Pokeo Start free
Pokeo

Reading your opponent

A range is the list of every hand a player could hold at a given point in the hand, based on what they've done so far. Instead of guessing their two cards, which nobody can do, you play against that list: cross out what's impossible, set aside what doesn't fit how they play, and count what's left.

It sounds like something for pros, and it's the opposite: it's how you stop guessing. Below is a whole hand read that way, step by step, with a list short enough to count by hand.

First lesson · 6 min The cards One hand, read FAQ

A list, not two cards

"What do they have?" has no answer: nobody can guess two cards, not even by reading a face. "What could they have?" does. If you know which hands an opponent tends to play, you have a list from the first moment, and everything that happens in the hand makes it shorter.

  1. 1

    Start with how they play

    If they call from the big blind with any pair, any ace or two Broadway cards, their range is all of those hands. You don't know which one; you know which ones.

  2. 2

    What you see crosses out

    Every card exists once. If it's on the board or in your hand, none of their hands can contain it.

  3. 3

    What they do sets aside

    If they only call with a pair or better, the hands without a pair wouldn't have called. They aren't impossible, but they don't fit.

  4. 4

    What's left gets counted

    How many you beat and how many beat you. That, against the price, decides whether you call.

One hand, read

You open with the king of spades and queen of diamonds on the button, and your opponent calls from the big blind. So it can be counted by hand, their range is cut down to nine hands. The real one has many more, but you read it the same way.

  1. The board

    You

    K Q

    Step 1 of 4

    Their list

    Nine hands they would call with from the big blind: pairs, aces, two Broadway cards and suited connectors.

    9on the list

    • A K Still in
    • K J Still in
    • K J Still in
    • Q J Still in
    • 8 7 Still in
    • 6 6 Still in
    • A 9 Still in
    • 10 9 Still in
    • J 10 Still in

  2. The board

    K 8 3

    You

    K Q

    Step 2 of 4

    The flop crosses out

    The flop is king of hearts, eight of diamonds, three of diamonds. King-jack of hearts is now impossible: its king is on the board. Queen-jack of diamonds too: you hold that queen. The other kings stay on the list: only the exact card is crossed out.

    7on the list

    • A K Still in
    • K J Still in
    • K J Crossed out
    • Q J Crossed out
    • 8 7 Still in
    • 6 6 Still in
    • A 9 Still in
    • 10 9 Still in
    • J 10 Still in

  3. The board

    K 8 3

    You

    K Q

    Step 3 of 4

    What they do sets aside

    They check, you bet your pair of kings, and they call. Their rule: call with a pair or better, fold without one. The three hands without a pair are set aside, ace-nine of diamonds included, flush draw and all. Four are left.

    4on the list

    • A K Still in
    • K J Still in
    • K J Crossed out
    • Q J Crossed out
    • 8 7 Still in
    • 6 6 Still in
    • A 9 Set aside
    • 10 9 Set aside
    • J 10 Set aside

  4. The board

    K 8 3 2 5

    You

    K Q

    Step 4 of 4

    Count against the price

    Turn, two of clubs; river, five of spades. They bet the size of the pot. Of the four hands left, only ace-king beats you, on the kicker. You beat the other three.

    1beats you

    3you beat

    • A K Beats you
    • K J You win
    • K J Crossed out
    • Q J Crossed out
    • 8 7 You win
    • 6 6 You win
    • A 9 Set aside
    • 10 9 Set aside
    • J 10 Set aside
A pot-sized bet sets a price of one in three: for every hand you beat, you can afford to lose to two. You beat three and lose to one. Call. And if this time they show ace-king, the call was still right: the count says so, not the hand they showed.

How the price is worked out

Hands and combos

A list of nine hands is a simplification so you can count. In a real range each hand is counted by its combinations, or combos: the ways it can be made from the four suits.

A pocket pair

6

  • 6 6
  • 6 6
  • 6 6
  • 6 6
  • 6 6
  • 6 6

Two sixes can be made six ways: hearts and spades, hearts and clubs, and so on.

Two different ranks

16

  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K
  • A K

Suited

Ace-king: four suited and twelve offsuit.

Every starting hand

1,326

The distinct two-card hands that can be dealt from a 52-card deck.

That's why, in a real range, ace-king weighs almost three times as much as one specific pair. The cards you see remove combos too: with a king on the board, the sixteen ways to hold ace-king drop to twelve.

What you can leave out

Search for "poker ranges" and you'll find color-coded charts with hundreds of hands for every seat. They're tools for players who already know how to play, and you don't need them to start. What you need is the habit on this page: cross out, set aside, count. A list of ten hands teaches it as well as a list of a thousand.

What is a bluff

Path 11 · 5 lessons · 34 min

Reading a range

In the course

Reading a range, played

Reading a range is path 11 of the course: five lessons where your opponent's list is on the screen and you cross it out, set it aside and count it. Getting there takes reading the flop and the price, and the course teaches both first, in order.

  1. A list, not two cards

    You'll see what your opponent may hold as a list of hands: their range.

    6 min

  2. Cross out the impossible

    You will cross off their list what they can no longer hold.

    6 min

  3. What they do sets aside

    With their rule, you will set aside the hands that would not have done what they did.

    6 min

  4. Count against the price

    You will count how many of their hands beat you and compare it with the price.

    8 min

  5. A whole hand

    You will carry their list from the deal to calling or not on the river.

    8 min

Start the course from the beginning See all eighteen paths

Frequently asked questions

What is a range in poker?

A range is the set of hands a player could hold at a given point, based on how they play and what they've done in the hand. Players think in ranges because nobody can know an opponent's exact two cards, but anyone can work out which ones are possible.

What is the difference between a hand and a range?

A hand is two specific cards; a range is every hand someone could hold. You know your hand. Of your opponent you can only know their range, and you play against all of it, not against the hand you imagine.

How do you narrow down a range?

With two moves. Cross out: what you see, on the board or in your hand, removes the hands that contain those cards. Set aside: what they do removes the hands they wouldn't have done it with, given how they play. What's left is their range at that point.

How many combos does a poker hand have?

A specific pocket pair, such as two aces, has six combos. Two different ranks, such as ace-king, have sixteen: four suited and twelve offsuit. In all there are 1,326 possible two-card starting hands.

Do beginners need to memorize range charts?

No. Charts are for players who already play comfortably. To start, it's enough to think of your opponent as a list and to know how to cross out, set aside and count. That habit is what the charts take for granted.

Keep going

With nothing What is a bluff Why it works and how to count whether it pays off. Call or fold Pot odds The price of a call and the outs it asks for. The flop Reading the flop What you have, what the board allows and what could still come.

Before their cards, yours

Crossing a hand off their list means seeing which cards they can no longer hold, and that comes down to reading a card at a glance. The course starts there and gets to ranges in path 11, "Reading a range".

First lesson · 6 min The cards Every card has two facts: rank and suit. You'll learn to read both, and which one says which card is worth more. Play now

No sign-up · No money · In your browser