Key points
- There are 169 starting-hand types. Each pair has 6 combinations, each suited hand 4 and each offsuit hand 12, for 1,326 combinations in total.
- From UTG through the button, opening ranges get wider in later positions.
- Use a different range after someone raises. Tighten up when calling would commit at least half your stack.
Hand notation and the number of possible card combinations are the same across Texas Hold'em games. The chart colors and ranges by position follow BlackPoker's guidelines. This is not a general-purpose range chart. These ranges may change with game balance adjustments (values as of October 28, 2026).
01Hand Notation and the 169 Hand Types
Starting hands are written using two ranks and whether the cards have the same suit. A 10 is written as T.
- AA · 77: pairs of the same rank
- AKs: same suit (suited)
- AKo: different suits (offsuit)
If individual suits are ignored, there are 169 types of starting hand: 13 pairs, 78 suited hands, and 78 offsuit hands.
However, the number of possible combinations differs by hand.
AA6 combinations
AKs4 combinations
AKo12 combinations
That is why “top ◯%” on this page is calculated from the 1,326 combinations, not the 169 hand types. Each offsuit hand represents 12 combinations.
02The 13×13 Chart and Ranges by Position
The 169 hand types can be shown in a 13×13 chart. Pairs run along the diagonal, suited hands are above it, and offsuit hands are below it.
The hands are ordered by their chance of winning against one random hand when played to the end, with ties counted as half a win. AA is about 85%, while 32o at the bottom is about 32%.
The colors show BlackPoker's opening ranges, starting with the highest-ranked hands. “Top 16%” means the strongest 16% of the 1,326 combinations. It does not mean a 16% chance of winning.
UTG: Top 16% · 31 hands
PairSuitedOffsuit
From UTG through the button, opening ranges become wider in later positions. There are fewer players left to act, and you can act last postflop. The SB acts first postflop, so its range is slightly tighter than the button's. See Position for details.
With fewer players dealt in, the six-player ranges are multiplied by 1.12 with five players, 1.24 with four players, and so on, with a cap of 95%. In heads-up play, the button follows a separate rule and enters with about 95% of hands—almost everything.
Why Hands with an A Rank So Highly
Hands containing an A appear high in this order. If your opponent could hold anything, the high-card strength of a single A matters.
After a player raises, however, their range also contains many hands with an A. If they also have an A and their other card is higher than yours, you are far behind. When AK plays against AQ, AK wins about 72% of the time. This is why a hand such as A2o is not as strong as its place in this order might suggest.
03The Range Changes with Earlier Action
After someone raises, use the following ranges instead of the chart above. These are the guidelines used by BlackPoker.
| Earlier action | How to enter |
|---|---|
| Everyone folds | Open-raise the hands in your position's range to 2.5BB (sometimes 3BB). Fold the rest |
| One or more players limp | With very strong hands, raise to 3.5BB + 1BB per limper (4.5BB total against one limper). Call with slightly weaker hands |
| One raise | 3-bet the top approximately 6%, call with hands up to approximately 20%, and fold the rest |
| A 3-bet | Raise again with the top approximately 2.5%, call with hands up to approximately 6.5%, and fold the rest |
| You are in the BB and nobody has raised | Raise the top approximately 11% and check the rest |
These percentages change with the raiser's position and raise size. Continue with a wider range against a raise from late position and a tighter range against a large raise.
A 3-bet is sized at about 3 times the previous raise. Against a 2.5BB raise, that means 7.5BB total. If you will act first postflop, use about 3.6 times the raise, or 9BB total.
04When Your Stack Is Short
Even when calling the same bet, a short stack may have to commit most of its remaining chips.
When an opponent raises to 6BB total and you call. Gold shows the amount needed to call, and the dotted line marks half your stack.
In BlackPoker, if calling would commit at least half of your remaining stack, the calling range is narrowed to the top approximately 10%. If the original range was already tighter, it stays unchanged.
05Common Mistakes
Playing Any Suited Hand
Against one random hand, the difference between AKs and AKo is about 2 percentage points. Two weak cards remain weak even when they are suited.
Playing Any Hand with an A
An A with a weak second card is far behind when your opponent also has an A with a higher second card. Decide whether to enter based on the chart's range, not simply on whether your hand contains an A.
06Check Your Understanding with 3 Questions
Question 1How many possible combinations of AKo are there?
View answer
There are 4 × 3 = 12 combinations containing an A and K of different suits. AKs has 4 combinations, while AA has 6.
Question 2Everyone before you folds. You are UTG with Q9o. What do the BlackPoker guidelines suggest?
View answer
Q9o is in the top approximately 30% of hands, outside the UTG range of approximately 16%. The chart does not include limping when nobody else has entered the pot. On the button, you would open-raise.
Question 3UTG raises to 2.5BB. You are on the button with QQ. What do the BlackPoker guidelines suggest?
View answer
QQ is in the top approximately 1.4%, placing it inside the approximately 6% 3-bet range. It remains in range even after tightening against an early-position raise. Raise to about 3 times the original bet, or approximately 7.5BB total.
07Try It in BlackPoker
Press “Advice” preflop to see where your hand ranks, such as “AKo is a top 5% hand.” If nobody has entered the pot, you will also see “When first in from this position, play the top N%.”
This uses the same guidelines as the chart in this article, so you can check each position's range once at the table.
Frequently asked questions
What is the strongest starting hand?
AA. Against one random hand with all cards dealt, it has about 85% equity when half of each tie is counted.
Which is stronger, AK or QQ?
QQ is ahead. If Q♠Q♥ and A♦K♣ run out to the river, QQ wins about 57% and AK about 43%. The remainder are ties.
About what percentage of hands should you play?
It depends on your position and the action before you. In an unopened pot, BlackPoker's ranges run from about 16% UTG to about 49% on the button.
Produced and edited by Predy GamesPublished:Updated:Report an error:Contact
See where your hand ranks by percentage in BlackPokerBlackPoker is a single-player Texas Hold'em game played without real-money wagering. Press Advice to see the top percentage containing your starting hand and the opening range for your position.
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