Poker ranges: their meaning

Poker ranges are understood as the classification given to the possible hands that an opponent may have and that can be used against us. To make a correct reading of poker ranges it is essential to know the tables that include the graphics to designate all the variety of ranges in which the opponent's moves can move and that will allow us to know the probabilities of winning or not in the game.

In these tables, the pairs are usually represented in the area of the central diagonal, while the lower half will include the hands-off suit and the upper half will include the hands in suit. For this distinction to be much more effective and to be consulted in a moment without margin of error, it is essential to create a color code that is effective and with which a hierarchy can be established in the simplest way.

By being able to make a much more agile reading, comprehension is prioritized over memorization, since these data are difficult to retain in memory and are much more useful when they are displayed in tables for consultation purposes only.

Understanding the meaning of poker ranges

A basic aspect in every poker game is the rank of cards, although it is necessary to understand how they are calculated in order to interpret them correctly. Ranks in poker can be calculated by programs specifically designed to obtain information about the possibilities of another player according to the cards on the table and the chances of getting one hand or another.

In order for you to understand exactly what function card ranges have in poker, it is necessary for you to know that when we talk about the fact that in poker mathematics and probability come into play, we are referring mostly to this, that is, the calculation of probabilities of getting one hand or another at different times of the game.

Precisely for this reason, because of the variety of possibilities of the tables, it is necessary to handle with ease each box that make up the graphs of the poker ranges, in order to play with more chances of success and making an optimized reading of the situation of the game.

This is very useful when playing Texas Holdem online, when you can also have a chart to study the possible moves and make a reading of the poker ranges in which your opponent moves in order to understand your options. In addition, these tables are ideal to understand how decisive are the CNP ranges in poker, how they oscillate depending on the course of the game and how it can develop in favor of one or another player.

What does it mean to have the rank advantage?

When a range of possible hands is given that give a significant advantage to a player, he is said to be stronger than his opponent and therefore has the rank advantage. That is, he can play higher hands with the combination of cards he has. But to say that a player is stronger only because of this would be a poor reading of poker rankings, since there are other factors in determining the strength of one player or another.

In disuse for a while, the term "range advantage" has become popular among players, as an "expertization" is taking place in poker, partly due to the proliferation of online gaming rooms, which is leading more and more players to understand the dynamics of probability during the games.

How to take advantage of the range advantage

When in a poker game the card rank gives an advantage to one of the players, the most common thing is to try to take advantage of it until the end of the hand. The most frequent way to analyze the rank advantage is to evaluate the raw equity of one rank over the other and, although this is an important factor, it is not the only aspect to take into account.

Although raw equity is a factor that should always be considered when analyzing CNP ranks, and although statistics show that the rank with the highest equity is usually the best, this is not an exact science and does not always have to be the case.

The distribution of equity and the level of vulnerability must also be taken into account. The former allows us to know how the equity is distributed in a range in order to know its level of profitability, since this varies. In addition, it is considered favorable to be a player with a polarized distribution, which is characterized by a mix of strong hands and bluffs, with few medium-strength hands).

On the other hand, the second one allows to identify which are the most vulnerable ranges and which suffer more when giving free equity. It is common to believe, although it is a gross error, that it is always better to play aggressively except when the range is a weak one, and it is not always the case that weak ranges should be played passively.

Ultimately, one of the main factors that differentiates elite players from amateurs is the ability to put opponents in their respective ranges accurately and effectively. Although there are many poker tutorials and some programs allow to set the rank of each player based on the study of some parameters, professional players train until they are able to handle these concepts on their own and set their opponents in their respective ranks.