A poker starting hands chart serves as your roadmap for preflop decisions. It tells you which hands to play and from which positions. For beginners, following a solid chart removes guesswork and prevents costly mistakes. For experienced players, a chart provides a baseline to deviate from based on specific table conditions.
How to Read This Chart
This chart organizes hands by position at a nine-handed table. Early position includes the first three seats after the big blind. The middle position covers the next three seats. Late position consists of the hijack, cutoff, and button. The blinds play differently because you have already invested chips.
Hands are classified by their playability. Premium hands are raised from any position. Strong hands are raised from the middle position onwards. Playable hands enter from late position or when defending blinds. Marginal hands require specific conditions to justify playing them.
Premium Hands
The premium category includes pocket aces, pocket kings, pocket queens, and ace-king suits. These hands are strong enough to raise from any seat at the table. You want to build a pot preflop because you have significant equity against calling ranges.
Pocket aces showcase the best starting hand in Hold’em. Against a random hand, aces win approximately 85 percent of the time. Pocket kings and queens are close behind. Ace-king suited offers flush and straight possibility along with high card strength. These four holdings form the foundation of your opening range from every position.
Strong Hands
Strong hands include pocket jacks, pocket tens, ace-king offsuit, ace-queen suited, and king-queen suited. These holdings are profitable opens from middle position and later. From an early position at aggressive tables, you might fold some of these to avoid difficult spots.
Pocket jacks frustrate many players because they often face overcards on the flop. However, jacks are still a strong hand that wins against most calling ranges. The key is not overcommitting when the board brings aces or kings. Ace-queen suited and king-queen suited combine high card strength with flush possibilities, making them profitable in multiway pots.
Playable Hands
The playable category expands your range for late position opens. Hands like ace-jack suited, king-jack suited, queen-jack suited, and suited connectors down to seven-six suited fall into this group. Pocket nines through pocket sixes also belong here.
These hands profit from position. When you act last, you can control pot size, bluff when opponents show weakness, and extract value when you hit. Playing these same hands from an early position creates problems because you act first on every street. Stick to late position with playable hands unless table conditions strongly favor expansion.
Marginal Hands
Marginal hands require specific circumstances to play profitably. Suited aces from ace-nine down to ace-two can be opened on the button against tight blinds. Small pocket pairs from fives down to deuces need implied odds to justify playing. Suited gappers like jack-nine suited or ten-eight suited offer drawing capacity but limited high card value.
The button is your friend for marginal hands. You are guaranteed position post-flop, and the blinds will often fold to a raise. Steal attempts with marginal holdings show immediate profit when blinds surrender. When called, you have the position to handle post-flop situations with the weaker range.
Defending Your Blinds
Blind defense requires a different approach than opening. You have already invested chips, which affects pot odds. Against a standard raise, the big blind gets attractive odds to defend with a wider range. However, you will play the entire hand out of position, which reduces the value of many holdings.
Defend your big blind with hands that have post-flop playability. Suited hands, connected hands, and hands with high card strength fare better out of position. Offsuit hands with gaps struggle because they hit fewer strong combinations and surrender positional advantage.
Adjusting the Chart
No chart works in every situation. You must adjust based on your opponents, stack sizes, and table dynamics. Against tight players, steal more frequently with marginal hands. Against loose players, tighten your range and value bet wider. Short stacked players change preflop math entirely.
Stack depth matters tremendously. Deep stacked play favors hands with implied odds like suited connectors and small pairs. Shallow stacked play favors high card hands that can win without improvement. The standard 100 big blind stack assumes the chart above, but adjusts accordingly for different depths.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Playing too many hands from an early position is the most common leak. Each additional seat closer to the blinds means more players can wake up with premium holdings behind you. Tight early position ranges keep you out of trouble.
Another mistake is ignoring position when calling raises. A hand like king-jack offsuit might be fine to open on the button but is a clear fold against an under the gun raise. The original raiser has a strong range, and you have a mediocre hand that will struggle against that range.
Building Your Foundation
This poker starting hands chart provides a framework for sound preflop play. Memorize the categories and apply them consistently. As you gain experience, you will develop intuition for when to deviate based on specific opponents and situations. But the baseline remains important. Even professional players return to fundamental charts to ensure their ranges have not drifted too far.
Start with a disciplined approach. Play premium hands from all positions, expand to strong hands in middle position, and save playable hands for late position. Your bankroll will thank you, and your post-flop decisions will become much easier when you enter pots with solid holdings.
