AdvancedPokerTraining.com
NL Hold’em Starting Hand Charts
One aspect of the game of No‐Limit Hold’em that causes beginning players much grief is deciding 
which hands to play and which hands to dump. NL Hold’em is much more difficult than Limit Hold’em 
because the value of a hand depends on so many factors other than just the cards in your hand. 
Despite this difficulty, our coaches believe that following some general guidelines and adjusting from 
these is a better solution than having no guidelines at all. Given that well over half of your profitability 
in NL Hold’em is based on hand selection alone, we have developed these charts to help you better 
determine whether to play or fold. 
 
There are no perfect No‐Limit starting hand charts. That is because there are many factors that affect 
your decision, and charts cannot account for all of them. Some of these include: 
1. The size of your opponent's stacks. 
2. How loose or tight, passive or aggressive, your opponents are. 
3. Where these opponents are located at the table – for example, does an aggressive player 
still have to act after you? 
4. Your image at the table – for example, how tight or tricky you are perceived. 
 
That being said, these charts will serve you well in most typical low‐stakes No‐Limit cash games, such 
as games with blinds of $1/$2, and home games. These games typically have several loose players at 
the table, and good opportunities for winning big pots with suited connectors (hands such as 87s) and 
pocket pairs. With practice, you will be able to be a consistently winning player with these charts as a 
starting point. As you improve, you'll find yourself making adjustments to these charts based on the 
factors listed above, and more. 
 
Never use a Limit Hold’em hand chart in a No‐Limit Hold’em game. Some hands, like the previously 
mentioned suited connectors and pocket pairs, go way up in value in No‐Limit, and can be played from 
almost any position in loose, passive games. That is because in Limit Hold’em you might win a decent 
pot with these hands, but in No‐Limit Hold’em you are aiming to win someone's entire stack. Other 
hands, such as AJ, which might be playable in a Limit game, are much less playable in No‐Limit (see 
additional notes about AJ below the hand charts). 
 
Note: It would be a serious mistake to apply these hand charts before reading the Frequent Asked 
Questions first.  
 
 

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CHART #1 ‐ LOOSE, PASSIVE GAME

 
 
   Raise Always 

   Call from Early Position, otherwise raise 

   Call always 

   Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions) 
   

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CHART #2 ‐ TIGHT OR AGGRESSIVE GAME

NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

 
 
   Raise Always 

   Call from Early Position, otherwise raise 

   Call (or Raise) from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked 
Questions) 
   

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CHART #3 ‐ THERE HAS BEEN A SINGLE RAISE

(3‐5 TIMES THE BIG BLIND) BEFORE YOU

 
 
   Re‐Raise Always 

   Call from Early Position, otherwise re‐raise 

   Call always 

  Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions) 
   

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Frequently Asked Questions

For the hands in yellow, what do you mean when you say to play these hands if the conditions are right? The hands in
yellow are speculative hands. They should always be folded from Early Position. From other positions, they can be profitable
given the right conditions. Some of the questions to ask yourself:

1. Are there other players who have called so far (the more, the better)?
2. Are the players who have called playing poorly after the flop? Will they pay me off if I hit something?
3. Is there an aggressive player still to act behind me (you might get raised and have to fold)?
4. If there has been a raise and no other callers, what chance do I have of using my position after the flop to win the
hand even if I don't improve (Chart #3 only)?

Why does Chart #2 say to sometimes raise with the hands in yellow, but Chart #1 does not? We have different goals in
mind. Using Chart #1, we want to call to encourage additional players to enter the pot. These hands will be immensely
profitable when our loose, passive opponents enter the hand, and get trapped when we flop a set, or make a well-disguised
straight. When using Chart #2, however, we want to size up the opponents still to act. If they are tight, we can raise.
Sometimes, we'll pick up the blinds. Other times, our pre-flop aggression will allow us to take down the pot on the flop.

What's the difference between AKs and AKo? AKs means an Ace and King of the same suit. AKo means an Ace and King
of different suits.

What are early, middle, and late position? Early Position is generally the first 2 (in a nine player game) or 3 (in a ten
player game) positions after the blinds. Late Position is the “cutoff” position (to the right of the dealer), and dealer button
positions. Middle Position is everything in between.

How much should I raise? As a general rule, raise 3 to 4 times the big blind, plus 1 extra big blind for every player who has
called before you. So if there are 2 callers already, raise between 5 and 6 times the big blind.

What if someone raises after I call? Whether you call the raise depends on how much money the raiser has for you to win,
how many other players are involved, and what type of hand you have. As a general rule, if you have a pocket pair, lean
towards calling. If there are a lot of other players (and therefore a big pot), lean towards calling. In general, fold suited
connectors from early position. Fold hands like KQ that don't play well against a raiser.

How do I play from the blinds? From the small blind, play the same hands you would play from late position, plus a few
more. But don't call with junk hands like T5o, just because it is “cheap”. From the big blind, if there is a raise to you, play
like you would if you had already called from early position.

The chart says to fold KQo to a raise. Really? Yes, this hand performs very poorly against typical raising hands. Against
AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, you are a big underdog. Other typical raising hands like JJ, TT, 99, AJs, are slightly ahead of you as
well. The only time you might call or re-raise is from late position, if the opener was in middle or late position, indicating
they might have a wider range of hands.

I was told to fold AJo from Early Position, why do you say to call with it? Folding AJo is not a bad idea in many games.
We included it because, at low stakes tables (even tight or aggressive ones), the players are often playing badly enough after
the flop that it can be profitable. We used data from millions of hands of low-limit poker to analyze this. The same could be
said for KQo, ATs, and KJs – you can make a small profit in the long run at most low-stakes games, but folding would be
perfectly acceptable from early position.

Can I use these charts in a NL Hold'em tournament? The charts would be best applicable to the early stages of a NL
tournament, when everyone has a deep stack. In the middle and later stages, they should not be used. 

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