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Starting Hand

How to Play Q8s — Queen-Eight suited Preflop Strategy

GTO opens Q8s first-in from 3 of the 5 positions in 6-max cash — from the CO onward. Earlier than that, it folds. Below is the exact strategy by position and stack depth.

6-Max Cash Opening (100bb)

How often GTO opens Q8s first-in from each seat.

LJ
0%
HJ
35%
CO
100%
Button
100%
Small Blind
100%

Short-Stack Jam Frequency

How often Q8s is a first-in shove at short stacks (tournament).

Stack UTG MP LJ HJ CO BTN SB
5bb 0% 0% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
8bb 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% 100%

Generated from the Crafty Penguin GTO solver · 6-max cash (NL500) & MTT Chip-EV · updated Jul 28, 2026

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Playing Q8s preflop

A strong hand — open from most positions; the CO is the earliest seat it opens. At 5bb it comes into the jamming range from 5 of the 7 seats — short stacks widen what's playable.

Position matters: from under-the-gun (LoJack) Q8s opens 0% of the time, rising to 100% on the Button as fewer players are left to act behind you. The later you are, the wider you can open.

The common mistake with Q8s is opening it from early position where the solver folds it. Respect the position threshold — it's an open from the CO onward, not before.

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