Narrowing a range

Working out which hands a player can still hold, by removing hands from their range after each action.

Last updated October 16, 2026

What it means: A player's range starts as every hand they play from their seat with their action before the flop. Each later action removes the hands that would have done something else, so the range gets smaller street by street.
How it is calculated: The range theory page starts from the app's preflop chart for a seat and an action, scaled wider or narrower for a villain profile, and counts the hands and combos left on a flop. The harder questions use a solved flop: each combo counts by how often the solved strategy takes the line shown.
Worked example: The button opens and the big blind calls: the big blind holds many suited and connected hands but not AA or KK, which it would have re-raised. If it then check-calls a bet on K♠ 7♦ 2♣, most hands with no pair and no draw have folded and leave the range.
Why it matters: You never see the other player's cards, so every decision after the flop rests on the range you put them on. A range narrowed with care tells you whether to bet for value, bluff or fold.

Lessons that teach it: Betting again on the turn · lessons other than the free one need an invite