Poker Ranges

Introduction

What if there was a way to anticipate a player’s cards in a poker game? Sounds impossible? It is not; with the help of the Poker hand range, you can make a calculative decision about your opponent’s gameplay.

Read further to learn about poker ranges, their grids, and how to use them.

Objective

The blog aims to help you understand poker hand range, its significance, and how to use it.

What Is a Poker Range?

A poker range is a group of hands you may play in a given situation. The range is all the possible combinations of hands you might play based on different factors. This includes your position at the table, your opponent’s position, your hand strength, and more.

In a game of poker, when we say that someone has a tight range, they mean that that player is only playing with stronger hands. Similarly, denoting someone with a loose hand means the player has weaker hands.

Poker Range Chart

A poker range chart is a visual representation of your ranges. All the 169 hand combinations are represented through a 13x13 board. The board is divided into three sections: Suited hand combinations go in the top right, off-suited hand combinations go in the bottom left, and pairs start from the top left and diagonally to the bottom right. You can colour these sections to highlight them and to have easy access.

The grid mentioned above has six paired hands, four suited hands (denoted by s), and twelve unsuited hands (denoted by o). For example, 9♠ 8♦ is a non-suited hand, whereas Q♥ K♥ is a suited hand. Remember, There are six combinations of pocket pairs and 16 combinations of non-paired hands, including 12 combinations of unsuited and four combinations of suited hands.

Example of a Poker Range

Assume you have 88 and 78:

• Paired Hands: There will be six combinations: 8♥ 8♣, 8♥ 8♦, 8♥ 8♠, 8♣ 8♦, 8♣ 8♠, 8♦ 8♠
• Suited Hands: 7♥ 8♥, 7♣ 8♣, 7♦ 8♦, 7♠ 8♠
• Unsuited Hands: 7♥ 8♣, 7♥ 8♦, 7♥ 8♠,7♣ 8♦, 7♣ 8♠, 7♦ 8♠, 7♣ 8♥, 7♦ 8♥, 7♠ 8♥, 7♦ 8♣, 7♠ 8♣, 7♠ 8♦

How to use Poker Ranges

Poker ranges help you strategise your game. Here’s a guide on how to use them:

• We use poker range to read the opponent’s hand. By hand, we mean all the hands, not only the hole cards.
• To read their hands, we analyse their betting patterns. To do this, we start by guessing what hands our opponent could begin with, then observe their betting patterns. For example, if your opponent raises before The Flop, bets after The Flop and keeps on betting, this usually means they have strong hands.
• Start with your opponent’s preflop range; this is the stage where their actions can give more information about their cards/hands.
• Lastly, keep your opponent’s range consistent. This means don’t make a conclusion based on one round. Start from preflop and keep it consistent to get an accurate result.

How to Calculate Poker Ranges

It is difficult to estimate your opponent’s range accurately. We can use the available information to come up with a close estimation. To do this:

• You should know who your opponent is. Although everyone is treated equally on the poker table, age and appearance do play an important role. The older the player, the tighter they will play as they are risk averse. Try to check your opponent’s past performance, wins, and gameplay.
• The second important factor is the position they are playing at—the range changes based on the position and betting patterns. Their range is wider if your opponent is betting from the late position. However, their range is tighter if they are betting from an early position.
• Lastly, monitor their actions at every stage. Are they raising before the flop or after? When are they betting? Keep a note of everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 10% Range in poker?

The top 10% of hands are strong hands, including pocket pair 7, Q-10, and KQ.

What is the 35% Range in poker?

The 35% range is the group of the top 35% of starting hands a player will play.

What are the ten levels of poker hand rankings?

These are the poker hand rankings from the highest to the lowest, starting from Royal Flush to High card.

Conclusion

Poker hand ranges are the fundamental aspect of poker. You should learn about it to improve your gameplay. Mastering poker hand ranges will give you an edge over your opponents.