Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

Preflop range chart by position

A preflop range chart by position is a table that tells a poker player which starting hands to play before the flop, depending on whether they are in an early, middle, or late seat.

Hand matrix
13×13 combination of hands3
Possible hands
1,326 starting-hand combinations; 169 unique hand types4

Key points

  • Later positions have wider recommended ranges because they act after more opponents.1
  • Some charts present frequency-annotated equilibrium tables for specific preflop spots rather than a single static chart.2
  • The chart groups starting hands by position and assigns an action such as fold, call, limp, or raise for each hand class.13

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Poker preflop ranges — a broader term for any set of hands played before the flop; the chart is the visual chart format that presents such ranges by position
  • Poker ranges by position — the underlying concept of varying hand selection with seat position; the chart is the position-based display of that concept
  • GTO preflop ranges — strategy outputs from game-theoretic analysis; a preflop range chart by position may be GTO-based, but the term refers to the chart format, not necessarily to equilibrium-derived ranges
Poker Preflop range chart 9-max A preflop range chart tailored for a full 9-player table. Poker Preflop poker chart A general chart showing preflop starting hand recommendations. Poker Poker hands chart preflop A chart listing all possible starting hands and their suggested preflop actions. Poker Poker odds chart preflop A chart showing the statistical odds of starting hands winning preflop. Poker Poker positions An explanation of the different seats at a poker table and their strategic importance. Poker Poker range The set of hands a player is likely to hold in a given situation.

Sources

  1. Are ChatGPT and GPT-4 Good Poker Players? - A Pre-Flop ... arxiv.org Defines the chart and explains how position affects range width.
  2. PokerSkill: LLMs Can Play Expert-Level Poker without ... arxiv.org Describes frequency-annotated equilibrium tables as a variant of preflop range charts.
  3. GTO Wizard Benchmark arxiv.org Provides the 13×13 hand matrix figure.
  4. A Survey on Game Theory Optimal Poker arxiv.org States the 1,326 starting-hand combinations and 169 unique hand types.

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.