Before anyone has entered the pot, you already know something about the hand you're about to play: how many players are still left to act behind you. That single fact, more than anything about your own two cards, sets how wide you can profitably raise first in. This lesson covers the shape of that widening, deep-stacked, with nobody else having acted yet.

Why position sets the width

Every player still to act behind you is another chance for someone to wake up with a strong hand and punish a marginal open, whether by re-raising you or by calling and outplaying you with better cards and position after the flop. Cut that number of players down, and a raise that was too loose becomes profitable.

Under the gun (UTG): first to act at a full table, with everyone else still to come. This is the tightest opening spot at the table, by a wide margin.
Middle position (MP): fewer players left behind than UTG, so the range opens up a notch.
Cutoff (CO): two players left to act (the button and the blinds), so the range widens substantially.
Button (BTN): last to act before the flop, guaranteed position for the rest of the hand. This is the widest opening range at the table by far — even weak, speculative hands can profit from acting last.

The shape holds everywhere: tighten as more players sit behind you, widen as fewer do.

The four ranges, roughly

These are a hand-authored, plausible chart — a solid starting point, not a solver-exact GTO output. Treat the categories below as the shape to learn, not cells to memorise.

UTG opens only the top of the deck: big pairs (99 and better), the best suited aces and kings (ATs+, KTs+), a couple of suited broadways (QJs, JTs), and the strongest offsuit hands (AJo+, KQo). A hand like king of hearts, jack of clubs (KJo) is a clear fold here — it's below the offsuit cutoff, and with the whole table still to act it isn't worth the risk.
MP adds modest pairs (77+), decent suited aces and kings (A8s+, K9s+), suited connectors like T9s and 98s, and more offsuit broadways (ATo+, KJo+). That same king of hearts, jack of clubs becomes an easy open from here — two fewer players are left to act.
CO opens most pairs (44+), suited hands down to A3s and K7s, and a run of suited connectors and one-gappers (76s, 65s, 54s). Something as modest as nine of diamonds, eight of diamonds (98s) is a routine open — only the button and the blinds are left.
BTN opens almost anything with two live cards: any pair, suited aces down to A2s, wide suited kings and queens, and a long tail of suited connectors and offsuit hands down to A6o. A hand like seven of spades, six of spades (76s), a clear fold from UTG or MP, is a standard button open.