What is a hand range in poker? Hand reading for beginners
A range is the full set of hands an opponent could have in a spot. Good players don’t guess one exact hand; they think “he could have these 30 hands” and narrow the list with every action. Thinking in ranges is the first step to reading hands.
Range notation
Section titled “Range notation”| Notation | Means |
|---|---|
| 77+ | 7-7, 8-8, 9-9 … up to A-A |
| ATs+ | A-10 suited, A-J suited, A-Q suited, A-K suited |
| KQo | K-Q offsuit |
| 98s | 9-8 suited |
| 22–66 | All pairs from 2-2 to 6-6 |
“s” means suited, “o” means offsuit.
How a range narrows: example
Section titled “How a range narrows: example”Preflop: a tight player raises from early position. His range is strong: maybe 77+, AJs+, AQo+, KQs.
Flop K♠ 8♦ 3♣: he bets. He could have a king (KQ, AK), an overpair (A-A, Q-Q, J-J…), a set (K-K, 8-8) or a c-bet with A-Q.
Turn 2♥: he bets big again. A-Q and small pairs like 7-7 bet less often now. His range is mostly AK, KQ, A-A, K-K, 8-8.
River 5♠: he goes all-in. If you hold Q-Q, you’re behind almost his whole range. Fold.
Simple questions to ask every street
Section titled “Simple questions to ask every street”- What did this player do before the flop, and from which position?
- Which hands would bet (or check) like this on this board?
- Which hands from the earlier range drop out now?
- How does my hand do against what’s left?
Your own range
Section titled “Your own range”Opponents read you too. If you only bet with the nuts, they fold. Mixing value bets and some bluffs keeps your range harder to read.
See also starting hands and poker tells.
What is a range in poker?
Section titled “What is a range in poker?”All the hands a player could have in a given spot, based on their actions so far.
What does 77+ mean?
Section titled “What does 77+ mean?”Pocket sevens and every higher pair, up to pocket aces.
What does ATs+ mean?
Section titled “What does ATs+ mean?”Ace-ten suited and better suited aces: A-J, A-Q and A-K suited.
Why think in ranges instead of one hand?
Section titled “Why think in ranges instead of one hand?”You can almost never know the exact hand, but you can narrow the possible hands and decide well against them.