Range

Thinking in ranges is the most important conceptual shift a poker player can make. Beginners try to guess the exact hand an opponent holds, while advanced players assign a distribution of possible hands and make decisions against that entire distribution. A range is typically expressed as a percentage of all possible starting hands (there are 1,326 total combinations). When we say someone opens 20% from the Hijack, we mean their range contains roughly 265 combinations of the strongest hands. Which specific hands are included depends on the player's strategy, and this is exactly what preflop range charts define. Ranges narrow as a hand progresses. Before any action, a player's range is 100% of hands. After they open-raise from UTG, their range narrows to roughly 18%. If they then face a 3-bet and call, their range narrows further to perhaps 8-10% of hands. Each action provides information that lets you refine your estimate of their range. Range advantage is a critical postflop concept. On a flop of A-K-7, the preflop raiser has a range advantage because their range contains more strong aces and kings than the defender's range. On a flop of 7-6-5, the defender may have the range advantage because their calling range contains more sets and two-pair combinations. Understanding who has the range advantage on each board texture drives optimal postflop strategy. Visualizing ranges is easier with a 13x13 hand matrix, which displays all 169 distinct starting hand types. Tools like RangerPro use this matrix format, color-coding each hand by its assigned action (raise, call, fold) and frequency. Studying these matrices builds the mental library needed for real-time range estimation during play.