Poker Hand Reading: Use Poker Range to Master Hand Reading

Poker is one of the rare casino games where skill plays a role. Yes, you cannot influence the draw, considering that lady luck decides which cards you receive. However, you can manage your hand and assess how opponents might be faring. This latter aspect of playing poker is something referred to as hand reading.

It’s not a six sense! Rather, it’s a methodology based on several data points, allowing you to glimpse into other players’ possible hands. The ability to create a picture of how things stand around the table is advantageous when playing poker. Lucky for you, we can provide a crash course on poker hand reading.

What is Poker Hand Reading?

Novice players focus on their hand value, while experienced players try to evaluate what other players are holding. Remember, you do not have to possess the strongest poker hand, just one that is stronger than your opponents. And this is where poker hand reading enters our discussion. It enables you to guess the most likely hand your opponent is holding.

Credit: 20Bet

To be clear, this is not an exact science, you will not be able to predict an opponent’s hand with 100% accuracy. What you can do with hand reading is create a range of potential poker hands, and use that information to formulate the best course of action.

Credit: 20Bet

Poker Hand Rankings

It’s imperative to know how your poker hand measures up against other possible hands. If you are a novice player, we must initiate you to the standard poker hand rankings, before offering tips about reading poker hands. Below is a table overviewing poker hands, going from the highest strength hand to the lowest.

Learning poker hand rankings is crucial for accurately evaluating your own and your opponent’s hands. For hand-reading purposes, poker hands can be simplified by grouping them into three broader categories.

This categorization method is not absolute. However, most players tend to stay within the broad distinctions elaborated below, enabling you to guess their hands more efficiently. The ability to eliminate only one of the hands from your opponent’s range can change a river decision from a call to a fold. Here are the hand types:

• Monster hands: The strongest hands such as a straight flush or a royal flush are referred to as Monster hands. Opponents in possession of a Monster hand will be confident to play a big pot.
• Showdown hands: Opponents think they have the best hand, but will not rush to build the pot. They will be patient, with some placing small wagers or raises as blocking bets to better ascertain their true strength”.
• Bluffing hands: This term refers to a hand with little or no showdown value. These are the weakest hands, and players try to camouflage that fact by paying fast or slow. However, there are no definite criteria for what constitutes a bluff hand.

Poker Ranges Defined

A range is a collection of every theoretical hand an opposing player can hold at a given moment in the game. For example, instead of thinking that the opponent is holding Q♣10♦, you will include other hands in a range, such as K9s, Q9s, J9s.

You need to use ranges because a player can make the same play with different hands. Ranges help you make more precise decisions like when to call, raise, or fold. The capability to properly assess an opponent’s strength is one of the keys to winning.

The table above visually represents all possible 169 starting hand combinations in Texas Hold’em with 1,326 unique combos. The cells represent every combination of a hand written in it. For example, AKs indicate every variation of suited Ace-King hands. Ranges can vary widely and you should always build your opponent’s range preflop, continuing to finetune that range as opponents take actions throughout the hand.

Fundamental Principles of Poker Hand Reading

Every poker strategy is based on some underlying principle. The same philosophy applies to hand poker reading. We will try to keep things simple and focus on a few important rules to remember before diving in-depth into ranges.

• Always Rely on Logic: Experienced players do not go by gut instinct. They use common sense to make decisions. To get an insight into opponents’ thought processes, rely on logic by considering positions, stack depth, and who’s left to act.
• Learn and Adapt: Mistakes will occur, but do not get discouraged. Assimilate the new information and adjust your approach for evaluating ranges.
• Poker Ranges Do Not Expand: Ranges will contort as the game develops. They can stay the same or narrow, but cannot expand. Forgetting this principle will make you deviate from the course.

How to Read Poker Hands

Please remember that you are not making an assumption when you assign poker ranges, but you are making an educated guess on the possible poker hand. Thus, you can practice and refine your skills and use as much info as you can in your favor. Here we list the key factors that can help you read your opponent’s poker hand:

✅ Assign the pre-flop poker ranges

Start first by assigning the pre-flop poker ranges to your opponents. For this, you should consider the player’s playing style and their actions. For example, if you are playing against a tight, aggressive player, you already know they have a very narrow poker range that contains strong pocket pairs or high cards.

✅ Consider player position

Always consider the playing position, as people do different actions when they play in the other positions. There is a tendency to play tighter when sitting in early positions and play a looser game when playing in late positions.

✅ Look for betting patterns

People are creatures of habit, and they are inclined to perform similar actions in every subsequent game. Thus, you can observe and try to discern betting patterns and use these to draw conclusions and read the player’s poker hand.

✅ Use player tells

Every player has a tell when they play poker; the tell can be physical, verbal, or a change in behavior that indicates their action. A player’s tells can reveal valuable information about the poker hand they are playing with. But noticing what the player tells is also helpful in recognizing when someone is bluffing.

✅ Narrow the ranges at every upcoming street

As the round progresses, you need to narrow down the possible number of hand combinations, i.e., narrow down the poker range. Every street that is dealt will allow you to eliminate more and more hand combinations that the player can’t hold. It will also enable new information that you can then use to eliminate more options and further narrow the poker ranges.

✅ Observe every showdown

The showdown is extremely valuable in getting insight into your player’s poker playing style, but it is also invaluable as it shows you precisely the hand the player played with. Always observe the showdown and note the opponent’s hand. You can then combine it with the rest of the information you’ve gleaned during the game and use it to better read your opponent’s poker hand in the upcoming game.

Credit: Karamba

Top Tips for Better Hand Reading

To help you learn to better read poker hands, we have compiled this list of tips, and we believe these will help you become a more skilled poker player:

• Try to think like your opponents – try to think as your opponents would, and use this to try and read the poker hands.
• Use their playing style against them – analyze and recognize every player’s playing style. If you are playing against a loose player, you will know they are unpredictable, and you can use this against them.
• Let go of the initial hand range assumptions – don’t stick to the initial hand ranges you’ve assigned, but let these go and narrow them down, as the upcoming streets reveal more cards that your opponents can’t hold.
• Analyze past hands – constantly analyze past hands, especially during the showdown, as you will see the actual hand the player held, and you can then use it in subsequent games.
• Don’t try to guess the actual hand – guessing the actual hand your opponent holds is impossible, so don’t do this. Instead, assign a range and narrow it down, as it is the only viable way to read the poker hand.
• Practice, practice, practice – practice playing poker, and use every tool to your advantage to hone your poker hand reading skills. You can play online at top online casinos and practice your poker skills.

Final Thoughts

Poker hand reading is not an easy concept to master. Nor does it guarantee results. Poker is a game where you make decisions based on limited information, forcing you to interpret the situation on the table. That’s why poker ranges help you create the best counter-strategy. Continue exploring poker ranges to master preflop mechanics and improve your chances of success.

FAQs

What Is Hand Reading in Poker?

Hand reading in poker is the action of making an educated guess on the possible hand your opponent holds. It is an invaluable skill when playing poker, as it will help you make better predictions and moves, like knowing when to bet, raise, or fold.

How Can I Improve My Hand Reading Skills in Poker?

You can improve your hand reading skills in poker by using poker ranges, analyzing player behavior and past hands, and looking for specific tells.

What Is a Poker Hand Range?

The poker hand range is a range of specific hand combinations that you believe your opponent holds at the start of the game. You assign a pre-flop poker hand range and then narrow it down to every upcoming street. From the 100% range pre-game, a good poker player can narrow the poker range to less than 10%, which will give you better poker odds.

What Are Common Tells in Poker?

The tells can be visual, verbal, physical, and behavioral. These cues may range from a simple body movement, a touch of a specific body part, ahead movement, eye movement, chip handling, immediate calling or very fast answers, and more. When playing poker online, it is harder to spot tells, as you are not watching your opponents, but there are online poker tells like bet sizing, timing, and changes in the online chat.

How Do I Implement Hand Ranges in Poker?

You start by assigning a broader poker hand range pre-flop, especially if you are playing against a single opponent. Then, observe your opponent and look for any tells, changes, and cues that will allow you to narrow down the hand range. Look for the cards on every upcoming street, narrow the hand ranges further, and use them to read your opponent’s poker hand.

Can I Win at Poker Consistently?

You can’t win at poker consistently, but you can assume a poker strategy that will tip the winning odds in your favor. For that, we advise you to learn the poker hands and rules, know the odds and outs, master bluffing, and hand reading.

Do Professional Poker Players Apply Poker Hand Reading?

Yes, professional players apply poker hand reading, assign hand ranges, calculate hand and pot odds, and use other skills. Many of them have excellent perceptive abilities, and they observe opponents closely and look for tells, and they can narrow down the potential opponent’s hand to a very accurate assumption.