RangeSharp
RangeSharp
Why position matters more than cards. How ranges widen from UTG to BTN and the logic behind each seat.
Position might be the most important concept in poker. It's not the cards. It's where you sit relative to the dealer button. Acting last postflop is an enormous advantage, and that advantage starts preflop. The later your position, the wider you can open.
This post walks through each position from UTG to the button, explains the logic behind the ranges, and covers how stack depth changes the picture.
When you act last, you see what everyone else does before you decide. You get free information. You can check when they bet, bet when they check, and size your bets based on their actions. When you act first, you're guessing. You don't know if they'll bet, call, or fold. That uncertainty costs money.
Preflop, the button acts last. So the button has position on everyone. The cutoff has position on UTG, HJ, and the blinds. The big blind acts first postflop (when everyone else folds to them) but last preflop. That's why BB defense is such a big topic: you're out of position, but you've already put money in, so you can't just fold everything.
Opening ranges reflect this. Early position (UTG, HJ): tight. You're likely to be out of position postflop, so you need hands that can handle that. Late position (CO, BTN): wide. You'll have position, so you can play more hands profitably. The spread is huge. UTG might open 15%. The button might open 40% or more. That's a 25+ percentage point swing based on two seats.
UTG opens first (or second, if there's an ante). Five players left to act. In a 6-max game, that's the cutoff, button, small blind, and big blind. Four of them will have position on you if they call. One (the BB) might have position if everyone else folds, but usually at least one player sees a flop with you.
So you need hands that play well out of position. Strong pairs, suited broadways, suited aces with wheel potential, and connected hands that can make straights. You're folding most offsuit hands, most suited gappers, and anything that needs help to become playable.
Roughly 15% of hands. All pairs, ATs+, KQs, A5s-A4s, some suited connectors like T9s, 98s, and AJo, KQo. The bottom of the range is fuzzy. Some solvers include 87s, 76s. Some include KJo. Stakes, rake, and table dynamics shift the edges.
Key exclusions: A3s and below (not enough playability), most offsuit connectors, small pairs in some configurations. The logic: these hands need to hit the flop hard to be worth playing, and when you miss, you're out of position with a weak hand. That's a money drain.
The highjack opens after UTG. One fewer player to worry about. You'll have position on UTG when they fold. Ranges widen to about 18%.
You're adding more suited connectors (98s, 87s, maybe 76s), suited aces like A9s, A8s, and offsuit broadways like KJo, QJo. The structure is similar to UTG, just pushed out a bit. You're still cautious. The cutoff and button can 3-bet, and you don't want to play big pots out of position with marginal hands.
The cutoff is the first seat where ranges feel wide. Around 25% of hands. You have position on UTG and HJ when they fold. Only the button and blinds left. The button will 3-bet some of the time, but you're still in decent shape.
You're adding: more suited aces (A7s, A6s, A5s already in), suited kings (K9s, K8s), suited connectors down to 65s, 54s, and suited gappers like 97s, 86s, 75s. Offsuit, you add KJo, QJo, T9o. Small pairs stay in. The range starts to look like "most playable hands plus a bunch of suited stuff."
The cutoff is often the most profitable seat for stealing. Players fold to you a lot, and when they call, you usually have position. Learning the CO range pays off.
The button opens 40% or more. You're last to act preflop. When everyone folds to you, you're heads-up with the BB, and you'll have position on every street. That's the best scenario in poker.
You're opening almost every suited hand, most connectors, all pairs, and a lot of offsuit hands that can hit top pair or a draw. Hands like 72o, 82o stay out. But 53s, 43s, 64s, K7s, Q8s, J8s, T8o, 97o, 87o get in. The bottom of the range is "can this hand occasionally make something and get paid or steal the pot?" If yes, it's in.
Why so wide? Position. You get to see the flop and then decide. You can take a free card with a draw. You can bluff when they check. You can value bet thin when you hit. The button's options are so rich that even weak hands have positive EV. The BB has to defend a lot to stop you from printing money, but they can't defend everything. So you push the edge.
The player who acts last has more information and more options. That makes more hands profitable to play. Hence, wider ranges in late position.
Everything above assumes 100bb (or thereabouts). Change the stacks and the ranges change.
Short stacks (20–40bb): Ranges tighten. You're often shoving or folding. Speculative hands (small suited connectors, small pairs) lose value because you can't see cheap flops. Broadways and big pairs gain value. 3-bet and 4-bet ranges become more all-in or fold.
Deep stacks (150bb+): Ranges can widen slightly. Implied odds matter more. Small pairs and suited connectors go up in value because you can win big when you hit. Position matters even more. The button can open wider when stacks are deep.
Tournament vs cash: Tournaments have changing stack depths and ICM. Early in a tournament, ranges look like cash. Late, with short stacks, they tighten and simplify. ICM also punishes busting, so you fold more from early position and play more conservatively in some spots.
Knowing the theory is step one. Having ranges you can actually use is step two. That means a structure: a spot for UTG open, CO open, BTN open, etc. Each spot has a range. You paint it on a grid, then train.
FreeRangeLab lets you build strategy trees with position-specific spots. You can add GTO ranges from the library or import from a solver. Then you run decision drills: the app deals you a hand, you pick the action, and it tells you if you were right. Spaced repetition prioritizes the hands you get wrong. Over time, the ranges stick.
I recommend starting with two positions: UTG and BTN. They're the most different. If you can handle those, the middle positions are easier because they sit between the two extremes. Add CO next, then HJ, then the blinds. Trying to learn everything at once is overwhelming.
The small blind is tricky. You've already put in half a bet. Folding costs you that. So there's incentive to play more hands. But you're out of position against everyone. Different solvers and strategies handle this differently. Some use a raise-only range around 35%. Others use a limp range and a raise range. The limp range includes hands that aren't strong enough to raise for value but have some playability. The raise range is tighter than the button's but wider than early position. If you're learning from scratch, a raise-only approach is simpler. You can add limp strategies later if you want nuance.
The big blind is a whole topic. You're not "opening" in the same sense. You're defending when someone else opens. Vs the button, you defend 40–55%: 3-bet with your strong hands and some bluffs, call with your medium hands, fold the junk. Vs earlier positions, you defend less because their range is stronger. The exact frequencies depend on the open size, stack depth, and solver. The principle: you defend enough to make the opener's bluffs break even. Too little defense and they print with any two. Too much and you're calling with hands that can't realize equity.
BB defense is one of the highest-leverage areas to study. Most players either over-fold (giving up too much) or over-call (playing too many weak hands out of position). GTO gives you a balanced defense. Learning it pays off.
The math is simple. When you open from the button and everyone folds to the BB, you're heads-up with position. You'll act last on the flop, turn, and river. You can check back with weak hands and see a free card. You can bet when they check and take the pot. You can size your value bets based on their reactions. The BB has none of that. They have to guess. So a wide range of hands has positive EV for you. Suited connectors, small pairs, suited aces, offsuit broadways. They don't need to be strong. They need to have enough equity and playability to profit from position.
UTG has the opposite problem. If one player calls, you're out of position. If multiple players call, you're in a multi-way pot, also out of position. Your weak hands can't realize their equity. You get outdrawn, outplayed, or out-folded. So you only open hands that can withstand that. Strong pairs, suited broadways, hands that can make the nuts or at least top pair. The bottom of the range gets cut. 15% instead of 40%.
The spread is 25+ percentage points. That's position in numbers.
Position drives preflop ranges. UTG opens ~15% because they're likely out of position. The button opens ~40% because they'll have position. Everything in between scales. Stack depth adjusts the numbers. Learn the structure, train on it, and then go play. The ranges are a starting point. The table will teach you the rest.
Master your preflop ranges.