The Ultimate Poker Cheat Sheet for Beginners: Hand Rankings, Odds, and Strategy

Poker is easier when you cheat. No, we're not suggesting you break the rules to gain an edge. What we're telling you to do is create a poker cheat sheet.

All successful poker players, from Doyle Brunson to Phil Ivey, have a cheat sheet. Some have them on a piece of paper or stored on their phone, while others have them memorized. Whatever form they take, cheat sheets make the game easier because they free up space in your brain.

Instead of worrying about basic concepts such as hand rankings and opening ranges, you can spend more time thinking about how to exploit the players around you. We're going to help you build the ultimate poker cheat sheet.

From the basic ranking of hands to flop odds and three-betting ranges, we'll make poker's most important concepts easily accessible so you can spend more time putting your skills into practice at the table.

A poker cheat sheet is a quick-reference guide for players that can outline critical gameplay concepts such as hand rankings and positional strategy, or odds and post-flop play. It’s designed to help you make smarter decisions and improve faster: even if you’re a total beginner.

No poker cheat sheet is complete without a basic ranking of hands. New players often get confused about certain hand rankings, specifically whether a straight beats and flush and vice versa.

We've got a complete guide to poker hand rankings you can check out.

For now, though, here's a quick overview of the hand rankings in poker:

The second section of your ultimate poker cheat sheet builds on the first by ranking starting hands. Some starting hands are worth playing, and some should be thrown into the muck instantly.

The following factors will determine whether you play or fold:

• The poker variant you're playing

• Relative stack sizes

• Your position at the poker table

• If you're playing a cash game or tournament

• Your image at the table and the players left to act

We've got an entire article dedicated to starting hands and how to play them, so check that out. But, before you do, here are some commonly played starting hands in Texas Hold'em, along with important principles to keep in mind:

• Hands you can play from any position: pocket aces, pocket kings, pocket queens, A-K suited.

• Hands you can play cautiously: pocket jacks, pocket tens, pocket nines, A-K unsuited, A-Q suited/unsuited.

• Hands you can play when you have the betting lead and/or position: pocket eights down to pocket deuces, A-J, A-10, and K-Q.

• Hands you can play when you're against a weak player/the players left to act have a positional disadvantage: A-9 to A-2, K-J, K-10, Q-J, J-10, and suited connectors such as 8♥ 9♥.

Once you've added rankings and starting hands to your cheat sheet, the next strategy concept to consider is position.

Again, we've got an in-depth article on poker positions that you can read. For the purposes of this guide, we'll touch on the most important concepts.

Position is defined in terms of your proximity to the button. We use the button as an anchor point because the player with it (or closest to it) closes the action after the flop in Texas Hold'em and Omaha.

Closing the action is an advantage because you get to see what other people have done and, in turn, dictate the betting.

As per the rules of poker, the button moves around clockwise after the end of a hand. That means you'll be on the button once every orbit of the table. Here's a general overview of the strategies you should use in different positions:

• Under-the-gun (the first player to act) = only play if you've got a very strong hand

• Early positions = only play if you've got strong hands

• Middle positions = play high-value pairs and aces with strong kickers

• Late positions (and the button) = play most pairs, most aces, and broadway hands such as K-Q

• The blinds = play a tight range because you'll have a positional disadvantage after the flop

Odds and equities are the next thing to go on our poker cheat sheet. Below, you'll find the poker odds of hitting ranked hands on the flop, as well as the equity you need to chase draws and call river bets.

Knowing the numbers in common situations is the difference between making profitable and unprofitable moves.

By profitable and unprofitable, we mean in terms of long-term expected value. In other words, if you made the same move thousands of times, would it yield a profit or a loss, based on the numbers?

What are the chances of landing a dream flop? These are the odds of hitting common made hands when the first three community cards hit the board in Texas Hold’em.

These odds assume you play a large sample of hands, outcomes may vary greatly in the short term but will tend to align with these probabilities over time.

Hand equity refers to your chance of winning a pot based on the current cards you have versus your opponent’s possible range. Knowing your equity lets you make smarter bets, especially when chasing draws!

The final section of our ultimate poker cheat sheet focuses on betting. Every poker game you play takes place across multiple streets. You need to know how to play profitably on every street.

Too many newbies make the mistake of thinking they can win hands before the flop. The truth is that world-class poker players will go to the flop and beyond as much as possible against newbies.

They do that because it's where they have the biggest edge. Therefore, if you want to become a better poker player, you need to have a general understanding of how to play hands across multiple streets.

Learn all about pre-flop strategy in our dedicated guide. TL;DR:

• Have a tight raising range in early positions and gradually increase your range as you move into later positions.

• Bet in position when you have a strong pre-flop hand (J-J or better + A-K) or when you're against a weak player and you have position.

Continuation Betting is the act of betting on the flop after raising pre-flop. In general, you should be continuation betting more than 60% of the time when any or all of these conditions are met:

• It's a dry board (aka flop). A dry board consists of cards that aren't close in value or suit, e.g., 4♥ 8♠ Q♦.

• When you're against one opponent.

• When the board consists of at least one broadway card. Why? Because a broadway card is likely to hit your perceived range (i.e., people will assume you've raised pre-flop with a range that contains broadway cards).

• When you're seen as a tight player. In these situations, people are more likely to assume you've hit something because you only seem to bet when you've got strong hands.

You should be less inclined to make a continuation bet on wet boards. Wet boards contain a lot of connected cards and, therefore, draws. The risk of continuation betting on these boards is that someone could easily raise with a strong draw.

If that happens, you'll not only have to fold bluffs but also consider folding hands that might currently be winning but aren't strong enough to play a big pot with. Conversely, if you've got a strong draw and want to put more pressure on an opponent, you can elect to check-raise.

This means you're not continuation betting but checking instead. Then, if your opponent bets, you can raise. For this to be an effective move, you need to have a strong straight draw or flush draw. You also need to be relatively certain your opponent will bet when you check.

Your turn strategy should be a continuation of what you did on the flop. Essentially, the decision you make on the flop should govern what you do for the rest of the hand.

For example, if you continuation bet as a bluff on a dry flop and the turn is a blank (i.e., a seemingly innocuous card), you should bet again if you believe your opponent will fold. If, of course, the turn changes the board's dynamics, you can slow down and check.

The point here is that the story you tell on the flop should continue onto the turn. Poker players who tell the most convincing stories typically win the most pots.

Therefore, your aim on the turn should be to continue telling a consistent story, unless the board's dynamics change in your favour or against you. If that happens, it's time to reassess what the optimal move is based on your opponent's possible range and the story you've started telling.

The river completes your story and your opponent's story. It's the point in a hand when a final decision has to be made. If you're betting, you need to know if you're doing it for value or as a bluff.

Betting the River for Value

If you're betting for value, choose an amount relative to the size of the pot and your opponent's stack that's attractive.

For example, if there's $100 in the pot and your opponent has $100 in their stack, $60 is an attractive bet size for two reasons: 1. They'll still have chips if they call and lose. 2. They can win almost double their stack.

Bluffing on the River

Suppose you're betting as a bluff, the same principle applies but in reverse. The amount you bet needs to be scary enough in relation to someone's stack that they can't call unless they've got a monster hand.

Calling on the River

If you're the person calling, you need to decide whether your hand is winning on balance. By that, we mean that your hand needs to be ahead of your opponent's betting range.

Let's say you've got a set, but there's a possible flush on the board. You assume that your opponent's range contains a flush, a pair, and some bluffs.

On balance, you figure that a flush represents the smallest percentage of their range. If that's the case, you should call. This is how you need to think when you're facing bets on the river.

River Cheat Sheet Summary:

• Bet big for value with strong hands

• Bluff big only if opponent is likely to fold

• Call when your hand beats most of their range

Let's bring this poker cheat sheet to a conclusion with four important do's and four important don'ts. Keep these in mind when you're playing cash games or a poker tournament, and you won't go far wrong:

Do's

• Always play in position when possible

• Be aggressive whenever you can

• Observe opponents

• Steal blinds at any opportunity

Don'ts

• Don't limp in

• Don't chase every draw

• Don't overplay small pairs or medium-strength hands

• Don't ignore bankroll management

Proper bankroll management means only playing at stakes where you can comfortably handle big swings. Many pros recommend never risking more than 5% of your bankroll on a single game.

That's everything you need to get started. Screenshot this guide, print it out, or commit it to memory. Whichever way you do it, keep this cheat sheet handy when you're playing poker, and you'll be on the way to developing a winning strategy.