# Small Blind Opening Range, 6 Max > Source: [Small Blind Opening Range, 6 Max on Smarter.Poker](https://smarter.poker/learn/small-blind-opening-range) ## Executive Summary In 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. - **Category**: Preflop - **Curriculum**: [Smarter.Poker Strategy Lessons](https://smarter.poker/learn) ## The Small Blind Opening Chart The Chart Is Generated From The Smarter.Poker Preflop Reference, The Same Ranges The Preflop Range Lab Drills. They Are An Authored Teaching Reference For Six Handed Cash At One Hundred Big Blinds, Not A Solver Export, And No Solve Tree Or Checksum Is Attached To Them. Two Sizes Describe A Mixed Range And They Are Not The Same Number. The First Counts Every Hand At The Rate It Is Actually Played, So A Hand Opened Half The Time Counts Half. The Second Counts Any Hand The Range Plays At Least Some Of The Time, In Full. Read The Table By Row And Column. Pairs Run Down The Diagonal, Suited Hands Sit Above It And Offsuit Hands Below It, And Each Cell Shows How Often The Hand Is Raised When The Action Folds To The Small Blind. A Cell At 0% Is A Fold Every Time. ### Small Blind Opening Range, 6 Max, 100 Big Blinds: Raise Frequency Per Hand - **Range Frequency**: Opens 20.7% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency, And Plays 33% At Least Some Of The Time. ## What The Range Plays Every Time 25 Hand Classes Are Opened Every Time: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, AKs, AKo, AQs, AQo, AJs, AJo, ATs, A9s, A5s, KQs, KQo, KJs, KTs, QJs, QTs, JTs, T9s. Together They Are 148 Of The 1326 Possible Starting Combinations. 44 More Hand Classes Are Opened Only Part Of The Time, And The Most Frequent Of Those Are 66 At 88%, A4s At 88%, ATo At 85%, K9s At 82%, 98s At 82%, A8s At 78%. The Small Blind Opens When Everyone Else Has Folded And Only The Big Blind Is Left. This Chart Is The Raising Range. The Same Reference Also Keeps A Separate Small Blind Limping Strategy, Which Is Not Shown Here. ## Why This Seat Plays This Way The Small Blind Faces Only One Opponent, Which Argues For A Wide Range, But It Will Be Out Of Position On Every Street After The Flop, Which Argues For A Narrower One. The Result Sits Between The Cutoff And The Button: Wide Enough To Attack A Big Blind Who Has Only One Big Blind Invested, Tight Enough To Avoid Playing Weak Hands Out Of Position. The Big Blind Gets A Good Price To Call A Small Blind Raise, Because It Already Has A Full Blind In The Pot. Expect It To Defend Often And To Three Bet A Fair Share Of The Time. That Is Why Many Strong Small Blind Strategies Mix Raises With Limps, Keeping Some Medium Hands In A Cheaper Line Rather Than Raising And Being Forced To Fold Them. A Common Guideline Is To Open Larger From The Small Blind Than From The Other Seats, Often Around Three Big Blinds, Because You Will Play The Hand Out Of Position And A Larger Raise Gives The Big Blind A Worse Price. Treat That As A Starting Point And Adjust To How Your Opponent In The Big Blind Actually Defends. ## Common Mistakes The Most Common Leak Is Treating A Mixed Hand As A Pure One. A Hand Listed At A Frequency Below 100% Is Folded The Rest Of The Time, And Turning Every One Of Them Into An Open Adds Combinations The Reference Does Not Play. With One Player Still To Act Behind This Seat, Every Extra Weak Open Is A Hand That Can Be Raised Off Its Equity. The Second Is Copying A Chart To A Game It Was Not Built For. These Ranges Assume Six Players, 100 Big Blind Stacks And A Standard Open Size. Shorter Stacks, Antes, A Straddle Or A Very Passive Table All Change The Right Answer, So Use The Chart As A Baseline And Adjust With A Reason You Can Name. ## Key Poker Terms In This Lesson - [rfi](https://smarter.poker/glossary/rfi) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/rfi.md)) - [blinds](https://smarter.poker/glossary/blinds) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/blinds.md)) - [out-of-position](https://smarter.poker/glossary/out-of-position) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/out-of-position.md)) - [range](https://smarter.poker/glossary/range) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/range.md)) ## Practice & Interactive Tools On Smarter.Poker - **Training Drill**: [Play Blind vs Blind](https://smarter.poker/hub/training/play/cash-018) - **Interactive Calculator**: [Open Preflop Range Lab](https://smarter.poker/hub/preflop-charts) - **AI Coach**: [Jarvis Training Insights](https://smarter.poker/hub/training/jarvis)