examples help you understand range composition; they are not calculated optimal strategies.

## How to Read the 13×13 Grid and Range Notation

In a standard grid, pocket pairs run diagonally from AA to 22, suited hands sit above the diagonal, and offsuit hands sit below it. T means ten, s means suited, and o means offsuit.

| Hand class type | Example | Combos |
|---|---|---:|
| Pocket pair | QQ | 6 |
| Suited hand | AKs | 4 |
| Offsuit hand | AKo | 12 |

The total number of hand classes is:

**169 = 13 + 78 + 78.**

The total number of two-card combinations from a standard deck is:

**13×6 + 78×4 + 78×12 = 1,326 = C(52,2).**

You therefore cannot calculate a range's share by counting colored cells. Its percentage is **selected combos / 1,326**, not its win probability, profit or percentage of colored cells.

This range chart highlights all pocket pairs. Its 78 combos account for 5.9% of starting combinations, rounded to one decimal place. It demonstrates the grid; it does not recommend opening every pair from every position.

### What Do the Plus Sign, Hyphen and s/o Mean?

The plus sign expands a group according to the notation rules, while a hyphen defines an interval. When transferring a range between tools, check how the receiving tool interprets these symbols.

| Range notation | Included hands |
|---|---|
| QQ+ | QQ, KK, AA |
| ATs+ | ATs, AJs, AQs, AKs |
| AQo+ | AQo, AKo |
| A5s-A2s | A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s |
| 77-JJ | 77, 88, 99, TT, JJ |

In our range builder, `AK` selects both suited and offsuit hands. The range grids in this article use the explicit forms `AKs` and `AKo`.

**Important limitation:** our parsers read `98s+` as `98s` only because the higher rank stays fixed. Other guides sometimes use this notation for a sequence of progressively higher suited connectors. To enter that sequence, write it explicitly:

`98s,T9s,JTs,QJs,KQs,AKs`

Notation compatibility between tools is not guaranteed. Text notation alone does not preserve action colors or frequencies.

## How to Choose a Chart for Your Situation

A suitable chart must match the game rules, table size, action history, effective stack and bet sizes. Matching the position label alone is not enough.

Before using a chart, check:

- **Game and deck.** This guide covers no-limit hold'em with a standard 52-card deck. Omaha and short-deck charts are not interchangeable with these.
- **Table size.** Distinguish six-player and nine-player tables; do not rely solely on an MP label.
- **Previous actions.** Opening an unopened pot, responding to a raise, responding to a 3-bet and playing after limpers require different charts.
- **Effective stack.** This is the smallest stack among the players whose bets are being compared in the situation. Heads-up, it is the smaller of the two stacks. A 100-big-blind chart cannot be scaled linearly to 40 big blinds.
- **Pot conditions.** Check the opening size, antes, rake and rake cap.
- **Opponent positions.** Consider who raised and whether you will be in position after the flop.
- **Format.** Cash games and tournaments can require different decisions. Tournament decisions may also involve the [independent chip model (ICM)](https://toolsgambling.com/blog/icm-poker-explained).

The public [Upswing chart materials](https://upswingpoker.com/charts/) distinguish formats, stacks and bet sizes; access to the full library requires an email address. That does not make any chart you find suitable for your game.

### How Do Positions Compare Across Table Sizes?

Position depends on the action order and the number of players behind you. Middle-position labels vary between sources, so check the seat order.

| Table size | Preflop position order | Players behind, respectively |
|---|---|---|
| Six players | UTG, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB | 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 |
| Nine players | UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB | 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 |

Under the gun (UTG) is an early position; at a six-player table, it is often called the lojack or middle position. The remaining seats are the hijack (HJ), cutoff (CO), button (BTN), small blind (SB) and big blind (BB).

If the first players at a nine-player table fold, that alone does not establish that the remaining situation matches a solved six-max strategy.

## Five Educational Opening Ranges

These five ranges are manually specified examples for studying hand composition and positional boundaries. They cover selected seats at a nine-player table—UTG, MP/LJ, HJ, CO and BTN—not all nine positions or a complete six-max strategy.

The illustrative context is cash-game hold'em with a 100-big-blind stack, no antes, all previous players folding and an opening raise to 2.5 big blinds. **The hand sets are not optimized for these conditions or a specified rake structure.** They are not solver outputs, GTO solutions or validated playing recommendations. For play, use a library matched to the actual conditions.

| Position | Combos | Share of all starting combos |
|---|---:|---:|
| UTG | 158 | 11.9% |
| Middle position / lojack MP/LJ | 218 | 16.4% |
| Hijack HJ | 306 | 23.1% |
| Cutoff CO | 358 | 27.0% |
| Button BTN | 662 | 49.9% |

**Five educational opening ranges—not recommended opening frequencies**

|  | Share of starting combos (%) |
|---|---:|
| UTG | 11.9 |
| MP/LJ | 16.4 |
| HJ | 23.1 |
| CO | 27 |
| BTN | 49.9 |

These examples widen toward the button. Fewer players remain behind, and late position can provide an action-order advantage after the flop. That explains the direction of the comparison, but does not promise profit from any particular hand set.

QTs is absent from the UTG example. This is a useful boundary to check when practicing recall.

The MP/LJ example includes QTs. The difference from UTG demonstrates a boundary between these two specified sets, not an automatic rule for every game.

The hijack example adds suited and offsuit hands. Check the actual hand classes: similarly shaped colored areas do not necessarily contain the same hands.

The cutoff example contains 358 combos across 55 hand classes. Do not count suited classes as though each contains as many combinations as an offsuit class.

The button has the widest of these five educational ranges. Do not transfer it to the small blind: although only one player remains behind the SB, the SB plays out of position after the flop.

Small-blind strategies involving limping, raising and folding need their own chart. There is no universal 37% opening range here. If everyone, including the SB, folds, the big blind wins the pot uncontested. A BB raise after an SB limp is an isolation raise, not a raise first in.

## How to Read Calling Ranges and 3-Bet Ranges

After another player raises, use a response chart for folding, calling or 3-betting—not an opening range. After a 3-bet, you need the next branch for folding, calling or 4-betting, with its own stack and sizing assumptions.

The following three educational examples illustrate range shape and hand counts. They do not prescribe how to defend in every game. Strong hands can be split between calls and raises, including at mixed frequencies.

This set shows a separate big-blind calling branch. It does not describe every continuing hand or replace the 3-bet branch.

This button calling example differs substantially from the big-blind defending example. The opener's position and the conditions for entering the pot matter.

This set illustrates strong hands alongside candidates for the bluffing portion. It does not establish that most 3-bet ranges are always polarized.

### What Does the Cost of Calling Tell You?

The cost of calling gives a nominal break-even showdown equity threshold, but does not by itself prove that a call is profitable. Future betting, position, equity realization and rake also matter.

Suppose BTN opens to 2.5 big blinds, SB folds after posting 0.5, and BB has already posted 1. With no antes or rake:

- The pot before BB calls is **4 big blinds**.
- BB must add **1.5 big blinds**.
- The pot after the call is **5.5 big blinds**.
- The nominal threshold is **1.5 / 5.5 = 27.27%**.

The percentage is rounded to two decimal places. Having preflop equity above this threshold is not sufficient justification for calling: the hand will not necessarily proceed straight to showdown. See the guides to [pot odds](https://toolsgambling.com/poker/pot-odds) and [pot odds and equity](https://toolsgambling.com/blog/pot-odds-implied-odds-poker).

If an educational model continues 20% of the time, split into 4% 3-bets and 16% calls, that breakdown is valid only with **the same set of opportunities and mutually exclusive actions**. It is not a “VPIP minus PFR” formula. Responses to subsequent 3-bets and 4-bets require a separate decision tree.

## Frequencies and Range Shapes: What a Solid Fill Does Not Show

A colored cell does not always mean taking an action with every combo in that class. A chart may display actions, frequencies or an action's expected value; green does not universally mean “raise.”

Here is an example of mixed frequencies:

| Hands | Inclusion frequency | Effective combos |
|---|---:|---:|
| QQ+ | 100% | 18 |
| AKs | 50% | 2 |
| AKo | 25% | 3 |
| Total | — | 23 |

This range contains **18 + 2 + 3 = 23 effective combos, or 1.73%** of all starting combinations, rounded to two decimal places. Fully including the same classes gives 34 combos. The range builder and grid blocks in this article do not support these weights.

Range shape describes composition, not the correct bet size or best action:

| Shape | Main idea |
|---|---|
| Linear range | The strongest hands, followed by hands in descending strength |
| Polarized range | Strong hands combined with a bluffing portion |
| Condensed range | Mostly medium-strength hands |

A merged range should not automatically be treated as synonymous with a linear range: it can also include middling hands. The [GTO Wizard article on preflop range morphology](https://blog.gtowizard.com/preflop-range-morphology/) explains these distinctions.

![GTO Wizard article fragment showing linear, polarized and condensed range categories](https://toolsgambling.com/media/article/2026/10/07d6dc2bfdfdba58c641a14f5ffebfaa.webp)

*Fragment from the GTO Wizard article dated 2024-10-01. It shows three range categories, not every possible range shape.*

## How Blockers Change the Number of Available Combos

Blockers reduce the combinations an opponent can physically hold. This is card removal, not a measure of how likely the opponent is to fold.

Suppose you hold **A♠5♠** and the opponent's range under consideration is `AA,KK,AKs,AKo`.

| Opponent's hands | Before accounting for your cards | After accounting for A♠5♠ |
|---|---:|---:|
| AA | 6 | 3 |
| KK | 6 | 6 |
| AKs | 4 | 3 |
| AKo | 12 | 9 |
| Total | 28 | 21 |

Your cards remove **7 of 28 combos—25%**, not nearly half. After accounting for your two cards, 50 cards remain, giving **C(50,2) = 1,225** possible opponent combinations. Thus, 21 / 1,326 is not the actual conditional frequency of this range.

An ace can block weak hands the opponent would fold as well as strong hands. Holding a blocker does not guarantee a good bluff or frequent folds.

## How to Repeat the Range Builder Exercise

For your first exercise, build `QQ+,AKs,AKo`: the range builder should show 5 hand classes, 34 combos and 2.6%. This checks your reading of notation, not the quality of a playing strategy.

1. Open the [range builder](https://toolsgambling.com/poker/range-builder).
2. Select **“Raise”**.
3. Paste `QQ+,AKs,AKo` into **“Range notation”**.
4. Click **“Apply to grid”**.
5. Check the result: **5 hand classes, 34 combos, 2.6%**.
6. Click **“Copy notation”** to copy the hand set as text.

![English range builder interface with QQ+, AKs and AKo selected in the grid](https://toolsgambling.com/media/article/2026/10/4b981c56b990036783833aa081d242cd.webp)

*The exercise grid: five hand classes contain 34 physical combos, not five.*

![English range builder interface showing the Range notation field and controls for applying and copying notation](https://toolsgambling.com/media/article/2026/10/4e8e44aae54fb9eb887e88577a9df793.webp)

*The notation field and controls in the English interface. These genuine local tool captures show the isolated widget, not verification of the production website.*

Here, **2.6% is 34 / 1,326 rounded to one decimal place**. The automatically generated notation `QQ+,AKs+,AKo+` describes the same hand set.

You can also select whole hand classes by clicking or dragging across the grid, and reset the selection with **“Clear”**. If you mark hands as folds, the overall counter still includes all colored cells, but folded hands are excluded from the continuing range used for equity calculations.

### What Input and Saving Limitations Matter?

The range builder works with whole hand classes, not weighted action frequencies. Its presets are illustrations, not GTO solutions.

- Selection of the **top X% of hands** uses the **Chen formula**, not position-specific optimization. Selecting whole cells affects the final percentage.
- Do not enter `QQ+,AKs:50%,AKo:25%` as a weighted range. That input silently discards the weighted AK fragments and leaves **18 combos**. This is a compatibility warning, not a recommended workflow.
- Saved ranges remain in browser storage, without account or cloud synchronization.
- Share links carry notation and the board, but not weights or action colors.

## What Can an Equity Calculation Check?

The range builder estimates one range's equity against another using Monte Carlo simulation, including ties. Equity is the expected share of the pot at showdown—not just win probability, and not the expected value of calling or 3-betting.

For a repeatable exercise, keep your range as `QQ+,AKs,AKo`, then:

1. In the opponent's grid, select **“Pairs”** to set `22+`.
2. Leave the board empty.
3. Click **“Run equity”**.
4. Record the estimate together with both ranges and the empty-board condition.

Monte Carlo calculations produce estimates, so repeated runs may give slightly different results. Record the actual result of your exercise. The estimate does not include opponent fold probability, rake, future decisions or a betting tree.

You can continue with the [equity calculator](https://toolsgambling.com/poker/equity-calculator), but do not treat its output as a ready-made action recommendation.

## How to Refine an Opponent's Range Using Actions and Statistics

Update an opponent's range using the action history, observed tendencies and available cards. One action or one statistic is not enough to reconstruct an exact hand set.

For example, a check does not automatically exclude strong hands: the player may deliberately play them passively or mix actions. When reviewing statistics, distinguish:

| Statistic | What it describes |
|---|---|
| PFR — preflop raise statistic | The share of tracker-defined preflop raise opportunities in which the player raised; re-raises may count |
| RFI — raise first in | Raising first when all previous players have folded |
| VPIP — voluntarily put money in pot | Voluntary preflop entry by raising, calling or limping; a forced blind alone does not count |

An opening range is a set of hands, while RFI is an action statistic. See the [PFR guide](https://toolsgambling.com/blog/pfr-meaning-poker-stats) for more on these distinctions.

A single HUD number does not identify an exact range. Position-specific samples may be small, and denominators depend on the tracker's rules. Without checking those definitions, you cannot assert a universal inequality of PFR ≤ VPIP. These statistics are not ratings of hand strength, skill or profit.

## How to Study Ranges Without Memorizing Colored Shapes

Start with one format and two boundaries: UTG and the button. Reconstruct the actual hand classes from memory, then compare them with your chosen source.

Use this practice cycle:

1. **Record the conditions.** Note the format, table size, stack, bet sizes, antes and rake.
2. **Choose a limited set of charts.** Do not combine different conditions into one “general” strategy.
3. **Study UTG and BTN.** Identify included hands and where each group ends.
4. **Hide the chart and build the range from memory.**
5. **Compare the actual hand classes.** Matching percentages do not mean matching ranges.
6. **Record a specific mistake.** For example: “I added QTs to the educational UTG example, but it first appears in MP/LJ.”
7. **Add HJ and CO**, followed by separate response charts for facing a raise.
8. **Compare plausible opponent models.** Record your assumptions and refine them through observation.

Do not automatically fill a rectangular area of the grid: hand groups may have gaps. The [PokerStrategy overview](https://www.pokerstrategy.com/strategy/bss/no-limit-6-max-preflop-ranges/) is useful as a baseline against a standard opponent, not as a universally optimal library.

GTO—game-theoretically optimal strategy—is defined for specified rules and a game tree. Neither our presets nor the Chen formula have that status. Opponent-specific adjustments depend on reliable observations and can also be wrong.

## Can You Use Charts and Calculators While Playing?

Use interactive calculations for study away from hands, and check the poker site's current rules before playing. Do not assume the ToolsGambling range builder is permitted everywhere.

Under the current [official PokerStars policy](https://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/prohibited/), simple basic static charts for unopened pots are generally allowed. Advanced reference materials and equity calculators are prohibited while the PokerStars client is running. Other sites may have different rules.

The practical goal is to identify the situation, read the hand set and explain its limitations independently—not to obtain assistance during a live hand.

## FAQ

### Can I copy range notation into any poker tool?

Not always: tools may interpret the plus sign differently. Our range builder reads 98s+ as 98s only. To enter a sequence of suited connectors, use 98s,T9s,JTs,QJs,KQs,AKs explicitly. Text notation also does not transfer action colors or frequencies.

### Why can two charts with the same percentage look very different?

The percentage measures selected combos out of 1,326, not the range's composition. Different pairs, suited hands and offsuit hands can account for the same share. Compare the actual hand classes, not just the total percentage.

### Can I simply tighten a 100-big-blind chart for a 40-big-blind stack?

No. Ranges do not scale linearly with stack size. Future betting and responses to raises change. Use a separate chart suited to the effective stacks, bet sizes and game format.

### Are saved ranges stored in my account?

No. The range builder saves them in browser storage, without account or cloud synchronization. Share links carry range notation and the board, but not action frequencies or colors.