If you’ve been around the modern poker games, you’ve probably heard the term “range” in the context of a poker hand or seen a poker range chart. What does “poker range” really mean, and how do you use it when you’re learning how to play poker? In the following few paragraphs, we break down precisely what a range is, how to use it in-game, and how to read a poker range chart.

WHAT IS A POKER RANGE?

A poker range is a collection of hands played by either you or your opponent in the same way. Back in the day, people used to try and put their opponents on certain hands: “When he raised preflop, I thought he had AK,” or “When she bet the flop, I knew she had AA.” This thinking is flawed because when you raise preflop or bet on the flop, you’re not doing that with just one hand combination; you’re doing it with a range of hands.

For example, you’re UTG, and you raise to 3bb in a cash game. You’re going to be doing this with AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, AKo, AQo, AKs, AQs, AJs, ATs, KQs, QJs, and JTs (plus or minus a few hands depending on your playing style). So when you raise to 3bb, all these hands make up your “range.” You will have a range for every action you take, whether you’re fully aware of it or not. When there are many hand combinations, it can be hard to keep track of exactly what hands are in your range–this is where range charts come in handy.

Poker Range Chart

A poker range chart is a visual representation of these ranges. There are 169 hand combinations in Texas Hold’em, and they can fit nicely on a 13×13 board, with suited hands in the top right, offsuit hands in the bottom left, and pocket pairs running through the top left to bottom right diagonal. When looking at poker ranges, you can highlight each hand you think your opponent will have in their range to visualize it better.

Poker Range Chart

While the poker hand matrix above may make it seem like there’s an equal number of each hand, this is not the case. There are actually six combos of paired hands and 16 combos of unpaired hands, with the unpaired hands comprising of 4 suited hands and 12 unsuited hands. Let’s take AA and AK as an example and break it down.

  • Paired Hands: There are six possible combinations of paired hands: AA♣, AA, AA♠, AA, AA♠, AA♠
  • Suited Hands: There are four combinations of suited hands, one for each suit: AK, AK♣, AK, A♠K♠
  • Unsuited Hands: There are twelve combinations of unsuited hands: AK♣, AK, AK♠, AK, AK♠, AK♠, AK, AK, A♠K, AK♣, A♠K♣, A♠K.

HOW TO USE POKER RANGES

Now that we know what a poker range is, how do we use it in-game? The way we use poker ranges is by using them to hand-read. Hand reading is the ability to figure out what hands our opponent likely has based on the betting action. We do this by estimating the ranges our opponents start with and comparing them to their betting patterns to see what hands from our range our opponent is representing.

For example, if our opponent 3bet preflop, bet the flop, turn and river on an A♦96♠4♠2♦ board, they represent hands like AA, AK, AQ, and AJ for value and could have hands like KQ, QJ, and 87s as bluffs”

It’s vital that we keep our opponent’s range consistent as we go through the hand. A common trap people fall into is to suddenly assume a player can have a specific hand in their range on the turn when they had already removed it on a previous street. Let’s look at an example:

Your opponent raises UTG at a nine-handed table, and you call with 34 in the big blind. You think your opponent is a solid player, so you give him a range of 77+, AQo+, AJs+, and JTs+. The flop comes 3♠4♠5. You check, your opponent bets, you raise, and your opponent shoves.

You might be worried that your opponent has a straight with either 76 or A2, a better two pair with 53 or 54, or a set with 33, 44, or 55, but you shouldn’t be. Why? Because those hands weren’t in our opponent’s estimated preflop range, so they won’t be in their post-flop range!

When using poker ranges, start with your opponent’s estimated preflop range; as your opponent gives you more information via their actions, you can remove more and more hands until you have a clearer view of their range.

HOW TO CALCULATE POKER RANGES

The hardest part about using poker ranges is accurately estimating what ranges your opponents are playing. We’ll never truly get inside the minds of our opponents and understand how they think, but we can use the information to create a close estimate of the hands they’ll play. Here’s what you should consider when building a range for your opponent:

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EVALUATING POKER RANGES - USING RANGES IN THE REAL WORLD

We’ve spoken about how to calculate poker ranges, so let’s take a look at a real-world example. To give you an insight into how it works, let’s take a look at a hand I played recently where I was able to successfully evaluate my opponent’s range and use it to my advantage.

The hand starts with our opponent raising to $8 from UTG in a $1/$2 9-max live cash game. This particular opponent had just sat down, so I didn’t have much information on him. Therefore, I assigned him a standard UTG opening range of 22+, ATs+, KJs+, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AJo+, and KQo. I was in the big blind with 6d5d, so I made the call.

We saw a flop of Kc9d5s, which gave me bottom pair. Given our opponent’s range, I know that this flop is good for my opponent, as they have all the best Kx hands, all the sets, as well as hands like AA, whereas I only have a few of the good Kx hands and all the sets. However, I also know that our opponent is going to have a lot of hands that missed, such as his broadway hands without a king, and all of his Ax hands. 

Our opponent c-bets $6 into $17, so I have to think about the range of hands he’s c-betting. Considering the small bet size and the fact that this board is good for our opponent’s range, it’s likely that our opponent is betting their full range in this situation. So, at this point, I need to consider how my hand plays against my opponent’s range, and with bottom pair and a backdoor flush draw, I have an easy call.

The turn brings the 6s, giving me two pair. I check again to my opponent, who makes a big bet – $25 into $30. Given the large sizing, my opponent won’t be betting their entire range anymore, so I need to think about what hands would want to bet this size. It’s likely that all of his best top pair+ hands will want to bet this size, so for value, we can give our opponent KJs, KQ, AK, AA, 55, 66, 99, KK, 87s. But what about the bluffs? There are still a number of straight draws available, so it’s likely that our opponent will bluff with hands like QJs and JTs. The turn has also brought in a backdoor flush draw, so all of his Ax of spades will likely continue betting this turn. It’s also possible that our opponent will continue to bet strong Ax hands with the ace of spades, so they can continue bluffing on a spade river.

Given the action, I think we can eliminate hands like 98s, all pocket pairs below KK that aren’t a set, Ax hands without a flush draw, and offsuit Ax hands without the ace of spades. This leaves my opponent with the following range going into the river:

KJs+, AKo, KQ, AA, 55, 66, 99, KK, 87s, QJs, JTs, Ax (of spades), AsJ, AsQ. 

Considering my opponent’s betting range, I feel like my two pair is strong enough to continue, as not only do I beat some of my opponent’s bluffs, but I also beat some of their value bets.

The river comes the Ah, and our opponent makes a pot size bet of $80. This puts us in a trick position with our hand, so let’s consider what hands in our opponent’s range would bet like this.

Given that the ace hit the river, it’s unlikely that our opponent will be betting a single king for this size, so we can now rule out KJ and KQ. Hands like AK and AA have improved to a set, so they’re going to bet, as will all of our opponent’s sets and straights from the turn. Some of our opponent’s bluffs, such as Ax of spades and AsJ/AsQ have now improved to top pair, but it’s unclear whether or not they would bet full pot with just one pair. However, not all of our opponent’s turn bluffs have made a pair, so it’s likely they’ll continue bluffing with QJs and JTs.

So, our opponent’s value range likely looks like this:

AK, 55, 66, 99, KK, AA, 87s

And their bluffing range will likely look like this:

QJs, JTs

Given the ratio of likely bluffs to likely value hands, our two pair doesn’t win often enough against such a big bet to make a profitable call. With this information, I decided to make the fold, and my opponent showed me AA for rivered top set.

Using my understanding of ranges, I was able to make profitable calls on the flop and turn and get away from my hand when it was no longer good on the river. These are the kinds of deductions you should be making during each hand you play.

RANGING yOUR oPPONENTS

Being able to put your opponent on an accurate range of hands is one of the most important skills you can have as a poker player. Thinking in terms of ranges allows you to make the best possible decision against all the possible hands your opponent can have in any scenario.

However, it’s tough to be able to think through all the possible permutations while you’re playing, and it’s even hard for your estimates to be right all the time!

This is why learning this concept inside out and practicing it whenever you play is vital to improving and becoming a winning poker player. We’ll be guiding you through the process of figuring out your opponent’s range street by street, so you can play as accurately as possible from the first betting round to the last.

PREFLOP Poker RANGE

A preflop range chart is a visual representation of a range of hands that a player will play from a specific preflop position. It’s a way of visualizing a range and better understanding it, rather than reading the poker notation and trying to memorize it that way. The more you familiarize yourself with these charts, the easier it becomes to picture them when playing

Let’s have a look at some you might be familiar with, starting with a nine-handed UTG raising range:

Screenshot of a poker range chart

As you can see, there aren’t many hands being played; all the focus is around the top left-hand side of the chart. When looking at these charts, remember that the best hands are in the top left and the worst hands are in the bottom right. Let’s look at a wider range to see how they compare, this time a BTN opening range:

Screen shot of poker range charts

That’s a lot of hands to try and keep track of when you’re in-game! If you’re having trouble remembering them all, try grouping certain hands that all play roughly the same, like all Qx, all Kx, all Jx, etc.

Some players have preflop charts like these for each position, as it helps them remember their preflop raising range. However, it’s important to remember when you should use these charts; the UTG chart should only be used for that position; played anywhere else and the raising range would be too tight. Similarly, the BTN raising range should only be played from the button; the raising range would be far too wide for any other position.

It’s also important to remember that these range charts only apply to preflop ranges. As you move into postflop, things like board texture will affect your range, so these charts should not be used.

To help you with your preflop ranges, we’ve posted some commonly used preflop raising and calling ranges that you can use in-game.

PREFLOP: COMMON RAISE RANGES

  • UTG Raise First In 9% = 66+, AJs, KQs, AJo+, KQo
  • Early Position Raise First In 15% = 22+, ATs+, KJs+, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, AJo+, KJo+, QJo
  • Middle Position Raise First In 20% = 22+, ATs+, KTs+, QTs+, J9s+, T8s+, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, 54s, ATo+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo
  • HJ Raise First In 25% = 22+, A7s+, K9s+ ,Q9s+ ,J9s+, T8s+,97s+, 86s+, 75s+, 64s+ , 54s, A9o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo, T9o
  • CO Raise First In 35% = 22+,A2s+,K8s+,Q8s+,J8s+,T7s+,97s+,86s+,75s+,64s+,54s,43s,A8o+,A5o-A2o,K9o+,Q9o+,J9o+,T9o
  • BTN Raise First In 50% = 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q7s+, J7s+, T7s+, 96s+, 86s+, 75s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s, A2o+, K5o+, Q8o+, J8o+, T8o+, 98o, 87o, 76o, 65o

PREFLOP: COMMON CALL RANGES

  • BTN Call vs EP Raise 8% = JJ-22,AQs-AJs,KQs,AQo-AJo,KQo
  • BB Call vs EP Raise 13% = JJ-22,AQs-ATs,KJs+,QJs,JTs,T9s,98s,87s,76s,65s,54s,AQo-ATo,KJo+
  • BTN Call vs MP Raise 16% = TT-22,AJs-A9s,KTs+,QTs+,J9s+,T8s+,98s,87s,76s,65s,54s,AJo-ATo,KTo+,QTo+,JTo
  • BB Call vs MP Raise 22% = TT-22,AJs-A2s,K9s+,Q9s+,J9s+,T8s+,97s+,86s+,75s+,64s+,53s+,43s,AJo-A9o,KTo+,QTo+,JTo
  • BB Call vs LP Raise 30% = 88-22,ATs-A2s,KJs-K8s,Q8s+,J8s+,T7s+,96s+,85s+,74s+,63s+,53s+,43s,ATo-A7o,KJo-K9o,Q9o+,J9o+,T9o,98o,87o,76o,65o

POSTFLOP POKER RANGE

Once you’ve arrived at a preflop range for your opponent, this becomes the baseline for all of your postflop hand reading. From this point forward, you should only be removing hands from your opponent’s range based on their actions, not adding any. Each action a player makes on the flop, turn, or river should reduce the number of hands in their range, as hands within their range are played differently from one another.

A common mistake players make when they start using poker ranges is they add hands in after they’ve already decided on a preflop range.

For example, if your opponent is a tight player who raises UTG, there’s no chance they have a hand like A2o. Therefore if your opponent makes a big bet on a flop like Q22, it’s close to impossible for your opponent to have trips. However, some players will look at that flop and the aggressive action and suddenly assume that they could have 2x in their range. This is not the case!

Hand reading is about following a logical story from beginning to end. You estimate your opponent’s range preflop, and then you remove hands based on each action they take until you arrive at the river.

BETTING TYPE: FREQUENCY AND PATTERNS

The most valuable piece of information you get from your opponents is the actions they make during the hand. While some people put a lot of stock in things like live tells; whether your opponent checks or bets is actually the biggest piece of information you should be using when hand-reading.

Just like how preflop hands are played differently from one another, not all hands play the same way postflop. Therefore, whenever your opponent makes an action like checking, they’re splitting their range, so you can discard all the hands your opponent would bet with. But how do you know which hands your opponents use in each of their ranges? This is why you need to study the patterns of your opponent to be able to deduce how they play certain types of hands.

While no two opponents are the same, you’ll often find that certain people have the same style of play. Let’s take a look at the most common styles you’ll see at the table and what to look out for.

THE ABC PLAYER

These players look to play a very simple strategy that isn’t very complicated; when they have a good hand, they’ll bet, and when they don’t, they won’t. While this strategy is all you need to beat a game full of fish, it’s very easily exploited, and a thinking player can pick it apart within a few minutes of watching them.

These kinds of players will only bet with a good amount of equity and, as such, will be less aggressive on average. If you see someone playing passively whenever they have a marginal/weak hand, you’ve found yourself an ABC Player.

Against these players, you can afford to open up your range and punish their transparent nature. By increasing your raising range by 10% in every position, you can play aggressively both preflop and postflop, knowing that if you face any resistance you can easily let your hand go. This increase in your preflop raising range will take advantage of their passive play and win more pots without showdown.

THE BLUFFER

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the bluffers. These kinds of players are extremely aggressive preflop and postflop and will often take any opportunity to bluff at a pot. While this aggression will lead to many pots won without showdown, it’s hard to be this aggressive without over-bluffing and leaving yourself open to being exploited.

It can sometimes be hard to spot a bluffer, especially when they get a run of good cards. Still, these players are almost always betting when the opportunity arises, so look for players who are being more aggressive than average.

Against these players, you need to tighten your range and only play strong hands with good showdown value. Your early position ranges should already meet these criteria, but your late position ranges can be hard to defend against aggressive bluffers. We’d recommend tightening your late position ranges by 10-15%’ doing so eliminates your worse hands and strengthens your range to the point where you can take advantage of their willingness to bluff.

THE THINKING PLAYER

These players are the hardest to play against, as they do a lot of things right. They play a reasonable preflop range, value bet at the right frequencies, and are able to balance their range with a good amount of bluffs. Thinking players can be hard to spot at the table, as they often go unnoticed.

Players who make big mistakes one way or the other stick out in people’s minds, but people who generally do things right blend into the background. So, if you see someone quietly going about their business, not attracting much attention, you’ve likely found a thinking player.

When playing against a thinking player, you need to find the specific weaknesses in their game. If they’re on the passive side, try opening up your range by around 5-10% to punish them, but if they’re on the aggressive side, tighten up your range by 5-10% to protect against being bluffed.

POST HAND ANALYSIS: LEARNING FROM PAST HANDS

Trying to figure out the starting ranges of your opponents is one of the hardest things to do in poker, mainly because we can never know what goes on inside our opponent’s heads. However, the closest thing we can get to that is by looking at the hands they play, particularly the ones that go to showdown. These hands give us a small window into how our opponent thinks, so we should use as much information as we can from them.

SHOWDOWN HAND

If a hand reaches showdown and you see your opponent’s cards, this is incredibly valuable information that you can use to figure out their strategy. Here are the things you should be considering when you see your opponent’s hand at showdown.

  • Preflop Range – Given the preflop position of your opponent, is this a hand you’d expect to see in their range? If your opponent plays looser than expected, that tendency may exist in other areas of their game.
  • Preflop Action – Was their preflop action congruent with the hand they showed up with? If your opponent tables AA, did they 3bet, or did they flat to try and be tricky? Knowing whether your opponent plays in a standard way or likes to “mix things up” is useful when considering their range postflop.
  • Postflop Action – Did they play their hand in a logical way postflop? Think about the action on every postflop street, and ask yourself if it makes sense for their hand. For example, if you raised preflop and made a cbet on the flop, did they have a reasonable hand to call with, or did they just float with garbage? If you spot your opponent floating too wide or always playing draws aggressively, this gives you a great insight into what their range is likely to be.

PRO TIP: LOOK FOR PATTERNS

The most important thing to remember when analyzing hands to help with range construction is that you should be looking for patterns rather than outliers. We all make silly mistakes every now and again that aren’t indicative of how we play, and the same goes for our opponents.

Identifying the repetitive patterns in your opponent’s play is much more profitable than focusing on one crazy hand. For example, if you see your opponent always raising on the flop with a draw and never calling, you’ll know that their raising range on the flop is a lot weaker than it should be, and you can punish that. However, seeing your opponent go crazy with J2o in one hand isn’t going to tell you much about how they play and therefore isn’t very useful.

COMPARING EQUITY: YOUR HAND VS. YOUR OPPONENTS

Calculating the equity of your hand against your opponent’s range while at the table is always going to be an inexact science unless you’re some kind of math prodigy, but for the mathematically challenged among us, there are shortcuts we can take. While this could have an article all of its own, here is the CliffsNotes version of how to estimate your hand’s equity against your opponent’s range.

As you can see, it’s a pretty complicated process and takes a lot of practice before you’re able to use it at the tables! However, if you can become good at it, it will give you a huge advantage over your opponents.

USING POKER RANGES TO EXPLOIT AND COUNTER OPPONENTS

Now that you’ve got a solid understanding of how you construct poker ranges for yourself and your opponent and calculate your equity vs. those ranges, how can you use that to your advantage in-game? By calculating your opponent’s range accurately, you’re better able to use concepts such as minimum defense frequency and big blind defense, and you’ll be better able to exploit your opponent based on their tendencies. Let’s take a closer look at how each one works in practice.

MINIMUM DEFENSE FREQUENCY

Your minimum defense frequency in any situation is the percentage of your range that you must continue with when facing a bet to remain unexploitable by bluffs. If you fail to meet the minimum defense frequency, your opponent will automatically profit with their bluffs as you’re folding too often.

Working out the minimum defense frequency in any situation is easy; here’s the equation.

(Pot size  / (pot size + bet size)) x 100 = MDF

After inputting the appropriate numbers, the result will be the percentage of hands that you must continue with to remain unexploitable.

For example, you’re on the river facing a bet from your opponent. They bet $100 into a $200 pot; what’s the minimum percentage of your range that you must defend to remain unexploitable? Well, let’s plug in the numbers and find out.

(200 / (200 + 100)) x 100 = MDF

(200 / 300) x 100 = MDF

0.667 x 100 = 66.7 = MDF

This means that you must continue with at least two-thirds of your range against this bet if you want to remain unexploitable.

However, in practice, minimum defense frequencies are rarely used, as your opponents aren’t balanced enough to make it necessary. It’s a great exercise to do off the table, as it gets you familiar with balancing ranges and identifying where your hand falls within your range. If you were playing against a perfectly balanced bot, you’d need to hit your MDF if you had any chance of doing well, but against unbalanced players, you can afford to overcall or overfold based on their tendencies.

BIG BLIND DEFENSE

While the minimum defense frequency can be applied to any situation, this concept is a lot more specific and covers the number of hands you should defend against a raise from your opponent. Another difference between big blind defense and minimum defense frequency is that it’s often used in-game rather than as a mental exercise. This is because your big blind defense is based on the range of hands your opponent plays preflop and isn’t conditional on your opponent being balanced.

There is a list of considerations that you should run through before defending a hand in the big blind, so let’s look at what those are.

  • Opponent’s Range – The first thing to consider when working out your big blind defense frequency is the range of hands your opponent has raised. To figure this out, you need to consider their position, raise size, stack size, and playing style.
  • Hand vs. Range Equity – Once you’ve worked out your opponent’s range, you need to work out roughly how much equity your hand has against that range.
  • Pot Odds – The next thing to look at is the pot odds being offered by your opponent. Based on the amount of equity your hand has against your opponent’s range, do you have a profitable call? If yes, you can defend; if no, then you should fold.

Sounds easy, right? Well, there’s a little bit more to it than that.

While it’s tempting to look at the pure equity your hand has against your opponent’s range and leave it at that, there are a couple of other things you should consider that will determine how profitable your hand is.

  • Position – Playing in the big blind means that you’re likely going to be out of position in the pot. Being out of position makes it harder to realize your equity, so even if you have 30% equity against your opponent’s range, it’s unlikely that you’ll get to realize all of it.
  • “Flopability” – How often your hand will likely connect with the flop also affects the amount of equity you’ll be able to realize. Hands like suited connectors flop flush draws, straight draws, and pairs, making it easier to continue against a bet. However, unsuited, disconnected hands are going to flop nothing most of the time, making it much harder to defend against a flop bet.
  • Rake – If you’re playing in a cash game, the rake is going to have an impact on the profitability of your hand. If your defend is only slightly over breakeven, then by the time the rake is taken, it will become unprofitable.

These factors mean that just because your hand has the raw equity against your opponent’s range to call, it doesn’t mean that the call will be profitable. A good rule of thumb is to add around 5% equity to the amount you need to call to account for this. For example, if you need 35% equity to call against your opponent’s range, only continue with hands that have 40% equity or more.

ADJUSTING TO YOUR OPPONENT

One of the best ways to use ranges to increase your win rate is to adjust your play based on the tendencies of your opponent. If you’ve played with an opponent long enough, you’ll start to pick up clues about how they play, which you can use to your advantage.

For example, if you’ve noticed that your opponent is extremely tight preflop, you can counter that by overfolding against them preflop. Similarly, if you’re against an opponent who’s bluffing far more frequently than they should, you can exploit them by calling down more often.

Any time your opponent deviates from balanced play, you can adjust your play to exploit them. There are lots of ways your opponent could be unbalanced; take a look at these examples and watch out for them the next time you play.

  • Is your opponent too tight or too loose preflop?
  • Do they always have it when they bet the river?
  • Do they c-bet too often/too little?
  • Do the 3bet too often/too little?
  • Do they call too often from the big blind?
  • How do they react to overbets? Do they call too often or too little?
  • Do they play straightforwardly when out of position?
  • Do they check raise enough?

Players in lower-stakes games are likely going to be unbalanced in many of these spots, so it’s up to you to be an observant poker player and notice which way they lean.

USING A HUD FOR POKER RANGE ANALYSIS

While you’ll never know for sure exactly how your opponent constructs their ranges, one way you can get an insight into their preflop ranges is by using a HUD. A HUD (heads-up display) tracks the stats for every opponent on the table and displays them in an overlay. You can configure your HUD to show you any stats you wish.

Two of the stats that are on almost every HUD are the VPIP and PFR stats. These show you how many hands your opponent voluntarily plays preflop and how many they raise. Just by looking at the VPIP and PFR stats, you can get a good idea of whether or not your opponent is on the looser or tighter side. Not only does this tell you how they play preflop, but it also gives you a window into their postflop play; not many people play extremely tight preflop and then extremely loose postflop, or vice versa.

Drive Poker HUD

While VPIP and PFR are great for getting a general feel for how your opponent plays, you can go even more granular when looking at their preflop ranges. You can get a breakdown of the RFI (raise first in) stats for each position at the table, which tells you the exact percentage of hands your opponent plays when it folds to them in each position. This is as close to knowing their preflop range as you’re going to get, as it gives you an actual percentage of hands you can work from.

However, just because two players have an RFI stat of 15 for their UTG opening range, it doesn’t mean they’ll play the exact same range. Some players may play more suited hands, some more Ax, and some more pocket pairs, so remember this when trying to evaluate your opponent’s range later in the hand.

IMPROVING YOUR HAND READING ABILITY

POKER RANGE TIPS

If you’re looking for tips on what to consider when building your own preflop ranges, check these out:

DON’T PLAY LOW POCKET PAIRS WHEN SHORT-STACKED

Unless you’re going to be shoving all-in, the value of low pocket pairs drastically decreases as your stack gets smaller. Low-pocket pairs are good for making a set and winning a big pot by cracking an overpair; they’re very tough to play when you don’t make a set, and you’ll either have to fold or call down, hoping your opponent is bluffing.

PLAY MORE SUITED HANDS THAN OFFSUIT HANDS

Poker players go through three stages when it comes to suited hands. First, they’ll play every suited hand they’re dealt because they can make a flush, and, well, a flush is a strong hand.

Second, they’ll realize that a suited hand only gives you 2-3% more equity, so they play the same number of offsuit hands.

Finally, they understand that while the actual equity increase is small, you will likely flop more equity with suited hands, allowing you to barrel and win the pot without a showdown. When building your range, make sure that there are more suited hands than offsuit hands.

DON’T OVERVALUE LOW SUITED CONNECTORS

Everyone loves playing low-suited connector hands because you can make some very disguised hands with them and win a huge pot against a player’s overpair. However, from early positions, these hands lose a lot of their value as there’s an increased chance that when you do make a big hand like a straight or a flush, you’ll be up against someone with the higher end of them.

As well, you don’t make those strong hands very often, so you’ll either have to try and bluff your way out of trouble or end up check-folding the majority of the time.

PLAY TIGHTER THAN YOU THINK FROM EARLY POSITION

The biggest mistake beginner players make is thinking that they can play a wide range of hands from early position. While this is a mistake that’s fixed over time, many players still over-estimate the number of hands they can play from early position.

Time and time again, we see players play hands like ATo or QJo from UTG, thinking they’re good hands; in reality, these hands aren’t profitable raises. So when playing from early position, err on the side of caution–if you’re unsure whether or not you should raise a hand, you probably shouldn’t.

THE ESSENCE OF HAND RANGES IS BALANCE

When creating your own ranges, you need to be mindful of balance. You can’t be too heavily skewed towards value or bluffs, as it makes things too easy for your opponent to counter.

For example, if you’re constantly bluffing, your opponent can always call when they have a pair, and if you’re never bluffing, they’ll only call when they have a strong hand. When making a value bet, always consider what bluffs you’d have in your range, and vice versa, as this will help you practice balancing your ranges.

Conclusion

Poker ranges are a vital tool in the arsenal of any competent poker player. Poker ranges allow you to accurately evaluate the possible hands your opponent can have in any situation, allowing you to make the best possible decision with your hand.

However, using poker ranges in-game is tough and takes a lot of practice to get right. Hopefully, after reading our article, you’ll have a better understanding of how to use poker ranges and can use them in a way that improves your decision-making at the table.

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Jordan conroy

Author

Jordan Conroy, a respected name in the online poker arena, has cultivated his authority through years of dedicated play and content creation. Since 2020, he has earned a stellar reputation for his in-depth analysis of poker theory and his ability to keep a finger on the pulse of the latest developments in the poker world.

Jordan’s dedication to staying at the forefront of poker knowledge allows him to consistently deliver top-quality content that resonates with both novice players and seasoned professionals.

Beyond his poker expertise, he brings a diverse perspective, closely following other competitive domains like soccer, snooker, and Formula 1, enriching his insights and providing a comprehensive understanding of the gaming landscape.

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