[Texas Hold’em] Poker Hand Range Explained! The Concept of Open Raises!

“What does ‘range’ in poker mean?”

“I want to understand the basic concept of range!”

Do you have questions like these?

Poker hand range is something that is absolutely necessary to go from beginner to intermediate level and above.

Even if you memorize hand range without understanding the concept, there is no room for application and development.

So in this article, we’ll cover everything about poker range from the basic concept comprehensively.

However, for hand range by each position, we explain it in detail in a separate article, so please see that one.

Let’s get right into it!

What Does “Range” in Poker Mean?

For beginners who just started poker, haven’t you heard intermediate players and above saying “range, range” over and over?

In fact, “range” refers to hand range, indicating the strength (rank) of hands that should be open-raised in each position.

Playing poker involves a lot of katakana (foreign-derived terms), which can get tricky when mixed with Japanese.

That’s precisely why it’s important to pick up the specialized vocabulary and know what the other person is talking about.

Types of Hand Range

Hand range can be classified into the following 3 types depending on the situation.

Here we explain the overview, key points, and thinking behind each type.

Generally, open range is the foundation, and call range and raise range are built depending on the situation.

Open Range

Open range refers to the hand range for when you are the first to raise pre-flop.

First, as a basic principle of poker, the earlier your position to act, the narrower your hand range, and the lower the frequency of opening.

Open range is the foundation of hand range and is the first point beginners aiming for intermediate level should learn.

Call Range

Call range is the hand range where you can judge that you should call when another player has raised.

BB (who is paying blinds) and BTN (who can always act later) have wider ranges, while other positions have narrower ranges.

What is often considered call range includes speculative hands and medium-strength pocket pairs.

Also, narrowing your call range against strong opponents and conversely widening it against easier opponents tends to work well.

Raise Range

Raise range refers to the hand range for when you re-raise against a player who has already acted.

Basically, it is the way of thinking when you hold a stronger hand than your opponent, but it’s worth knowing that raise ranges can also be constructed for bluffing purposes.

What Are the Benefits of Knowing Poker Hand Range?

So far we’ve briefly explained hand range, but what are the actual benefits of knowing poker range?

Here we explain the following:

Let’s dive right in.

Predict the Opponent’s Hand

By knowing hand range, you can infer the rank of the opponent’s hand.

This is because intermediate players and above have set open raise amounts for each position.

In particular, when playing against players who just became intermediate, they will make textbook open raises, making them very easy to predict.

However, once your opponent is intermediate or above with awareness of position, they may open-raise with surprising hands.

Incidentally, the author has recently been consciously exploiting based on the table situation, moving hand ranges accordingly.

Polarize by Freely Switching

In the previous section, the author mentioned moving hand ranges to aim for exploitation.

*Exploit means the same as catching the opponent off guard with their strategy and trapping them.

This is because if the opponent is playing while being aware of your own hand range, you can easily exploit them by doing the opposite.

When you feel you’ve caught someone off guard, show your hand to disclose information, and confuse (polarize) the opponent.

Increase Exploit Possibilities

If you are being treated as a beginner by those around you, the possibility of exploiting increases.

This is because by playing faithful to hand range, the more the game progresses, the more you can exploit the opponent’s awareness by doing the opposite.

For example, the following situation might be easier to understand:

*This gets a bit specialized, so if you don’t understand, it might be good to first read ‘I Want to Know Position-Based Hand Range in Poker!‘

<UTG Situation>

前提

<Actual Situation>

At this point, for intermediate players and above who know hand range and open-raise from UTG, we know that the hand range contains many very strong cards.

However, since a 3-bet has come back from UTG+1, it’s safe to think the hand range gap between you and the opponent has almost closed.

The opponent likely has KQs or better.

<Flop>

5 · 3 · 7

At this point, you have Two Pair.

When a 3-bet is returned against a UTG open, the opponent’s hand range likely contains many premium hands like AA or KK, with a high probability of a continuation bet (CB).

<Turn>

5 · 3 · 7 · 3

From the opponent’s perspective, it’s completely a rag card that fell.

If they have AA, thinking in terms of hand range they only lose to 77, and 7-pocket is likely to fold against the opponent’s 3-bet.

From the opponent’s side, they will likely make a pot-size bet to extract value from TT and above.

In my case, this is the scene where I pretend to be agonizing and reluctantly act out a call.

<River>

5 · 3 · 7 · 3 · 6

The last card is also a rag.

On a basically dry board with a 3-bet pot, the opponent will likely choose all-in with considerable confidence.

However, you have a Full House and can ‘comfortably’ call back.

*I’ve presented an extreme case for clarity, but note that games don’t work out this smoothly in real life!

Easy Ways to Memorize Poker Hand Range

Going deeper into hand range, looking at a hand range chart makes it hard to memorize, right?

So first, here we introduce easy ways to memorize hand range.

These are the 3 points.

Incidentally, for the memorization aspect, the author is a former cram school teacher, so feel free to try the memorization method with confidence!

I actually constructed my own hand range using this method!

① Establish Your Own Play Style

The first thing to do is establish your own play style.

There are various play styles, but the two recommended for beginners are:

1. Tight-aggressive
2. Loose-aggressive

The distinction between tight and loose differs based on what percentage from the top the UTG hand range open-raises from.

The specific figures are as follows:

• Tight-aggressive → Top 10%
• Loose-aggressive → Top 15%

However, these specific figures also have many variables and differ considerably by player, so once you get used to the basic hand range, try to arrange it in your own way.

② View Visually from UTG in Order

Next, it’s recommended to copy the hand range chart and memorize it by viewing it visually from UTG in order.

This is because trying to recite hand range means you can’t memorize multiple meaningless numbers.

Therefore, make a proper color copy of the hand range chart and be thorough about learning from visual information.

Even for memorizing, the output afterwards is more important, so it’s sufficient to just look at it about 15 minutes before playing.

③ Actually Output

Finally, the important thing is to actually output.

What output means is: while playing, making open raises in accordance with the hand range chart.

What you want to be conscious of here is “not looking at the answer.”

Without looking at the answer, you can be conscious of whether it truly matched the hand range or not, allowing for deeper impression.

Incidentally, the fact that there are surprisingly many high-achieving students among professional poker players is also likely because they have this kind of basic academic ability.

How to Think About Poker Hand Range

What standards should you follow when thinking about poker hand range?

In fact, there are various ‘variables’ and it is indeed unexpectedly difficult.

For those who want to dig deeper, here we explain the variables the author often thinks about in hand range.

The deep-dive content is as follows:

These 5 points.

Let’s actually look at each.

How Many Players Are Seated at the Table

First, the number of players seated at the table is something you must always check.

This is because the more players at the table, the higher the possibility that the opponent’s hand is better than yours.

Conversely, the fewer players at the table, the better it is to play loosely.

As a specific example, at a table with only 4 players, you might play an open raise of 3bb with JTs even from UTG.

Consider the Table Atmosphere

Next, you also need to check what the table atmosphere is like.

This is because if there are many loose players and you yourself are also playing loosely, it becomes high-gambling poker.

Conversely, if there are more tight players, becoming loose increases the possibility of exploitation.

A player who can properly switch play styles based on the table atmosphere in this way could certainly be called an advanced player.

How Much Stack You Have

Your stack size also requires caution.

This is because playing a speculative hand (e.g., 56s) when you only have 15bb against the blinds is dangerous.

The more stack you have, the more you should play speculative hands, and once you fall below 15BB, take the push-or-fold option.

* A strategy of choosing either pre-flop all-in or fold

Consider the Bubble Factor

Considering the bubble factor is also important.

Bubble factor refers to the variable that affects play in a tournament situation where one more player needs to be eliminated to be in the money.

In that situation alone, short-stack players’ chips become much heavier than the blind amount shown.

Since in tournaments it is clearly divided between “getting paid” and “not getting paid,” how you play during the bubble state is important.

Inevitably, many players will go into extreme tight defense.

Consider the Remaining Time

When thinking about range, also consider remaining time as a variable.

For example, 10 minutes before late registration closes with a stack of 10BB, many players will inevitably widen their range and attempt push-or-fold.

This is because even if your stack runs out, you can replenish your stack and participate as long as you have funds.

It’s good to freely adjust your hand range based on remaining time and stack size.

Want to Know Position-Based Hand Range in Poker!

In this final section, we introduce basic strategies while showing position-based hand ranges.

For those who want to know more, we explain it in detail in the hand range chart article, so please refer to that.

EP (Early Position)

In Early Position, play often involves the following hand ranges:

However, with middle pocket pairs, note that you may not be able to withstand a 3-bet.

MP (Middle Position)

In Middle Position, the hand range widens slightly, but since there are still many players behind, careful play is required.

A8s and similar hands may also be included in the range depending on the situation.

LP (Late Position)

From Late Position, the hand range that can be opened expands.

This shows the BTN hand range, but even playing tight, you can play from approximately the top 30%.

SB / BB

The SB open-raise range is as follows:

Basically, if K or Q is included, it can be considered an open raise.

For BB, since it becomes a call for anything other than premium hands, the explanation is omitted here.

Summary: Learn Poker Range and Try to Exploit Your Opponents!

In this article, we’ve explained poker range in detail.

For each position, we explain it in detail in the hand range chart article, so reading that article will deepen your understanding further.

In particular, this article focuses on the way of thinking within hand range.

It has become clear that hand range also changes due to various variables.

Thank you very much for reading to the end.