Printable Poker Cheat Sheet

This is the preflop cheat sheet version of our interactive preflop charts: the same solver-based opening ranges, laid out as compact 13×13 grids you can print on a single page. Green means raise, grey means fold. Pick a table size and game type below, then hit Print or grab the PDF. Keep it beside you while you play until the ranges are second nature.

Each grid is one seat. Pocket pairs run down the diagonal, suited hands sit above it, offsuit hands below. A grid that looks half-shaded is usually well under half your hands, because the offsuit squares below the diagonal each count for three times as many card combinations as the suited squares above it.

How to read a range grid

Every Texas Hold'em starting hand collapses into one of 169 shapes, because suits only matter preflop insofar as your two cards match or not. That is what the 13×13 grid encodes: the top-left corner is aces, the diagonal is every pocket pair down to deuces, everything above the diagonal is suited, and everything below it is offsuit. A green square means open-raise that hand from that seat; a grey square means fold it. If the seat names are unfamiliar, the positions guide walks through each one.

Why the button opens so many more hands than under the gun

Look across the seats and you will see the green spread out as you move toward the button. From under the gun you open only premium hands, because the entire table is still waiting to act behind you and any of them can wake up with a monster. From the button only the two blinds remain, both of them out of position for the rest of the hand, so you open close to half of all hands and steal relentlessly. That staircase — roughly one hand in nine under the gun, one in two on the button — is the single most important pattern on the sheet.

Cash game vs tournament sheets

The tournament sheets are tighter than the cash sheets, and that is deliberate. In a cash game a chip is worth exactly a chip, so any spot that turns a small profit is worth taking — you can always reload. In a tournament your chips represent a share of a prize pool, and the ones you can lose are worth more than the ones you can win, so marginal hands that just about break even in a cash game become losers. That is the ICM effect, and it trims the thinnest hands from every position. These are full-stack ranges, around 100 big blinds deep; once you are under about 20 big blinds in a tournament you are in push-or-fold territory and want a shove chart instead.

How to actually use a cheat sheet

A cheat sheet fixes the most expensive leak in most players' games: opening the wrong hands from the wrong seats. Print the sheet for the format you play, keep it in view, and check it every time you are first into the pot. Within a few sessions the ranges start to feel automatic and you will barely need it. Two honest caveats: most online poker sites forbid real-time assistance during a hand, so treat this as a study and home-game aid; and a chart is a default, not a law — loosen up against players who fold too much, tighten up against aggressive opponents who keep re-raising you.

Questions

Is this poker cheat sheet free to download?

Yes. Every sheet is free to view, print and download as a PDF, with no signup. Pick a table size and game type above, then use the Print button or the Download PDF link.

What do the colors mean?

Green squares are hands to open-raise when you are first into the pot; grey squares are folds. Brighter green marks suited hands (above the diagonal) and the darker greens mark offsuit hands and pocket pairs.

Are these GTO ranges?

They are close approximations of solver output, simplified to a single action per hand so they fit on a printable grid. True game-theory-optimal play mixes actions at set frequencies, which is impossible to read off a chart, so like every practical cheat sheet these show the majority action.

Which cheat sheet should I print?

Print the one that matches your game. If you play six-handed online cash, use the 6-Max Cash sheet; if you play full-ring tournaments, use the 9-Max Tournament sheet. When in doubt, the 6-Max Cash sheet is the most broadly useful starting point.

Can I use it while playing online?

Check your site's rules first. Most online rooms prohibit real-time assistance during a hand, and a chart counts. It is built for studying between sessions and for live home games, which is where it does the most good anyway.

From cheat sheet to muscle memory

A printed sheet gets you playing the right hands today. Recalling the right range under pressure, without looking, is what actually moves your win rate — and that comes from repetition. Poker Spot puts these same ranges in your pocket with a preflop trainer that deals you real spots and flags the moment your answer drifts, plus session tracking that shows which seats are quietly costing you money. Pair the sheet with the interactive preflop charts to explore 3-bet and 4-bet spots, and the odds calculator for the postflop half.