Strategy & GTO

What is Range in Poker?

Direct Answer / Definition A Range in poker represents the complete spectrum of all possible hands a player could hold in a specific situation, rather than attempting to guess a single exact holding. Thinking in ranges—rather than individual hands—is the defining foundation of professional poker strategy.

What Does “Range” Mean in Poker: Detailed Overview

Novice players ask: "What specific hand does my opponent have?" Professional players ask: "What is my opponent's complete range of hands in this spot, and how does my range interact with theirs?"

A range is represented visually on a 13×13 matrix of 169 distinct hand categories (78 pocket pairs, 312 suited hands, and 936 offsuit hands). Every action a player takes narrows their range.

Range Narrowing & Combinatorial Hand Reading

Ranges start wide preflop and progressively narrow with each street of action. An open-raiser starts with a range of ~20% of hands; by the river after betting three streets, their range may narrow to just the top 2% of hands.

Use combinatorial analysis: an offsuit hand has 12 combinations, a suited hand has 4 combinations, and a pocket pair has 6 combinations. Card removal (blockers) reduces these combos further.

  • Think in ranges, not individual hands.
  • Track how ranges narrow across streets from preflop to river.
  • Evaluate range advantage and nut advantage across board textures.

Hand Range Matrix & Combination Breakdown

Composition of the 1,326 total hand combinations across the 13×13 grid:

Total starting hand combinations 1,326 combos 169 unique hand categories
Pocket pairs (13 ranks × 6 combos) 78 combos (5.88%) E.g. 6 combos of AA
Suited hands (78 categories × 4 combos) 312 combos (23.53%) E.g. 4 combos of AKs
Offsuit hands (78 categories × 12 combos) 936 combos (70.59%) E.g. 12 combos of AKo
Hand Example

Practical Application: “Range”

Scenario: Villain is a tight player who opens only 15% from UTG and double-barrels a dry Ace-high board.

Hero Hand: Second Pair | Board: A♠ 8♦ 2♣ 4♥

Action: Hero analyzes Villain's range: AK, AQ, AJ, AA, KK, QQ. Villain has virtually no bluffs.

“Because Villain's range is heavily weighted toward top pairs with strong kickers and contains almost zero bluffs, Hero makes a clean, easy fold with second pair.”

Pro Tips from 3-Bet Lab

  1. Practice visualizing the 13×13 hand matrix in the 3-Bet Lab Range Equity Lab.
  2. Notice capped ranges: when an opponent just calls on a draw-heavy flop, their range is capped (lacks sets and two pair).
  3. Pay attention to showdowns: see which hands opponents show up with to refine your mental model of their ranges.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a capped range?

A capped range cannot contain the absolute strongest monster hands (like sets or top two pair) because the player would have raised them previously.

How do you represent a poker range in text notation?

Standard notation uses combinations like: 99+, AJs+, KQs, A5s-A2s, T9s, where "+" indicates hands of that rank and higher.

Why is thinking in ranges superior to guessing hands?

Because poker is a game of incomplete information. Playing against a distribution of possibilities allows you to make mathematically optimal, unexploitable decisions over the long run.

Master “Range” in Live Practice

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