GTO Poker Cheat Sheet: Preflop Ranges at a Glance

A GTO poker cheat sheet condenses the whole preflop framework into a handful of numbers you can actually recall at the table. You can’t memorize every solver output, but you can memorize the anchors — opening widths, value hands, bluff buckets, and combo math — and get close to optimal in real time. This is that one-page reference.

Opening ranges at a glance (6-max, 100bb)

The single most useful line on any cheat sheet is how wide to open from each seat:

Position	Open %	Anchor hands to remember
Under the gun	~15%	Pairs 2-2+, A-J suited+, A-Q offsuit+, K-Q suited
Middle / lojack	~18%	Add A-10 suited, K-J suited, Q-J suited
Cutoff	~26%	Add most suited aces, small pairs, 8-7s down to 5-4s
Button	~45%	Any pair, most suited hands, offsuit broadways
Small blind	~40%	Wide but 3-bet-heavy, only the big blind behind

The rule beneath the table: open tighter early, much wider late. Fewer players remain behind the later you sit, so late position steals more. Full derivations live in preflop opening ranges.

The 3-bet quick rule

Your 3-betting range is always value hands plus bluffs, built polarized:

• Value: premiums that beat a 4-bet caller — big pairs, A-K, A-Q, sometimes J-J and A-J suited depending on the opener.
• Bluffs: suited hands with blockers — A-5s through A-2s (suited wheel aces), K-J suited, Q-J suited.
• Width: roughly 8-13% depending on position and how loose the opener is.

The bluffs are always suited because out of position or against a 4-bet, you need blocker value and the ability to flop a real draw. Full detail sits in our 3-bet range guide.

The 4-bet quick rule

When someone 3-bets you, your 4-bet range is also polarized:

• Value: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K — hands happy to get all the money in.
• Bluffs: A-5s, A-4s and similar ace-blockers that remove A-A and A-K from their calling range.
• Everything in between (J-J, A-Q, K-Q) tends to call the 3-bet rather than 4-bet, because it plays fine but doesn’t want a shove.

Blind defense at a glance

• Big blind: you’re closing the action with a discount (you already posted 1bb), so defend wide against steals — call a huge range and 3-bet a polarized one.
• Small blind: you’re out of position with the big blind still behind, so lean toward 3-bet-or-fold rather than flatting. Cold-calling from the SB invites squeezes.

The combo math to memorize

This is the one piece of counting that powers every range decision:

Hand type	Combos	Why it matters
Pocket pair	6	A-A is 6 combos, so premiums are rarer than they feel
Suited hand	4	Best bluff material — blockers in a small package
Offsuit hand	12	Most combos, but weakest playability

A concrete example: the four suited wheel aces (A-5s, A-4s, A-3s, A-2s) give you 4 combos each, 16 total of premium bluff material. Each holds an ace, so together they block chunks of your opponent’s A-A (6 combos) and A-K (16 combos) — the exact hands that 4-bet you. That blocker density is why suited wheel aces anchor almost every bluffing range on this sheet.

A worked spot using only the sheet

You’re on the button with A♠ 4♠ and the cutoff opens. Walk the sheet:

• Open rule? Not relevant, someone already opened.
• 3-bet rule. A-4 suited is a suited wheel ace — the textbook bluff bucket. It blocks A-A and A-K, and flops nut-flush and wheel-straight draws.
• Position? You’re in position on the button, which favors a wide, polarized 3-bet.

Decision: 3-bet. Every anchor on the sheet points the same way. No chart lookup needed — the rules reconstructed the answer.

How to actually use a cheat sheet

• Study it away from the table. Cheat sheets are for building recall, not for reading mid-hand (and in most rooms you can’t).
• Anchor first, refine later. Nail the opening percentages and the value/bluff split before worrying about mixed frequencies.
• Adjust for the format. These numbers are 100bb 6-max cash. Tournaments with antes open wider; full-ring opens tighter from early seats.
• Pair it with position sense. Every rule here bends on where you and the opener sit, so study poker positions alongside it.

Common cheat-sheet mistakes

• Treating it as gospel. Real GTO has mixed frequencies; the sheet gives you the majority action, not the only action.
• Using one seat’s range everywhere. The whole point is that ranges shift by position.
• Forgetting stack depth. Short stacks change everything — the sheet assumes 100bb.
• Ignoring the combo math. Without it, you’ll pick the wrong bluffs.

The bottom line

A GTO poker cheat sheet is a set of anchors — opening widths per seat, the value-plus-bluff 3-bet and 4-bet rules, blind defense logic, and the 6 / 4 / 12 combo math — compact enough to memorize and complete enough to reconstruct any preflop decision. Learn the anchors, adjust for format and stack depth, and you’ll play close to optimal without a chart in front of you. Go deeper with preflop opening ranges and the full preflop strategy hub.