Poker

Preflop poker chart

A preflop poker chart is a grid that tells a poker player which two-card hands to play or fold before the flop, based on their seat at the table.

Format: 13 × 13 matrix covering 169 unique hand types, compressing 1,326 possible two-card combinations¹³
Primary game: Texas hold'em and other forms of no-limit hold'em (NLH)¹⁴
Layout: Suited hands above the diagonal, offsuit hands below; each cell maps to a recommended action by position¹²
Purpose: Guide pre-flop decisions before any community cards are dealt⁶

Key points

The chart organises the 169 distinct starting hands into a grid, with suited hands above the diagonal and offsuit hands below.¹
Actions (fold, call, raise) are recommended based on table position and hand category, not just raw rank.¹²
A preflop chart differs from hand rankings: rankings order hand strength, while the chart gives strategic advice for each position.¹³
Charts are most commonly used in Texas hold'em and no-limit hold'em before the flop.⁴⁵

Simplified preflop chart (early position)

Example actions for a few hand types from early position in a 9-handed game.
Hand	Action
AA	Raise
AKs	Raise
KQs	Raise
AJo	Fold
QTs	Fold

Where this term is used

Poker

Not the same as

Poker preflop ranges — a range is the set of hands a player may play; a chart is the visual representation of those choices
Poker hand rankings preflop — rankings describe relative strength of hand classes; a preflop chart gives strategy recommendations, not just rank order

Poker Poker hands chart preflop A near-synonym for preflop poker chart, sometimes used more broadly. Poker Poker odds chart preflop Shows the probability of winning with each starting hand before the flop. Poker Poker odds chart General odds reference for various poker situations, not limited to preflop. Poker Poker starting hands chart Another name for a preflop poker chart, emphasising the starting-hand selection. Poker Poker hand odds chart Displays the odds of making specific hands, such as flushes or straights. Poker Push fold chart poker A specialised chart for short-stack tournament play, showing when to go all-in or fold.

Sources

Are ChatGPT and GPT-4 Good Poker Players? - A Pre-Flop ... arxiv.org Defines the preflop poker chart as a 13×13 matrix of 169 hands and describes its use in Texas hold'em.
PokerBench: Training Large Language Models to become ... arxiv.org Explains how charts map hand types to actions by position and hand category.
A Survey on Game Theory Optimal Poker - arXiv arxiv.org Provides the compression of 1,326 combinations into 169 hand types and distinguishes charts from rankings.
Glossary of poker terms en.wikipedia.org Confirms the chart's application to Texas hold'em and no-limit hold'em.
Texas hold 'em starting hands - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Supports the primary game as Texas hold'em starting hands.
Texas hold 'em en.wikipedia.org States that preflop decisions occur before community cards are dealt.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.