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Default Action Tables

Which hands to play, and how. A quick-reference chart for every street

Look it up with 3 questions

1What is your role?
2Choose a column
3Choose a row

Answer all 3, and the cell is decided as one.

  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

The standard is 6-max cash / 100BB / heads-up single-raised pots.

This is not “a list of correct answers” but “the starting point for when you are unsure.”

Wallpaper chart

  • from UTG
  • from HJ
  • from CO
  • BTN only
  • light fill = mixed
  • fold

Raise only with the color of your own seat and the darker colors

Preflop is a complete chart. From the flop on, by hand class

First, a Single Honest Statement

A chart of “the best play for every hand” cannot be made, in principle

Why it cannot be made

  • There are 1755 kinds of flop. Including the turn and river, tens of millions of combinations
  • Even with the same A♠J♦, the best play changes with the board, the position and the opponent
  • Putting out a chart with everything filled in would mean making up numbers

What can be made instead

  • Divide hands into 8 classes and show a default for each class
  • Most spots you meet in real play are decided at this level of detail

A chart being filled in is not the same as a chart being correct.

What a default is

It is the action that is correct most often in that spot.

It does not mean it is always correct.

If you come back here when you are unsure, you will not go far wrong. Use it as that baseline.

The yellow (judgment call) cells are places where the default is not decided. The right way to use the chart is to think only there.

Where This Chart Can Be Used

Using it outside this range turns directly into losses

Condition What this chart assumes If it does not hold
Game 6-max cash At 9-max, tighten the early positions even more
Effective stack 100BB At 40BB or less, the SPR changes and the decision is different
Pot Single-raised pot In a 3bet pot the SPR is 3 – 4. The commitment decision comes first
Players Heads-up (2 players) In a multiway pot, bluffs almost disappear
Rake Online With high rake, tighten everything
Opponent Unknown (population average) If you know their type, adjust using the later chapters

The most common misuse is using this chart in 3bet pots and multiway pots. Both have a different structure, so the default changes.

How to Use It: 3 Questions

Choose the table in this order

1 What is your role?

Raiser or caller. IP or OOP. One of the 4

2 What type of board is it?

A-high dry / Broadway / two-tone / low connected / paired / monotone

3 Which class is your hand?

One of the 8 classes. Look at the class, not the hand itself

Answer all 3, and the cell is decided as one

When it is not decided, you have usually skipped the board classification in ② or the hand class in ③

The 8 Hand Classes

This classification is the vertical axis of every table

Class Hands included How to think about it
① Nut class Sets, straights, flushes, top two pair Beats your opponent’s calling range by a lot
② Overpair / strong top pair AA on a low board, AK on an A-high board Value, but it can still lose
③ Top pair, weak kicker A5 on an A-high board, K7 on a K-high board A hand worth up to 1 – 2 bets
④ Middle / second pair A pair with the 2nd-highest card Has showdown value, but thin
⑤ Bottom pair / weak pair A pair with the lowest card, low pocket pairs Almost a bluff catcher
⑥ Strong draw Flush draw, open-ended straight draw Can fight with equity. Can take the aggressor’s side
⑦ Weak draw Gutshot, two backdoors Not enough on its own. Depends on the combination
⑧ Pure air No chance of winning and no room to improve Either bluff or fold

When unsure, two questions decide the class: “Does it beat my opponent’s calling range?” and “Does it win if it hits?”

Actions and Their Colors

Fix the words used in the tables

  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call
Bet small 25 – 33% of the pot. When you push with your whole range
Bet medium 50 – 66% of the pot. The standard for value and semi-bluffs
Bet large 75 – 100% of the pot. Only when you have the nut advantage
Check When none of the 3 reasons to bet applies
Call When the odds are good enough against your opponent’s range
Raise For value, or when you want to deny equity
Judgment call There is no default. Think only here

Sizes are fixed as “%.” If you remember them in BB units, they go wrong when the pot size changes.

1 Preflop

The only place where all 169 combinations can be filled in

Only Preflop Can Have a Complete Chart

With no board, the only variables are position and stack

Wallpaper chart

  • from UTG
  • from HJ
  • from CO
  • BTN only
  • light fill = mixed
  • fold

Raise only with the color of your own seat and the darker colors

Open (when nobody has raised)

  • The darkest red = from UTG / dark red = from HJ / middle red = from CO / light red = BTN only
  • Raise your seat’s color and every darker color
  • The size is fixed at 2.5BB

Where this chart stands

  • Only here is there an answer for all 169 combinations
  • From the flop on, you need hand classes because the board brings in variables

What the light colors mean

  • Mixed. Either is fine, depending on the opponent and the rake
  • When unsure, you may fold

Preflop Defaults by Class

The preflop version of the 8 classes

Hand shape Default Note
Pocket pairs 99 and up Open from every position, and consider a 3bet QQ+ is a 4bet for value
Pocket pairs 88 and below Open from every seat; against a 3bet, basically call Set mining. The deeper the SPR, the more they are worth
Suited A (A5s – A2s) Open + the first choice for a 3bet bluff Combines blockers with nut potential
Suited A (ATs – AJs) Open + lean toward a 3bet for value Hold back a little on 3bets against earlier seats
Broadway suited Open from every seat, 3bet mixed KQs, KJs, QJs
Broadway offsuit AJo+ from early seats, KQo from every seat KJo and QJo from CO onward only
Suited connectors Open from CO onward, use them to call Do not use them for 3bet bluffs
Weak offsuit hands BTN and SB only Fold them otherwise

For the full 169 cells, see the existing “Map of preflop ranges.”

Defaults After Someone Has Raised

The starting point for the 3 choices

Your hand Facing an open from an early seat Facing an open from BTN or SB
QQ+ / AK 3bet (value) 3bet (value)
JJ / AQs / AQo 3bet mixed, or call 3bet
TT – 22 Call (if you have position) Call, or 3bet mixed
A5s – A2s 3bet bluff 3bet bluff
ATs / KQs / KJs Call 3bet mixed
Suited connectors Call if you have position Call
KJo / A9o / QJo Fold Call if you are in the BB

The principle: the stronger your opponent’s range, the more you polarize your 3bets (the top, and blockers) and the thinner you make your calls. Using middling hands to 3bet is the most common mistake.

2 Flop

4 tables by role. This is the core

① You Are the Raiser, in Position (IP)

The default when your opponent checks to you on the flop

Flop: you are the raiser, IP (your opponent checked to you)
A-high dryBroadway dryTwo-tone, middlingLow connectedPaired boardMonotone
Nut class: sets, two pair
Overpair / strong top pair
Top pair, weak kicker
Middle pair / second pair
Bottom pair / weak pair
Strong draw: FD, OESD
Weak draw: gutshot, BD
Pure air
  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

Down: hand class　Across: board type　Cell: the default action

How to Read ①

What you remember is not the cells but 4 structures

Structure 1: check everything at middle pair and below

  • If you bet, only weaker hands fold and only stronger hands call
  • Protecting your showdown value is worth the most
  • These are places where you want to bet “for protection,” but mostly it loses

Structure 2: bet air on A-high and paired boards

  • On these 2, your opponent has not hit either
  • You can push with your whole range, so bluffs get through cheaply

Structure 3: give up air on low connected boards

  • Your opponent has the nut advantage, so bluffs do not work
  • Continuing to push here is the most common leak

Structure 4: the wetter the board, the bigger the strong draws bet

  • Denying your opponent’s equity is worth a lot
  • When you hit, you can also make the pot bigger

Once you understand these 4, you can reproduce the cells without memorizing them. The table is for checking, not for memorizing.

② You Are the Raiser, Out of Position (OOP)

The default when you act first. More checks than in ①

Flop: you are the raiser, OOP (you act first)
A-high dryBroadway dryTwo-tone, middlingLow connectedPaired boardMonotone
Nut class: sets, two pair
Overpair / strong top pair
Top pair, weak kicker
Middle pair / second pair
Bottom pair / weak pair
Strong draw: FD, OESD
Weak draw: gutshot, BD
Pure air
  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

The difference from ①: on Broadway, two-tone and monotone boards, the checks increase a lot

How to Read ②: Look Only at the Difference from ①

Every cell that changed has the same reason

Why the checks increase

  • Acting first means giving your opponent information
  • There is the risk of being check-raised
  • After being called, you also act first on the turn

Cells that do not change

  • A-high dry and paired boards are almost the same as ①
  • On these 2, the range advantage is large even without position

Why the nut class on a low connected board is a “judgment call”

  • Bet: you can make draws pay
  • Check: you can induce your opponent’s bluffs and check-raise
  • Both work, so decide by your opponent’s aggression

A simple rule for real play

  • When unsure OOP, check is the baseline
  • If you bet, be able to name 1 reason

Even with the same hand, the action changes between IP and OOP. If you memorize “this hand is a bet,” you will always be wrong in one of them.

③ You Are the Caller (Facing Your Opponent’s C-bet)

The default when your opponent bets 33%

Flop: you are the caller (facing your opponent’s 33% C-bet)
A-high dryBroadway dryTwo-tone, middlingLow connectedPaired boardMonotone
Nut class: sets, two pair
Overpair / strong top pair
Top pair, weak kicker
Middle pair / second pair
Bottom pair / weak pair
Strong draw: FD, OESD
Weak draw: gutshot, BD
Pure air
  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

If the size is larger, override with the table by bet size that follows

How to Read ③

The defending side’s table has principles that differ from the attacking side’s

Why the nut class “calls” on A-high boards

  • If you raise, your opponent’s whole weak range folds
  • On dry boards, it is better to leave your opponent’s bluffs in
  • On wet boards, raise. Crush your opponent’s equity

Why all air folds

  • Defending your MDF starts with “hands that can win”
  • Even if you call with air, you will just fold on the turn

Where strong draws become raises

  • Two-tone, low connected and paired boards
  • You have both fold equity and equity
  • Even if they do not fold, you win big when you hit

Why bottom pair is a “judgment call”

  • It depends entirely on your opponent’s C-bet frequency
  • Call against someone who bets 70% or more (est.); against a tight opponent, fold

The defending side’s principle: choose the hands you fold from class ⑧, and the hands you call with from classes ④ – ⑦. Do it the other way round, and you throw away hands that can win and keep hands that lose.

④ Responding by Bet Size

A table that overrides ③ by size. You can use it on any street

Responding by bet size (all streets)
25 – 33%, need 20%50%, need 25%66 – 75%, need 30%100% or more, need 33%+
Nut class: sets, two pair
Overpair / strong top pair
Top pair, weak kicker
Middle pair / second pair
Bottom pair / weak pair
Strong draw: FD, OESD
Weak draw: gutshot, BD
Pure air
  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

The “need %” in the column headings is a calculated value. It is fixed by the pot odds

How to Read ④

Read this table down the columns

Read down, and you see the MDF

  • The bigger the size, the more hands you may fold
  • Defend 80.0% against 25%, 75.2% against 33%. 50.0% is enough against 100%
  • Folding too much to small bets is the most common leak

Why the nut class “calls” big bets

  • If you raise, all of your opponent’s bluffs fold
  • If your opponent is bluffing, let them keep paying

How to solve a “judgment call” cell

  • Count your opponent’s value combos and bluff combos
  • Check whether bluffs ÷ total is more than the equity you need
  • Correct that number with your own blockers

The principle against overbets

  • The population almost never bluffs with overbets
  • With class ③ and below, you may fold if you do not know your opponent’s tendencies

Only this table separates clearly the part you can use against anyone (the equity you need) from the part that depends on the opponent (the bluff rate).

3 Turn

After betting the flop, whether to keep going

⑤ Turn Defaults

You bet the flop, got called, and your opponent checks to you

Turn: flop bet → call → opponent checks
BlankFavors you: K, Q, JFavors opponent: low connected cardsFlush completesBoard pairs
Nut class
Overpair / strong top pair
Weak top pair
Middle or lower, with SDV
Strong draw
Weak draw
Air with blockers
Air without blockers
  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

Down: hand class　Across: which side the turn card helped

How to Read ⑤

In the turn table, the card classification is the horizontal axis

Air is split into 2 rows

  • With blockers: a candidate to fire the 2nd barrel
  • Without blockers: give up on all of it
  • Choose turn bluffs by blockers, not by the hand

Top pair with a weak kicker checks everywhere

  • It is not strong enough to fight for 3 streets
  • If you bet, you only get called by hands that beat you

How to treat a card that completes the flush

  • Overpairs and top pair drop to a check
  • If a strong draw made the flush, bet large
  • The side that does not have it gets ready to fold

Stop on “low connected cards that favor the opponent”

  • A card that directly helps your opponent’s flop calling range
  • The success rate of the 2nd barrel drops a lot

The principle of the turn: having bet the flop is not a reason to bet the turn. Decide only by whether the card changed how the ranges interact.

4 River

One table that covers both betting and facing a bet

⑥ River Defaults

The leftmost column is “when you act last”; the 4 columns on the right are “when your opponent has bet”

River: leftmost = opponent checks, right 4 columns = facing your opponent’s bet
Opponent checksSmall bet 25 – 33%Medium bet 50 – 66%Pot-sized bet 100%Overbet 125% or more
Nut class
Strong value: two pair, strong top pair
Medium value: weak top pair
Thin value candi­date: middle pair
Weak SDV: bottom pair
Air with blockers
Air without blockers
  • Bet L: bet large (75 – 100%)
  • Bet M: bet medium (50 – 66%)
  • Bet S: bet small (25 – 33%)
  • Check
  • Call
  • Raise
  • Fold / give up
  • Judgment call

Down: hand strength　Across: your opponent’s action. On the river there are no draws, so the classes change

How to Read ⑥

Only on the river is the population’s tendency built into the table

The nut class “calls” big bets

  • If you raise, all of your opponent’s bluffs fold
  • Raise only when you know your opponent bluffs

Medium value folds more the further right you go

  • A “judgment call” against a pot-sized bet, a fold against an overbet
  • Because the population does not bluff enough on the river

Air is split into 2 rows

  • With blockers: bluff with a medium bet
  • Without blockers: check and give up
  • Do not bluff with hands that cannot reduce your opponent’s strong hands

Bet small for thin value

  • If you bet big, the weak hands that would pay you fold
  • Missing value is a loss just like paying too much

The right side of this table is the value for when your opponent is unknown. If you know your opponent bluffs a lot, move the fold cells toward call by 1 step each. Against a tight opponent, on the other hand, you may fold all of the judgment call cells.

5 Exceptions and Adjustments

Know in advance where the defaults break down

5 Conditions That Break the Defaults

If one of these conditions applies, close the table
① 3bet pot The SPR is 3 – 4. Whether to commit comes first
② Multiway Bluffs almost disappear. Value bets get thicker, and you play carefully
③ Effective stack of 40BB or less Draws lose value and pairs gain value
④ An extreme opponent type Against a Station or a Nit, half of the table is rewritten
⑤ High rake Play fewer hands at all. Fold marginal spots

The common idea

  • The defaults break down because the assumptions changed, not because your hand is bad
  • When they break down, go back to “range advantage, nut advantage, SPR” in Chapter 2 and rebuild

By Opponent Type: Which Cells Move

The direction to rewrite the table is fixed for each type

Type Cells to move Direction
Calling Station Small bets with air → check Stop all bluffs
Calling Station Thin value candidates → bet medium Take thin value more thickly
Nit Air → more bets Bluffs work against opponents who fold
Nit Opponent’s big bets → fold everything An opponent who does not bluff
Overbluffer Folds with weak SDV → call Bluff-catch more
Underbluffer Judgment call cells → fold everything Stop marginal calls
Passive 1 step toward fold against their bets The bet itself means strength
High-frequency C-bet player (70%+, est.) More raises in the caller table Check-raising works best

Adjust one direction at a time. Move 2 at once, and they usually contradict each other.

The List of “Judgment Call” Cells

An honest list of the places where there is no default
Low connected × overpair (raiser) Range disadvantage and hand advantage collide
Low connected × nut class (OOP) Both betting and check-raising work
Monotone × weak top pair (caller) Changes completely with whether you have a flush
Bottom pair × facing a C-bet Depends entirely on your opponent’s C-bet frequency
Turn completes the flush × nut class A different thing depending on whether you have the flush
River pot-sized bet × medium value Depends on your opponent’s bluff rate. Against the population, fold
Overbet × strong value Solve it with blockers and combo counting

The value of the table is decided not by the cells that are filled in but by what is lined up here.

Look Up the 5 Cases Again with This Table

Check whether the same answer comes out

Case Table to use Cell Answer
1: KQ on an A-high board (IP) ① IP raiser A-high × pure air Bet small
2: AA on 765 (IP) ① IP raiser Low connected × overpair Judgment call (small)
3: AK on 964J (IP) ⑤ Turn Favors you × air with blockers Bet medium
4: KJ on KQ725 ⑥ River Pot-sized bet × medium value Judgment call → fold
5: A9 on 964J3 ⑥ River Opponent checks × thin value candidate Bet small

All 5 problems match the conclusions given in the explanations. This is not a coincidence: the explanations of the cases are built from this classification. Put the other way round, when you get a conclusion that differs from the table, one of them is wrong.

After looking up the table, always check “why it is that cell” with the 3 axes from Chapter 2.

One Quick-Reference Sheet

Take a screenshot of just this and carry it with you

The betting side

  • ① Classify the board into 6 types
  • ② Range advantage → betting frequency
  • ③ Nut advantage → bet size
  • ④ Check middle pair and below
  • ⑤ Choose air by its blockers
  • ⑥ Do not push on low connected boards
  • ⑦ Decide the next street first

The side facing a bet

  • ① Get the equity you need from the size
  • ② Count your opponent’s value
  • ③ Count your opponent’s bluffs
  • ④ Check whether the bluff rate is more than the equity you need
  • ⑤ Correct with your own blockers
  • ⑥ Fold air first, and defend with hands that have a chance to win
  • ⑦ When unsure, the population does not bluff enough

It is enough to look up the table only when these 14 lines do not give you the answer.

When You Have Outgrown This Table

It is not about memorizing the cells.

It is being able to reproduce the colors of the cells yourself from 3 things: range advantage, nut advantage and SPR.

When you start

Look up the table when unsure. First, take in the starting points

Once you are used to it

Predict it yourself before looking it up, and use the table to check your answer

In the end

Look only at the yellow “judgment call” cells. Make the rest automatic

Being able to play by the table and being strong are different things. The table is a tool to reduce the places you need to think about.