The Art of Ignoring Preflop Charts in Cash Games

17 May 2025

Intermediate

This material is for medium-skilled players

G’day, Poker Beeps! Sky from Smart Poker Study here. You might be using preflop range charts to guide your decisions on when to call, raise, or fold — and that’s great. These charts could be ones you picked up from a coach like me, someone else, or maybe you even built your own.

But here's the truth: there are plenty of reasons to deviate from those charts. Preflop ranges are incredibly useful — but also very limiting. They only account for a few basic factors in any given hand. And poker is far too complex to rely on such narrow inputs. Let’s dive in!

Whether you're using cash game ranges, a coach's recommendations, or GTO-based charts, you should never follow them blindly. Why? Because ranges only understand a tiny slice of the overall situation.

Just think about it — ranges typically only know your position and your opponent’s position. Let’s say you’re in the cutoff, and your chart says to call with pocket fives through pocket jacks and a few strong broadways against an open from early position. That’s all well and good... but that’s literally all the range is based on — positions.

It doesn’t know who you're up against. Is the open-raiser a tight-aggressive regular? A loose-aggressive bluffer? A wild maniac? A fish? Did they raise 2 big blinds or make it 5? Ranges also ignore stack sizes. Maybe the opener has 20 BBs while you’re sitting on 200 BBs — huge difference.

And what about table dynamics? Do you have any history with the raiser that might influence their reaction to your play? Plus, ranges are blind to the remaining players. Maybe EP opened, MP folded, and you're in the cutoff with pocket jacks. Sure, the chart says to call—but what if the button, small blind, and big blind are all sticky players? Do you really want to go five-way to the flop with jacks? Maybe a 3-bet is the better move.

That’s why you must give yourself permission to step outside the lines when the situation calls for it.

Now that we’ve established why you shouldn’t follow preflop charts blindly, let’s talk about how and when to widen your ranges — to play more hands than your chart suggests. In most cases, widening your range means becoming the aggressor — either by open-raising more hands or by expanding your calling or 3-betting range in specific spots.

#1: Raise More When They Fold More

If your opponents tend to fold too often — especially players in the blinds or even the original raiser — this is a golden opportunity to raise wider. Let’s say you're considering a 3-bet or an open-raise: if your opponent is quick to give up, go ahead and pull the trigger with a few more hands. You're either isolating a weaker player or taking down the pot uncontested—both excellent outcomes.

#2: Isolate Weak Players More Aggressively

One of the best reasons to widen your range is to isolate weaker opponents. Picture this: an early position player limps, and your standard iso-raise might be with something like  . But you look around the table and realize that most players behind are likely to fold if you size up to five or six big blinds.

That limper? He’s weak and makes frequent postflop mistakes. So why not go wider and isolate with  ,  , even   suited? If the rest of the table is passive and the limper plays poorly postflop, exploit that. The more often you get that weak player heads-up in position, the more opportunities you have to capitalize on their errors.

#3: Target Specific Postflop Weaknesses

Let’s say you're on the cutoff and you know the big blind is the most likely caller. Better yet, you’ve got a read: this player folds to continuation bets 88% of the time! That’s a green light to widen your range.

Hands like   or   suddenly become profitable open-raises — not because they're strong in a vacuum, but because you're isolating a player who practically gives up postflop. And if the button and small blind aren’t prone to 3-betting, there’s even less resistance to worry about.

#4: Widening Your Range to Take Control or Exploit Postflop Weaknesses

Another strong reason to widen your preflop range, especially through 3-bets, is to take control of the hand. Let’s say someone open-raises, and you know two things:

• They rarely 4-bet without a premium hand;
• They play passively postflop and tend to give up to c-bets.

That’s your cue to 3-bet — even with hands outside your usual range. You don’t need to go big either: if they make it 3 big blinds, you can simply raise to 5. They call, the flop comes down, they check — you c-bet, and they fold. Simple as that.

You're sizing initiative and exploiting a player who’s just too honest on the flop or turn. If they fold to flop bets or only continue with strong hands, you can pressure them again and again. Control plus fold equity? That’s an edge you should push.

#5: Widening Your Calling Range to Play Against Weaker Opponents

Now, widening your calling range also has its place — especially when you want to play pots against a weak player who doesn’t fold to iso-raises. Here’s the scenario: a fish limps in from the cutoff and you’re on the button holding Ten-Seven suited. Normally, you’d iso-raise a hand like this — but what if the limper never folds preflop or postflop?

In that case, why bloat the pot with a marginal hand? Just limp behind. Take the flop in position with a playable hand and look to outplay them postflop. Yes, this kind of limp is technically outside many structured ranges, but if you’ve got a read and a purpose, it's absolutely the right play.

#6: Exploiting Flop or Turn Honesty as the Caller

You can also expand your calling range when you know you’re up against a player with serious postflop leaks. Let’s say a player open-raises from the cutoff, and you’re on the button. Your hand might be something like  ,  , or   offsuit — none of which are typical calls. But you’ve noticed something:

• They c-bet the flop 70% of the time;
• But they only follow up on the turn 20% of the time.

That tells you they’re flop-honest or turn-honest — they give up easily after one barrel. So you call, float the flop, and plan to bet the turn the moment they check. If the board gives you even a little help — a draw, a backdoor, a pair — you’re in a perfect spot to take it down. 

There are also situations where you should widen your calling range with speculative hands — especially when effective stacks are deep. Let’s go back to that   suited example. Suppose the opener has 200 big blinds — and so do you. If you catch the right flop, a hand like this can win you a huge pot. That kind of implied odds potential is exactly why speculative hands go up in value with deeper stacks.

Multi-Way Pots with Speculative Hands

You should also consider loosening your calls when you expect to go multi-way to the flop. Say the MP player open-raises, and you’re in the cutoff with a hand like   or  . You know the button, small blind, and big blind are all likely to call. If no one 3-bets and you all see a flop five ways, that’s a great situation to play your speculative hand.

The plan? Simple:

• If the flop smashes your range — great, play for value;
• If you sense weakness or a strong bluffing opportunity — go for it.

Otherwise, just fold and move on. You're basically adopting a “hit it or quit it” approach — common when you've gotten in cheap and there's good potential to stack someone.

What Hands Work Best?

These are the hands you want to play in these spots:

• Suited connectors (like 87s, T9s);
• One-gappers (like 97s, T8s);
• Small to medium pocket pairs (22–99).

All of these hands play well in deep-stacked or multi-way pots. Just make sure you’re not bloating the pot unless you have a plan — or a hand. And of course, this advice applies only if you’re not choosing to 3-bet those hands instead.

Now let’s talk about when you should narrow your ranges — whether you're raising or calling. You want to narrow your raising range when there are a lot of players still to act who are likely to 3-bet — especially when you're holding hands that sit at the bottom of your opening range.

For example, if you're in the cutoff and using cash game ranges, you might normally open hands like   or  . But if you know there are potential 3-bettors behind you, go ahead and just fold those hands instead of raising.

3-bets are the bane of 2-bets. So by narrowing your raising range, you're basically cutting off those weaker hands, which lets you retain stronger holdings — hands that can defend more effectively when facing a 3-bet.

You also want to narrow your raising range when there are non-folders still to act. Let’s say you’re in the cutoff again, thinking about raising with   or  . But you know the button, small blind, and big blind are all likely to call. In this case, you’re unlikely to steal the pot preflop, and these players aren’t the type to play honestly postflop.

That means barrel-bluffing won’t work well — they’re sticky before and after the flop. It’s better to just fold and wait for a stronger hand rather than getting involved in a low-odds spot against calling stations.

Narrowing Your Calling Range

When it comes to narrowing your calling range, again — if there are a lot of 3-bettors still to act, you want to tighten up. Just like 3-bets crush open-raises, they also crush players who flat-call opens. This happens all the time: Someone raises, you call, and suddenly one of the aggressive players behind you sees a great opportunity to 3-bet. Why? Because your call signals weakness.

They assume that if you had a strong hand like pocket Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces, or Ace-King — you’d be 3-betting, not calling. So they pounce, putting in a squeeze raise. Now you’re forced to fold, and they pick up a nice pot, maybe 6 big blinds, without seeing a flop.

Let’s say you’re in the big blind and thinking about calling with hands like    or   — sure, those hands might be part of your normal big blind defense range. But if the players in the hand only have 20, 30, or 35 big blinds, there’s just not enough behind to make it worthwhile. A hand like   suited is great for deep-stack play, not for chasing small stacks.

Just fold it. Avoid that spot. You’ll still want to stay at the table — those 25, 30, and 35 big blind stacks are great targets. But wait for a better opportunity with a stronger hand to take advantage of their mistakes.

Next time you sit down for a cash game session and start using your preflop ranges, remember: it’s not just about your hand and your position.

You also need to think about:

• Who is the open-raising player?
• Who’s left to act?
• What are the table dynamics like?
• What’s been going on recently?

Ask yourself:

• What’s my image in their eyes?
• What’s my image of them?
• How are they likely to react to a raise, a 3-bet, or a flat call?
• Also consider: What’s the best way to play this hand to exploit my opponents?

Here’s an example that really illustrates this point: One of my students and I were reviewing a hand history. He had just called in the cutoff with pocket Jacks. The open-raiser was in early position and was extremely loose-aggressive — something like 42/25.

The MP folded, and my student flatted in the CO. I asked him, “Why did you just call here?”. He answered, “Sky, the cash game ranges say to call with pocket Jacks”. Then I said: “Whoa — just because the range suggests a play doesn't mean it's the best option in this spot”.

Think about your opponent. You’re up against someone who might be open-raising 30–35% of hands from under the gun — that’s wild. If you just call, you’re letting that aggressive player see a flop at his price, and you're holding the fourth-best starting hand. That’s a mistake. Against players like this, you have to 3-bet to punish their wide opening range.

Now, if instead your opponent is a super-tight 8/8 type who rarely opens UTG — maybe they’ve never even opened from that position before — then yes, just call and hope to see a flop without an Ace, King, or Queen. That’s a more reasonable line. The point is: adapt to your opponents.

Before any action, ask yourself: “What’s the best way to exploit this opponent, given your hand, position, stack sizes, and dynamics at the table?”. Also, if you ever find yourself in a spot where the range says to call with pocket Jacks after an EP open, but your gut says you should raise, then trust your gut.

Tag the hand, play it the way your intuition tells you, and review it later to see if you made the right call. Thanks for being with us today! Good luck using your ranges, and knowing when to deviate from them, in your next session.