Strong players don't ask 'what do I do with AK?', they ask 'what do I do with my whole range here'.
The most important mental leap for improving is to stop thinking about your hand in isolation and start thinking in : the set of ALL the hands you'd take an action with in a given spot — yours and, above all, your opponent's.
First: how hands are written
Before we go on, a quick way to notate hands that you'll see everywhere:
Pair → two matching letters. A♠A♥ is written AA.
Same suit () → an s at the end. A♠K♠ is AKs.
Different suit (offsuit) → an o at the end. A♠K♥ is AKo.
With that notation, all possible hands group into 169 types. You don't have to memorize them: it's enough that, when you see “AKs”, you know it's Ace-King of the same suit.
✓ Consejo: A useful fact: pairs are rare (there are only 6 ways to hold AA) and there are 3 times more combos of AKo than of AKs. That's why, when you fear your opponent has AA, they almost always have something else.
A real range: the CO open · ~27%
AA
AKs
AQs
AJs
ATs
A9s
A8s
A7s
A6s
A5s
A4s
A3s
A2s
AKo
KK
KQs
KJs
KTs
K9s
K8s
K7s
K6s
K5s
K4s
K3s
K2s
AQo
KQo
QQ
QJs
QTs
Q9s
Q8s
Q7s
Q6s
Q5s
Q4s
Q3s
Q2s
AJo
KJo
QJo
JJ
JTs
J9s
J8s
J7s
J6s
J5s
J4s
J3s
J2s
ATo
KTo
QTo
JTo
TT
T9s
T8s
T7s
T6s
T5s
T4s
T3s
T2s
A9o
K9o
Q9o
J9o
T9o
99
98s
97s
96s
95s
94s
93s
92s
A8o
K8o
Q8o
J8o
T8o
98o
88
87s
86s
85s
84s
83s
82s
A7o
K7o
Q7o
J7o
T7o
97o
87o
77
76s
75s
74s
73s
72s
A6o
K6o
Q6o
J6o
T6o
96o
86o
76o
66
65s
64s
63s
62s
A5o
K5o
Q5o
J5o
T5o
95o
85o
75o
65o
55
54s
53s
52s
A4o
K4o
Q4o
J4o
T4o
94o
84o
74o
64o
54o
44
43s
42s
A3o
K3o
Q3o
J3o
T3o
93o
83o
73o
63o
53o
43o
33
32s
A2o
K2o
Q2o
J2o
T2o
92o
82o
72o
62o
52o
42o
32o
22
This is what a range looks like: a coherent set of hands, not a random list. That's thinking in ranges.
Reading your opponent's range
Each action by your opponent narrows their range. If a tight player raises from UTG, their range is ~15% of hands (high pairs, strong broadways). If they call on the button, their range is wider and more speculative. You don't guess their exact hand: you estimate the set and play against that set.
EjemploUTG opens and you have T♣T♦. Don't think “do I win against their hand?”, think “how does my TT do against their UTG opening range?”. Against high pairs you're behind, against AK/AQ you're a slight favorite, against their whole range you're roughly a coin flip — that's what decides your play.
💡 Clave: A hand plays differently depending on the context. Think in sets of hands, not in hunches about one specific card.
Key terms in this lesson
range
The set of all hands you take a given action with.
GTO
Game Theory Optimal: the unexploitable equilibrium strategy.
suited / offsuit
Suited (s) = same suit; offsuit (o) = different suits. E.g. AKs vs AKo.