Poker Cheat Sheet
♠️ Ultimate Poker Cheat Sheet
Master Texas Hold'em with proven strategies and essential knowledge
Poker Hand Rankings (Highest to Lowest)
1
Royal Flush
A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠
2
Straight Flush
9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥
3
Four of a Kind
K♠ K♥ K♦ K♣ 3♠
4
Full House
A♠ A♥ A♦ 8♣ 8♠
5
Flush
K♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 4♠
6
Straight
10♠ 9♥ 8♦ 7♣ 6♠
7
Three of a Kind
7♠ 7♥ 7♦ K♣ 2♠
8
Two Pair
A♠ A♥ 8♦ 8♣ K♠
9
One Pair
10♠ 10♥ K♦ 5♣ 3♠
10
High Card
A♠ J♥ 10♦ 5♣ 4♠
🎯 Key Hand Ranking Tips
- ♠️ Suits have no ranking - A♠ A♥ ties with A♦ A♣
- 🃏 Kickers matter - A♠ K♥ beats A♦ Q♣ (King kicker vs Queen)
- 🎲 Ace can be high or low - A-K-Q-J-10 or 5-4-3-2-A
- ⚡ Best 5 cards play - Use any combination of hole cards and board
Starting Hand Selection
Premium - Always play
Strong - Raise/Call
Marginal - Position dependent
Weak - Usually fold
Starting Hand Chart (Early Position)
AA
AKs
AQs
AJs
ATs
A9s
A8s
A7s
A6s
A5s
A4s
A3s
A2s
AKo
KK
KQs
KJs
KTs
K9s
K8s
K7s
K6s
K5s
K4s
K3s
K2s
AQo
KQo
QQ
QJs
QTs
Q9s
Q8s
Q7s
Q6s
Q5s
Q4s
Q3s
Q2s
AJo
KJo
QJo
JJ
JTs
J9s
J8s
J7s
J6s
J5s
J4s
J3s
J2s
ATo
KTo
QTo
JTo
TT
T9s
T8s
T7s
T6s
T5s
T4s
T3s
T2s
A9o
K9o
Q9o
J9o
T9o
99
98s
97s
96s
95s
94s
93s
92s
A8o
K8o
Q8o
J8o
T8o
98o
88
87s
86s
85s
84s
83s
82s
A7o
K7o
Q7o
J7o
T7o
97o
87o
77
76s
75s
74s
73s
72s
A6o
K6o
Q6o
J6o
T6o
96o
86o
76o
66
65s
64s
63s
62s
A5o
K5o
Q5o
J5o
T5o
95o
85o
75o
65o
55
54s
53s
52s
A4o
K4o
Q4o
J4o
T4o
94o
84o
74o
64o
54o
44
43s
42s
A3o
K3o
Q3o
J3o
T3o
93o
83o
73o
63o
53o
43o
33
32s
A2o
K2o
Q2o
J2o
T2o
92o
82o
72o
62o
52o
42o
32o
22
🎯 Position Adjustments
- Play tighter in early position
- Expand range in late position
- Button can play 40%+ of hands
- Blinds defend with wider range
- Suited connectors gain value in position
💰 Stack Size Considerations
- Deep stacks favor speculative hands
- Short stacks need premium holdings
- Implied odds matter with suited connectors
- Pocket pairs need set-mining potential
- Adjust for effective stack sizes
Position Strategy
🎯 Position is Power
Position is the most important concept in poker. Acting last gives you maximum information and control over pot size and betting action.
9-Handed Table Positions
| Position | Name | Playing Range | Strategy | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTG | Under the Gun | 8-10% | Very Tight | Premium hands only |
| UTG+1 | Under Gun +1 | 10-12% | Tight | Strong hands, avoid speculative |
| MP1 | Middle Position | 12-15% | Selective | Add suited connectors |
| MP2 | Middle Position | 15-18% | Moderate | Expand range slightly |
| HJ | Hijack | 18-22% | Aggressive | Steal attempts begin |
| CO | Cutoff | 22-28% | Aggressive | Prime stealing position |
| BTN | Button | 30-45% | Very Aggressive | Best position, play wide |
| SB | Small Blind | 15-35% | Defensive | Defend vs steals |
| BB | Big Blind | 20-40% | Defensive | Getting odds to call |
🎲 Early Position (UTG-MP1)
- Play only premium hands (AA-JJ, AK-AQ)
- Avoid speculative hands
- Raise for value, not bluffs
- Fold marginal hands to aggression
- Set the tone with strong holdings
⚡ Middle Position (MP2-HJ)
- Add suited connectors and small pairs
- Begin stealing with strong hands
- Consider stack sizes for set-mining
- Isolate weak players
- Balance value and bluff ranges
🔥 Late Position (CO-BTN)
- Steal blinds with wide range
- Play speculative hands profitably
- Control pot size with marginal hands
- Bluff more frequently
- Extract maximum value
🛡️ Blind Defense
- Defend BB with 30-40% vs button
- 3-bet light vs late position steals
- Use pot odds to justify calls
- Play fit-or-fold on most flops
- Don't defend too wide vs early position
Betting Strategy & Sizing
💰 Pre-flop Sizing
- Open Raise: 2.5-3x BB in position
- Out of Position: 3-4x BB
- 3-bet: 3x the original raise
- 4-bet: 2.2-2.5x the 3-bet
- Vs Limpers: BB + 1BB per limper
🎯 Post-flop Sizing
- C-bet: 50-75% pot size
- Value Bet: 60-80% pot size
- Bluff: 50-70% pot size
- Blocking Bet: 25-40% pot size
- All-in: When pot-committed
🧠 Betting Concepts
- Bet for value when ahead
- Bluff when opponent likely folds
- Check strong hands sometimes
- Size bets based on board texture
- Consider opponent tendencies
⚖️ Balancing Ranges
- Mix strong and weak hands in each action
- Don't always bet nuts
- Bluff with hands that have outs
- Use similar sizing for value/bluffs
- Adjust based on opponent awareness
Continuation Betting Strategy
| Board Texture | C-bet Frequency | Sizing | Example Boards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | 80-90% | 50-60% pot | A♠ 7♥ 2♦ |
| Coordinated | 60-70% | 65-75% pot | 9♠ 8♥ 7♦ |
| Wet | 40-60% | 70-80% pot | J♠ 10♥ 9♦ |
| Dynamic | 30-50% | Check often | K♠ Q♥ J♦ |
Advanced Poker Concepts
🎭 Reading Opponents
- Watch for betting patterns and timing
- Note physical tells and behavior changes
- Track showdown hands for range info
- Identify player types (tight/loose/aggressive)
- Adjust strategy based on opponent tendencies
🧮 ICM Considerations
- Independent Chip Model for tournaments
- Chip value decreases near bubble
- Avoid marginal spots with big stacks
- Pressure medium stacks on bubble
- Ladder up when possible
🎯 GTO vs Exploitative
- GTO = Game Theory Optimal (unexploitable)
- Exploitative = Adjust to opponent mistakes
- Use GTO as baseline strategy
- Deviate to exploit obvious leaks
- Return to GTO vs unknown opponents
💡 Mental Game
- Manage tilt and emotional control
- Accept variance and bad beats
- Focus on decisions, not results
- Take breaks when frustrated
- Study and improve constantly
📊 Bankroll Management
- Cash games: 20-30 buy-ins minimum
- Tournaments: 50-100 buy-ins
- Move down stakes when losing
- Don't play above your roll
- Track results and analyze leaks
🔄 Multi-way Pots
- Tighten up with multiple opponents
- Value bet thinner with strong hands
- Bluff less frequently
- Need stronger hands to continue
- Pot odds improve for draws
Pot Odds & Probabilities
Pocket Aces
0.45%
Chance of being dealt AA
Any Pocket Pair
5.9%
Chance of any pair
Suited Cards
23.5%
Chance of suited hole cards
Flopping a Set
11.8%
With a pocket pair
Common Draw Odds
| Draw Type | Outs | Flop to Turn | Turn to River | Flop to River |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flush Draw | 9 | 19.1% | 19.6% | 35.0% |
| Open-Ended Straight | 8 | 17.0% | 17.4% | 31.5% |
| Gutshot Straight | 4 | 8.5% | 8.7% | 16.5% |
| Two Pair to Full House | 4 | 8.5% | 8.7% | 16.5% |
| Set to Full House/Quads | 7 | 14.9% | 15.2% | 27.8% |
| Flush + Straight Draw | 15 | 31.9% | 32.6% | 54.1% |
Pot Odds Quick Reference
| Bet Size | Pot Odds | Breakeven % | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 Pot | 5:1 | 16.7% | $25 into $100 |
| 1/3 Pot | 4:1 | 20.0% | $33 into $100 |
| 1/2 Pot | 3:1 | 25.0% | $50 into $100 |
| 2/3 Pot | 2.5:1 | 28.6% | $67 into $100 |
| 3/4 Pot | 2.3:1 | 30.0% | $75 into $100 |
| Full Pot | 2:1 | 33.3% | $100 into $100 |
🧮 Quick Odds Calculation
- 🎯 Rule of 2 and 4: Multiply outs by 2 (turn) or 4 (river)
- 💰 Pot Odds: Amount to call ÷ (pot + amount to call)
- ⚡ Implied Odds: Consider future betting rounds
- 🎲 Reverse Implied Odds: When you might lose more if you hit
