Why preflop study is different
Preflop is the one part of solver study where memorization matters most. Since all action happens before the runout, once the format, stack depth, and rake are fixed, the exact same decisions repeat.
This makes preflop charts worth learning directly. However, trying to memorize every hand in every possible preflop spot is neither realistic nor necessary.
The goal is to combine some memorization with an understanding of how ranges are constructed. For an overview of the basics and terminology of preflop, start with our General Preflop Strategy guide.
Start with common spots
Do not try to learn the entire preflop tree at once. Start with the most common spots. Here are a few good places to start:
- Opening ranges from every position
- Big blind defense against all opens
- Small blind defense against all opens
- Facing opens (3-bet spots)
- Facing 3-bets (4-bet spots)
These make up a large majority of the preflop decisions you will face, and mastering them will give you a strong foundation before you even see a flop.
Once you have those down, you can move on to lower frequency spots:
- Facing 4-bets
- Cold calls
- Cold 3-bets
- Cold 4-bets
- Squeezes
Study the thresholds
Memorizing charts can be a daunting task, but we can make it easier by instead focusing on thresholds.
Instead of treating every hand separately, we can take advantage of the fact that ranges often follow a predictable shape and identify the thresholds at which we start or stop taking certain actions. Finding the weakest hands that open, call, 3-bet, or continue to a raise is a better way to remember a range then memorizing each combo separately.
For example, let’s take a look at this BTN opening range:
Rather than memorizing the actions taken by all 169 unique hands, we can break this range down as follows:
- All suited aces, kings, queens
- Suited jacks down to J4s
- Any suited hand with both cards 6 or higher
- 75s, 65s, 54s (additional suited hands)
- All pocket pairs
- Offsuit aces down to A3o
- Any offsuit hand with both cards 9 or higher
- K8o, K7o, J8o, and T8o (additional offsuit hands)
These thresholds make ranges easier to remember, and also help to construct reasonable strategies even when you forget an exact hand.
Understand range shapes
Linear ranges
Linear ranges contain the strongest hands and continue downward until reaching a threshold. Opening ranges are usually linear, as there is no reason to play a less valuable hand and fold a better one.
This UTG opening range is the cleanest example of a linear range. This solution opens 17.7% of hands, so it makes sense to select only the strongest 17.7% of hands, with a few adjustments for board coverage.
Polarized ranges
Polarized ranges contain very strong hands and weak bluffs, with relatively few medium-strength hands. Preflop ranges that have a significant calling range tend to have a more polarized raising range to protect our calling range.
This BB response to a BTN open is a perfect example. The BB has a significant calling range to any open since he has already invested a full big blind.
If we were to play a linear raising range, we’d take more of our strong hands out of our calling range, and add more weak ones, which would sabotage a majority of our range which wants to call, hence why the BB defense uses a polar raising range.
Condensed ranges
Condensed ranges contain mostly medium strength hands, with few nutted hands and little trash. Calling ranges are often condensed because the strongest hands raise while the weakest hands fold.
This SB response to a UTG open shows this well. The calling range is condensed since it lacks nutted hands like AA and KK, but it also lacks trash. A common misconception is that condensed ranges are always weak, but it is still wise to play cautiously against them. A condensed range may be capped, but it is not necessarily weak as they contain a large amount of pairs and high-equity hands.
Merged ranges
Merged ranges contain strong hands, medium hands, and weak hands. They fall somewhere between linear and polar ranges, and are often the result of several strategic incentives overlapping.
This BTN response to a CO open is a good example of a merged raising range. We always raise our strongest hands, but we also have plenty of medium strength hands, as well as polar bluffs like weak suited aces, suited connectors, and offsuit broadways.
There is a lot of variety to merged ranges, and they can lean either more linear or more polar. In general, any range that doesn’t cleanly fall into one of the other categories can be described as merged.
Understanding these range shapes makes it much easier to interpret these preflop charts. Instead of remembering individual hand actions, its much more useful to know what kind of range shape a spot should have and the corresponding hand thresholds for each action.
Build useful heuristics
Once you have a good grasp on the different range shapes and have looked at a few different preflop spots, its time to start building heuristics, which is done by comparing ranges and looking for patterns.
Opening ranges become wider from later position. The big blind defends tighter against earlier positions. We should call a tight range against 3-bets and 4-bets. Ranges become more polarized when we have lots of calls, and more linear when our main options are to raise or fold.
Heuristics will not reproduce solver results exactly, and specific training and memorization still has a role, but they do explain the rough structure of preflop charts, and often apply across rake structures and even formats. This makes ranges much easier to remember, allows you to make better decisions in unfamiliar spots, and even builds the baseline for being able to exploit opponents who are deviating from the optimal preflop strategy.
Common mistakes
Players new to preflop study often:
- try to memorize the entire preflop tree at once
- focus on rare spots before learning common opening and defending ranges
- treat hands separately instead of looking for thresholds
- spend too much time memorizing mixes
- memorize ranges without first understanding their overall shape
Key takeaways
Preflop is the part of solver study where memorization matters most, but that does not mean you need to memorize every chart exactly.
Start with only the spots you see most often and use thresholds to simplify your study. Once you apply these thresholds, understand the different range shapes, and build reusable heuristics, preflop charts become much easier to apply in practice.