2 · MAKE YOUR FIRST DECISIONS · LESSON 8 OF 29 · 6 min
Open the pot
An open-raise is the first voluntary raise before the flop. Raising a playable hand gives you a chance to win the blinds now and makes later decisions clearer. Our practice chart opens fewer hands from early position and more from the cutoff and button.
With A♠ Q♠ on the button at a 1/2 table, an opening raise to 5 chips is a straightforward practice decision if nobody entered the pot.
Decide whether your hand belongs in an opening range
An open-raise happens before anyone has voluntarily raised. Begin with your seat. From an early seat, several players can still wake up with strong hands, so a practical chart opens fewer hands. From the cutoff or button, fewer people remain and you can often play more hands with position after the flop. A chart is a starting policy for a defined table, not a promise that every listed hand wins.
Suppose blinds are 1/2, everyone folds to you on the button, and you hold A♠Q♠. Raising to 5 means 5 chips in total for the round, including any blind you already posted. You may win the 3 chips in blinds immediately. If called, you have a strong high-card hand and often act last after the flop. The same raise size with a weak hand does not make that hand strong.
When someone has only called the big blind, the pot is no longer unopened, even though there has been no raise. Your decision is now whether to raise over a limper, call, or fold. A prepared opening chart cannot cover every limped pot. As a beginner, separate those situations rather than forcing every preflop choice into the same chart box.
Before looking at the trainer's advice, state your position, whether the pot is unopened, and which stronger hands could still act behind you.
Do not interpret a chart as an order to raise every hand listed in every game. Limpers, short stacks, and unusual opponents matter.
MAKE THE CALL
What is an open-raise?
Start with a prepared decision, then play the rest of the hand with practice chips. Turn on guidance to see the trainer's reasoning.