Preflop ranges explained

A range is the set of hands a player could realistically hold, given where they're sitting and what they've done. Range thinking beats guessing one exact hand.

Why ranges beat guessing

The tight player under the gun raises to $15 at $1/$3. "He has A-K" is a guess. "He has pairs from 8-8 up, A-K, A-Q, A-J suited and K-Q suited" is a range. With the range, you can ask useful questions: how often does he have an overpair on a J♠6♦3♣ flop? How often did he miss completely? Guesses can't answer those. Ranges can.

How to read hand notation

• AKs means ace-king suited, like A♥K♥.
• AKo means ace-king offsuit, like A♠K♦.
• AK with no letter means both.
• TT+ means pocket tens or better: TT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA.
• AQs+ means AQs and AKs.
• A2s-A5s means the suited wheel aces: A2s, A3s, A4s, A5s.
• T is a ten. x means any card, as in "Ax."

Counting combos

There are 1,326 possible two-card starting hands. They break down like this:

So TT+ is 5 pairs times 6 = 30 combos. A-K is 16. A range of TT+ and AK is 46 combos, about 3.5% of all hands.

Combos also change with the board and your own cards. If you hold A♠Q♠ and the flop is A♦7♣2♥, only two aces are left for your opponent: A♥ and A♣. Their A-K now has 2 × 4 = 8 combos instead of 16. Counting this way stops you from overrating how often someone has the exact hand you fear.

Ranges change with position and action

A button opening range can be three or four times wider than an under-the-gun range, because fewer players are left to act and the button acts last after the flop. See open raising for sample ranges by seat.

Action narrows ranges too. The same player's range when they open, when they call a raise, and when they 3-bet are three different ranges. A 3-bet range is usually much stronger and smaller than a calling range. Stack depth and opponent habits shift all of them.

Start with categories

Don't try to memorise hundreds of combos at once. Group hands into families:

• Premium pairs: QQ, KK, AA
• Medium and small pairs: 22 to JJ
• Suited broadway: AKs, KQs, QJs, JTs and similar
• Offsuit broadway: AKo, AQo, KQo, KJo and similar
• Suited aces: A2s to A9s
• Suited connectors and gappers: 65s, 76s, 98s, T8s

Then learn which families expand or shrink by position. Under the gun you might play premium and medium pairs plus the best broadway hands. On the button you add almost every family. That mental model adjusts much better than a memorised grid.

Charts are maps, not laws

Charts teach structure: tighter early, wider late, different responses to raises. Most published charts are built for online games with small opens, 100 big blind stacks and specific rake. Live Toronto cash games often have bigger opens, more limpers and more multiway pots.

Say the chart says to call a cutoff open with K♠T♠ from the button. That assumes a $7 open heads-up. If the live open is $20 and two players already called, you're facing a different spot. Use the chart as a reference, then account for the real price, position and players in the pot.

From chart to reasoning

Over time, learn why borderline hands move in and out of a range: position, price, players behind, effective stack, domination risk and your opponent's range. Once you know the reasons, you don't need the chart for every hand. Continue with preflop strategy and calling preflop raises.

Common questions

By the TorontoPoker.org editorial team · Updated September 2026 · 19+ · Play responsibly