Poker Hand Reading Cheat Sheet (Free PDF)
2026-09-02
Everything on this page is on the PDF, laid out to print on one sheet, front and back. Keep it next to your monitor while you review hands, and stop using it the moment it's in your head.
Download the cheat sheet (PDF)
The loop
Every read is the same four steps, repeated on every street:
- Who is this? Tight or loose, passive or aggressive.
- What did they start with? Position and preflop action set the range.
- What did this street remove? Board, then action. Would this player do this with this hand? If not, it's gone.
- Commit before the next card. Then compare at showdown.
Player types
| Type | Plays | Bet means | Check means | Raise means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock (tight-passive) | Few hands | Strong made hand | Nothing much | The nuts |
| Station (loose-passive) | Most hands | Something real | Anything | Very strong |
| TAG (tight-aggressive) | Disciplined by position | Value or planned bluff | Medium strength or gave up | Strong, some bluffs |
| LAG (loose-aggressive) | Wide, esp. late | Anything | Rare, often weak | Polarised: count it |
| Maniac | Nearly all | Almost nothing | A hand worth protecting | Slightly more than a bet |
Opening ranges by position
For a typical, reasonable player in a nine-handed game. Widen for loose players, tighten for rocks.
| Position | Share of hands | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Under the gun | 10 to 15% | 77+, AQ+, AJs, KQs |
| Middle | 15 to 20% | 55+, AJ+, KQ, ATs+, suited broadways |
| Cutoff | 25 to 30% | Any pair, suited aces, suited connectors 76s+ |
| Button | 40 to 50% | Most suited hands, offsuit broadways, small connectors |
| Small blind open | 35 to 40% | Wide; a raise beats a limp |
| Big blind defend | Very wide | Anything with a price |
What preflop actions do to a range
- Raise: the top of the range, sized to the player.
- Limp: playable but not strong. A limp-reraise from a rock is AA or KK.
- Three-bet: premiums from most players; add suited aces and connectors from a LAG.
- Cold call: removes the very top (would have reraised) and the very bottom (would have folded).
Board texture
| Board | Example | What a bet means | What a call means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | K-7-2 rainbow | Made hand or air. Aggressive players bet their whole range. | A pair, or a float from an aggressive player |
| Wet | J-T-9 two-tone | More strength than usual: checking is expensive here | Pairs and draws in about equal measure |
| Paired | 9-9-4 | Often a bluff from aggressive players; a monster from passive ones | A pocket pair, or trips playing slow |
| Ace-high | A-8-3 | The preflop raiser bets almost everything | Weak ace, middle pair, or a stubborn pocket pair |
Bet sizing
- Small: wants a call, doesn't love the board, or a cheap probe.
- Large / overbet: polarised. Very strong or a bluff. From a passive player, drop the bluff half.
- Min-raise from a recreational player: often a monster trying to look weak.
- A change from that player's normal sizing is itself information.
Combinations
- Any unpaired hand: 16 combos (4 suited, 12 offsuit).
- Any pocket pair: 6 combos.
- One card of a hand visible (board or your hand): unpaired drops to 12, then 8 with two visible.
- Pocket pair with one card out: 3 combos. Two out: 1.
- Blockers: every combination that includes a card you can see is gone. Holding the ace of the flush suit removes the nut flush.
The six questions before you act
- Who is this player?
- What range did they start with?
- What has each street removed?
- Does this bet make sense as value? As a bluff? For this player?
- How many combos beat me, and how many don't?
- Am I reading their hand, or defending mine?
The mistakes
- Deciding on one hand early and bending everything to fit.
- Adding hands back on later streets.
- Treating a passive player's raise as a bluff.
- Reading your own strength instead of their range.
- Skipping the count when the decision is close.
Using it
Print the PDF, fold it, and keep it where you review hands. Run through the six questions on every big pot from your last session. When you can do that without looking, the sheet has done its job.
For repetitions with feedback, the free hand reading trainer deals fifteen hands and grades every range you commit to. For a full hand worked through with the sheet's method, read how to put someone on a range.