What Does Range Mean in Poker? Definition and Example

In Texas hold’em, a range is a set of hands a player could have in a particular situation, rather than one exact hand. Saying “their range includes big pairs and ace-king” leaves several possibilities open; saying “they have ace-king” selects just one. 888poker’s range guide explains this distinction.

The word also describes your own planned hands for an action. Your opening range contains hands you would raise when everyone before you has folded. Your calling range contains hands you would call with against a particular bet or raise. Those are different decisions, so they need not contain the same hands.

How to read a range

A range may appear as a list or as highlighted squares on a starting-hand chart. Common shorthand includes:

Notation	Meaning	Example
s	Suited: both cards have the same suit	AKs includes A♥K♥
o	Offsuit: the cards have different suits	AKo includes A♥K♣
No suffix	Usually both suited and offsuit, for an unpaired hand	AK includes AKs and AKo
+ after a pair	That pair and every higher pair	QQ+ means QQ, KK and AA
+ after an unpaired hand	Keep the higher card; increase the lower card up to just below it	AJs+ means AJs, AQs and AKs

Here, T means ten. Also, AJs+ does not include AJo: the suited requirement still applies. 888poker’s range glossary illustrates plus notation for suited and offsuit hands. Check a chart’s key if it uses different conventions.

A tight or narrow range contains fewer hands. A wide range contains more. Neither description tells you exactly which hands are included.

A small worked example

Suppose a practice chart lists this opening range:

88+, AJs+, KQs, AQo+

Expanded, that means:

• Pairs: 88, 99, TT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA.
• Suited hands: AJs, AQs, AKs, KQs.
• Offsuit hands: AQo, AKo.

Before accounting for any known cards, each pair has six possible suit combinations, each suited hand has four, and each offsuit hand has twelve. Chart squares therefore do not represent equal chances of being dealt a hand. 888poker’s combinatorics explanation gives these counts.

So this list contains:

(7 × 6) + (4 × 4) + (2 × 12) = 82 combinations.

A 52-card deck has 52 × 51 ÷ 2 = 1,326 possible two-card starting hands. Our example therefore covers 82 ÷ 1,326 ≈ 6.2% of starting hands—not a 6.2% chance of winning.

This deliberately small list teaches notation; it is not a complete recommended strategy.

Use the range for the right decision

Assume that practice chart applies to an unopened pot from early position in a six-player no-limit hold’em cash game, with 100-big-blind stacks and a planned raise to three big blinds:

1. Hand: You hold AJo. It is not in the listed range.
2. Position: You are in the early-position seat the chart covers.
3. Price: Nobody has raised; the planned opening size is three big blinds.
4. Action: Following this practice plan, you fold. Folding an excluded hand is ordinary, not a missed obligation to play.

Move to the button, face a raise, or change stack depth, and you need a range for that new situation. Opening ranges generally widen in later position, as 888poker’s guide explains. For practical hand selection, see our beginner preflop guide.

When estimating an opponent’s range, use their position, actions and observed tendencies, then update as the hand develops. Keep plausible alternatives rather than declaring one exact hand. A range is an estimate—not knowledge of hidden cards.