Preflop ranges by position
One decision tree for the first choice of every hand: which set do you play from which seat?
Anyone who knows which starting hands are playable and thinks in sets needs one more thing: the link with position. The same hand is a fold early at the table and a raise on the button. Below are the target percentages per seat, as the first player into the pot.
Early (UTG)
12 to 15%Only your best hands: there are still five players behind you who can raise.
Middle (MP/HJ)
17 to 20%A little wider, still value driven: middle pairs and strong high cards come in.
Cutoff (CO)
26 to 30%Wide: you almost always have position after the flop and steal the blinds regularly.
Button (BTN)
40 to 48%The widest of all: every pair, many connectors, many high card combinations.
Small blind (SB)
raise or foldCalling is the trap here: raise with your playable hands or throw them away.
Raise, do not call
The second half of every range agreement with yourself: if you are the first one in, you raise. Calling invites the blinds along for free, gives away that your hand is mediocre, and hands over the initiative before the flop is down. If your hand is good enough to play, it is good enough to raise; otherwise folding is the best bet of the day.
What those grids look like visually you can see in the free range visualiser, and the full lesson with practice questions is in the free preflop lesson. Where all of this sits in the bigger picture: steps two and three of the roadmap for beginners.
frequently asked questions
Range questions.
Do I have to learn these percentages by heart? +
No, you learn the shape, not the numbers. Remember the direction: early tight, late wide, blinds careful. You look at the exact grids in the range visualiser until you recognise them without looking.
Do I always raise when I take part? +
As the first player into the pot: yes, virtually always. Calling without raising gives the blinds a cheap flop and tells everybody your hand is mediocre. If somebody has already raised before you, calling or reraising is a separate decision.
What do I do against a raise before me? +
Narrow sharply. The hands that play well against a raise are strong pairs, ace king and ace queen, and against small raises with position also playable hidden hands. The pretty but not quite hands are exactly what you throw away here.
Do these ranges apply to tournaments too? +
As a starting point yes, with one big exception: once your stack gets shorter than about fifteen big blinds, the game changes to all in or fold and different, calculated ranges apply. You learn those in the push fold lesson.
train your first decision
You learn ranges by choosing.
Pokiq puts real preflop choices in front of you every day and measures where you play too wide or too tight. Free to try.