In poker, it’s impossible to know with certainty what cards other players are holding. Even if you think you know, what you’re actually doing is assigning a strong weight to a particular possibility. Of course, they could still have other combinations.

Given this uncertainty, poker players think about each other’s hands in terms of ranges. Hand ranges include all possible hand combinations that someone can reasonably have in a given moment given the action.

As the hand progresses, it’s possible to narrow hand ranges down to a very slim number of combos. Especially by the time the action reaches the river and there has been plenty of betting. Still, you’ll never be able to put opponents on a single combo of cards.

Preflop hand ranges

Poker hands, and therefore poker strategy, always start preflop. Players who have a grasp of the basics will always be raising hands based on their position at the table, so your hand reading starts there.

For example, an under the gun player at a full ring table will typically only bet with around 5-10% of all possible combinations. That’s basically premium pairs, broadways and very few bluffs.

Players will typically raise much looser from later positions. From the button, a typical preflop hand range can be 50% or higher.

So, just by entering a pot your opponents have started to give you the information you need to narrow down their hand range. By raising (or limping, if that’s their thing), they have gone from having any two cards to having a playable hand given their position.

Of course, this is highly player dependent. Especially at lower stakes where opponents might not know proper hand ranges and how to adjust to position. Keep an eye out for players who have a very tight or very loose range, and adjust accordingly.

Aside from position and opponent tendencies, another factor to consider when it comes to preflop hand ranges is stack sizes. Ranges should alter according to the effective stack sizes at the tables.

Generally speaking, when stacks are deeper players can raise more speculative hands. And open up their range compared to having a medium or short stack. Very short stacks, however, revert to loosening their ranges to shove all in and steal blinds.

Breaking down opponent’s hand ranges post-flop

Let’s look at an example of how you can start to work with hand ranges post-flop, instead of trying to predict single hands.

Let’s say the your opponent raises from the button and you defend the big blind. The flop comes K-T-5, you check and your opponent bets one third of the pot. Let’s break down their possible hand combos.

With no reads, we can assume that they are raising preflop and then betting the flop with pairs of kings such as AK, KQ, KJ, K9, as well as some weaker kings. Also checking some of the lowest king combos back. They’ll also bet sets of tens, fives and kings, and two pair hands like KT for value.

Depending on the player, they may also have a number of bluffs and semi-bluffs in their hand range. Including A5 for a low pair, QJ for a straight draw, backdoor hands like T9 that they might stab with, and even some complete air.

You can see here that, given the action, your opponent has a very wide hand range in this spot. You can then make your decision based on whether you are ahead or behind their range.

Narrowing down hand ranges post-flop

With every action that opponents take, they give you more information about their hand, allowing you to make logical deductions about what they should and shouldn’t have.

As you can see from the flop example, ranges can be wide early on. As the action progresses, you’ll be able to remove hands.

Running with the example above with the K-T-5 flop. Now, let’s say the turn is a harmless deuce and the hand continues. No matter what action your opponent takes here, you can remove combos.

• If they check instead of continuing the betting, you can remove their stronger kings, sets and two pairs and uncap their range to include mostly medium strength hands and bluffs.
• If they bet again, you can take out some of their weaker combos of pairs of kings and tens, as well as some of their bluffs.
• If they raise or check-raise, you can take out weak and medium combos, leaving in only hands like AK, sets, two pair and a few bluffs.

River hand ranges are often polarized

By the time the hand reaches the river and the final bets are made, you’ll have the most information possible about your opponent’s range. You’ll often have been able to narrow down their possible hand to just a few combinations.

If your opponent then bets or raises the river, you’ll often find that their range becomes incredibly polarized. This means they are holding either very strong, nutted combos, or complete bluffs.

This is because players will be incentivised to make showdown with medium strength hands that they are unsure about. It only makes sense to value bet very strong hands that will get paid, or to bluff hands that don’t have any value at showdown.

If the situation is polarized, your job is to work out how much of your opponent’s range is strong, and how much of it is bluffs such as missed flush draws.

The transition from trying to guess what single hand an opponent has to thinking about possible combinations and hand ranges will change the way you look at the game forever. You’ll be well equipped to read any situation and decide what to do.