Preflop Poker Strategy Lessons

All Preflop Lessons

• Preflop Opening Ranges By PositionIn 6 Max Cash At 100 Big Blinds, Opening Ranges Widen As The Seat Moves Toward The Button: In The Smarter.Poker Reference The Under The Gun Seat Opens 8.4% Of Hands By Frequency And The Button Opens 25.2%.
• UTG Opening Range In 6 Max CashIn The Smarter.Poker 6 Max Cash Reference At 100 Big Blinds, The Under The Gun Seat Opens 8.4% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency And Plays 13.6% Of Them At Least Some Of The Time, With The Full Chart Below.
• Middle Position Opening Range, 6 MaxIn The Smarter.Poker 6 Max Cash Reference At 100 Big Blinds, The Middle Position Seat Opens 10.9% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency And Plays 17.3% Of Them At Least Some Of The Time, With The Full Chart Below.
• Hijack Opening Range In 6 Max CashIn The Smarter.Poker 6 Max Cash Reference At 100 Big Blinds, The Hijack Opens 13.2% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency And Plays 20.5% Of Them At Least Some Of The Time, With The Full Chart Below.
• Cutoff Opening Range In 6 Max CashIn The Smarter.Poker 6 Max Cash Reference At 100 Big Blinds, The Cutoff Opens 16.8% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency And Plays 24.9% Of Them At Least Some Of The Time, With The Full Chart Below.
• Button Opening Range In 6 Max CashIn The Smarter.Poker 6 Max Cash Reference At 100 Big Blinds, The Button Opens 25.2% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency And Plays 40% Of Them At Least Some Of The Time, With The Full Chart Below.
• Small Blind Opening Range, 6 MaxIn The Smarter.Poker 6 Max Cash Reference At 100 Big Blinds, The Small Blind Opens 20.7% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency And Plays 33% Of Them At Least Some Of The Time, With The Full Chart Below.
• How To Defend The Big BlindAgainst A 2.5 Big Blind Button Open The Big Blind Needs Only 27.3% Equity To Call, And The Smarter.Poker Reference Defends By Three Betting 7.2% Of Hands And Calling 11.2%, With The Full Chart Below.
• What To Do When You Face A 3-BetFacing A Three Bet After Opening, Most Of An Opening Range Folds: In The Smarter.Poker Reference A Button Opener Four Bets 4.1% Of All Starting Hands And Calls 3.2%, And An Under The Gun Opener Four Bets 2.9% And Calls 1.6%.
• 3-Bet Sizing In Position And OutA Common Guideline Is To Three Bet To About Three Times The Open When You Will Have Position After The Flop And About Four Times When You Will Not, Because The Player Out Of Position Needs A Bigger Pot To Make Up For Acting First.
• Opening Ranges With 20 Big BlindsWith 20 Big Blinds The Smarter.Poker Reference Opens The Button With 21.4% Of Hands By Frequency, Against 25.2% At 100 Big Blinds, And The Chart Below Shows Every Hand.

Practice Preflop Strategy On Smarter.Poker

Drill What You Read Using Our Free Preflop Tools And Feature Guides:

• Open Preflop Range Lab
• Explore GTO Preflop Charts And Range Matrix
• Poker Glossary

Other Poker Strategy Topic Clusters

• Postflop Strategy
• Math Strategy
• Tournaments Strategy
• Cash Strategy
• Bankroll Strategy
• Mental Game Strategy
• Theory Strategy
• All Strategy Lessons