The tightest seat at the table: five players still to act, and no position for the rest of the hand. This is the chart, the range in text, and why it is this narrow.
| High card | A | K | Q | J | T | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | AA — Open-raise | AKs — Open-raise | AQs — Open-raise | AJs — Open-raise | ATs — Open-raise | A9s — Open-raise | A8s — Open-raise | A7s — Open-raise | A6s — Open-raise | A5s — Open-raise | A4s — Open-raise | A3s — Open-raise | A2s — Open-raise |
| K | AKo — Open-raise | KK — Open-raise | KQs — Open-raise | KJs — Open-raise | KTs — Open-raise | K9s — Fold | K8s — Fold | K7s — Fold | K6s — Fold | K5s — Fold | K4s — Fold | K3s — Fold | K2s — Fold |
| Q | AQo — Open-raise | KQo — Open-raise | QQ — Open-raise | QJs — Open-raise | QTs — Open-raise | Q9s — Fold | Q8s — Fold | Q7s — Fold | Q6s — Fold | Q5s — Fold | Q4s — Fold | Q3s — Fold | Q2s — Fold |
| J | AJo — Open-raise | KJo — Fold | QJo — Fold | JJ — Open-raise | JTs — Open-raise | J9s — Fold | J8s — Fold | J7s — Fold | J6s — Fold | J5s — Fold | J4s — Fold | J3s — Fold | J2s — Fold |
| T | ATo — Open-raise | KTo — Fold | QTo — Fold | JTo — Fold | TT — Open-raise | T9s — Open-raise | T8s — Fold | T7s — Fold | T6s — Fold | T5s — Fold | T4s — Fold | T3s — Fold | T2s — Fold |
| 9 | A9o — Fold | K9o — Fold | Q9o — Fold | J9o — Fold | T9o — Fold | 99 — Open-raise | 98s — Open-raise | 97s — Fold | 96s — Fold | 95s — Fold | 94s — Fold | 93s — Fold | 92s — Fold |
| 8 | A8o — Fold | K8o — Fold | Q8o — Fold | J8o — Fold | T8o — Fold | 98o — Fold | 88 — Open-raise | 87s — Open-raise | 86s — Fold | 85s — Fold | 84s — Fold | 83s — Fold | 82s — Fold |
| 7 | A7o — Fold | K7o — Fold | Q7o — Fold | J7o — Fold | T7o — Fold | 97o — Fold | 87o — Fold | 77 — Open-raise | 76s — Open-raise | 75s — Fold | 74s — Fold | 73s — Fold | 72s — Fold |
| 6 | A6o — Fold | K6o — Fold | Q6o — Fold | J6o — Fold | T6o — Fold | 96o — Fold | 86o — Fold | 76o — Fold | 66 — Open-raise | 65s — Fold | 64s — Fold | 63s — Fold | 62s — Fold |
| 5 | A5o — Fold | K5o — Fold | Q5o — Fold | J5o — Fold | T5o — Fold | 95o — Fold | 85o — Fold | 75o — Fold | 65o — Fold | 55 — Fold | 54s — Fold | 53s — Fold | 52s — Fold |
| 4 | A4o — Fold | K4o — Fold | Q4o — Fold | J4o — Fold | T4o — Fold | 94o — Fold | 84o — Fold | 74o — Fold | 64o — Fold | 54o — Fold | 44 — Fold | 43s — Fold | 42s — Fold |
| 3 | A3o — Fold | K3o — Fold | Q3o — Fold | J3o — Fold | T3o — Fold | 93o — Fold | 83o — Fold | 73o — Fold | 63o — Fold | 53o — Fold | 43o — Fold | 33 — Fold | 32s — Fold |
| 2 | A2o — Fold | K2o — Fold | Q2o — Fold | J2o — Fold | T2o — Fold | 92o — Fold | 82o — Fold | 72o — Fold | 62o — Fold | 52o — Fold | 42o — Fold | 32o — Fold | 22 — Fold |
This chart is authored, not solved: a deliberately simplified 6-max baseline — 100bb, no ante, a 2.5bb open, raise-or-fold from the small blind. It is not solver-derived, and it does not claim that every boundary hand is pure in every rake structure. The code that expands and tests this notation is public; the ranges themselves are a teaching choice, and the lessons are checked against them rather than the other way round.
Opening under the gun means five players still get to look at their cards after you, and every one of them can wake up with something better. A hand that beats one random holding comfortably is a coin flip against the best of five. That alone removes most of the deck from the range.
The second reason is position, and it lasts three streets. If anyone calls, they act after you on the flop, the turn and the river. The hands that survive that are the ones that do not need to be steered: pairs that make sets, big cards that make top pair with the best kicker, and suited connectors that either hit hard or fold cheaply.
What is missing is instructive. No weak offsuit aces: A9o beats a random hand but loses to the aces that call. No small offsuit broadways: KJo plays badly against the tight ranges that continue. The chart is not cautious for its own sake: it is what remains after both filters.
Around 15% of hands in a 6-max cash game: pairs from sixes up, ace-x suited, the strong suited kings and queens, suited connectors down to 76s, and offsuit broadways from ATo and KQo. The exact chart and its notation are at the top of this page.
Two reasons stack. Five players still have to act, so your hand has to beat the best of five rather than one, and if anyone calls you play the whole hand out of position. Neither filter is optional, and together they cut the range to roughly a seventh of the deck.
Not in this baseline. Limping invites the whole table in cheaply, gives up the initiative you would need out of position, and caps your range at hands you were not willing to raise. Raise or fold keeps the strategy simple and the range honest.