HJ Preflop Chart: 6-Max Hijack Opening Range
Updated 12 September 2026The hijack (HJ) is two seats to the right of the button, immediately before the cutoff. Four players are still to act, so it isn’t a stealing seat yet. It is the first seat where you can start opening hands that UTG has to throw away. In a six-handed game it’s the second position to act, and most players play it far too much like UTG.
Quick version: when everyone folds to you in the hijack, open 19.5% of hands as a standard raise and a further 2.4% some of the time, so about 21.9% in total, which is 290 of the 1,326 possible two-card combinations, across 48 of the 169 hand types. Fold the rest.
The HJ opening chart
- Raise
- Mixed (sometimes)
- Fold
- 21.9% of hands · 290 combos
Green = raise every time. Gold = raise some of the time. Grey = fold. Assumes nobody has entered the pot before you.
What to raise, mix and fold
Three things change from the UTG chart. Learn them as rules rather than as a list of hands:
- Every pair is now a raise, down to 22. With four players behind rather than five, the small pairs are profitable opens.
- The suited hands step down a rank. K9s, Q9s and J9s all come in; suited connectors extend to 87s, with 76s and 65s as sometimes.
- Offsuit broadways open up a little. KJo becomes a full raise, QJo joins, and KTo and A9o become mixed.
What still doesn’t play: offsuit aces below A9o, offsuit queens below QJo, and anything offsuit with a gap in it. Those hands need position. You don’t have it yet.
| Hand family | Always raise | Sometimes | Fold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pairs | all of them (22+) | — | — |
| Suited aces | all of them (A2s–AKs) | — | — |
| Suited kings | K9s and up | — | K8s and below |
| Suited queens | Q9s and up | — | Q8s and below |
| Suited jacks | J9s and up | — | J8s and below |
| Suited connectors | T9s, 98s, 87s | 76s, 65s | 54s and below |
| Offsuit aces | ATo and up | A9o | A8o and below |
| Offsuit kings | KJo, KQo | KTo | K9o and below |
| Offsuit queens | QJo | — | QTo and below |
3 common HJ mistakes
1. Playing the hijack like a second UTG
This is the most common leak on the page. A player learns a tight UTG range, then uses the same range from the hijack and gives away the extra hands the seat is worth without noticing. The gap between a 15% hijack range and a 22% one is about one extra opening hand every two orbits. Small per hand. Large over a year.
2. Treating the hijack as late position
The opposite error. The hijack still has the cutoff, the button and both blinds behind it, and the cutoff and button are the seats most likely to 3-bet. Opening 35% from the hijack means regularly playing a weak hand, out of position, against someone who has raised you.
3. Never adjusting to who is behind you
The gold hands on this chart exist to be adjusted. If the cutoff and button are passive and rarely 3-bet, open all of them. If one of them 3-bets constantly, fold 76s, 65s, KTo and A9o and keep opening the rest. That one adjustment is worth more than memorising another chart.
Facing a raise from the hijack
From the hijack the only player who can have opened before you is UTG, and a UTG open is the strongest range at the table. That’s why this 3-bet chart is tight and heavy on calls. You also have the cutoff, button and blinds behind you, so every hand you continue with may still get squeezed.
- 3-bet
- Sometimes 3-bet
- Call
- Fold
- 11.6% of hands · 154 combos
Green = 3-bet. Gold = 3-bet some of the time. Blue = call and play the flop in position against UTG.
What to notice:
- The value 3-bets are narrow. QQ+ and AK, because UTG opened a strong range and will keep going with a lot of it.
- A5s and A4s are the bluffs. They block aces, they make a straight or a flush when called, and they’re hands you would otherwise fold. Most of a good 3-betting range is built like this: strong hands plus a handful of blockers.
- Calling is the main plan. Pairs 99 and below, suited broadways and suited connectors all flop well, and you’ll have position for the rest of the hand. That’s worth a lot against a range that’s mostly big cards.
For the full logic of when a 3-bet beats a call, read when to 3-bet.
Adjusting the HJ chart
- Against a UTG player who opens far too wide (25%+), 3-bet more: add AQs, AJs, KQs as always-raises and start 3-betting the suited wheel aces every time.
- Against a cutoff and button who squeeze aggressively, flat-call less from the hijack. Cold-calling in front of two aggressive players is the spot that creates the most awkward hands in 6-max.
- In a live game full of callers, suited hands go up in value and offsuit broadways go down. Open J9s and 76s happily; be slower with KTo and A9o.
The other five positions
- UTG preflop chart : Under the gun, opens 18.3% of hands
- CO preflop chart : Cutoff, opens 29.7% of hands
- BTN preflop chart : Button, opens 48.4% of hands
- SB preflop chart : Small blind, opens 44.8% of hands
- BB preflop chart : Big blind (defence, not opening)
- All preflop charts: the hub, with how the grid works.
- 3-bet or fold: how rake removes the calling range, starting with the small blind.
- How to use preflop charts: read, memorise and drill a range.
Frequently asked questions
What is the hijack in poker?
The hijack is the seat two to the right of the dealer button, immediately before the cutoff. At a six-handed table the order is UTG, hijack, cutoff, button, small blind, big blind, so the hijack is the second player to act before the flop.
How wide should you open from the hijack in 6-max?
About 19–20% of hands as a standard raise, and up to roughly 22% if you include the borderline hands. That’s meaningfully wider than UTG and clearly tighter than the cutoff.
Should you 3-bet or call a UTG raise from the hijack?
Mostly call. UTG opens a strong range, so your value 3-bets are limited to QQ+ and AK, plus a few suited wheel aces as bluffs. Pairs below 99, suited broadways and suited connectors are better as calls because you’ll have position for the whole hand.
Is the hijack the same as middle position?
In a six-handed game, yes. People use “middle position”, “MP” and “hijack” for the same seat. At a nine-handed table there are several middle-position seats, and the hijack is the one two off the button.