some thoughts on generic ranges

I decided to post this because we see so many people come into the FTR forums and post about some hand they were in and indicate that they do not have any reads or stats.

Of course, some of the time, this happens because the player doesn't want to bother installing a HUD (for stats) or is too cheap to buy one after the trial period runs out, and doesn't pay attention and take notes so has no reads.

But it also happens when players just sit down at the table. There is, of course, lots of turnover in online poker, so you are almost always going to be dealing with at least some players you have no information on.

Because of this, knowing how to create generic ranges, i.e., what a typical player would do at the level, is crucial to answering these questions about hand histories.

Generic ranges, of course, aren't as accurate as specific reads and statistics. But they are far better than nothing. And the reality is that a lot of players really do play fairly typically for the level, so in many cases the generic range will lead you to the right play.

The key to creating a good generic range is to watch play carefully and, when you see interesting betting lines or maneuvers, try to determine what sorts of hands they are typically associated with.

The main thing to bear in mind while doing this is that a generic range will differ at different levels. Typical players at 2NL don't play their hands the same way that typical players at 100NL do.

So here's a framework for analyzing and creating generic ranges:

1. PRE-FLOP

Pre-flop, you want to create several generic ranges for common maneuvers that can force you into a tough decision.

A. Raising. This is the most obvious. You are in the cut-off with a pretty good hand (say pocket 9's). The action folds to a player in middle position who pops it up to 3 1/2 times the big blind. It folds around to you. Are you ahead or behind here?

To calculate a good generic range for raising, you need to pay attention to what typical players raise with. And further, you need to think about how positionally aware the typical players at your level are.

At higher limits, players tend to be positionally aware, which means you will see a broader raising range in late position and a narrow range in early position. But at lower limits, many players raise the same hands from any position. For instance, my experience is that at 2NL, AJ is within many players' raising ranges in ANY position. Whereas at higher limits, you won't see so much of that.

Whenever a pot is raised pre-flop and the raiser shows down his hand, pay close attention. Get a feel for what people raise with in each position.

B. 3-betting. Similar to raising. In addition to being positionally unaware, many players at lower limit games may make the mistake of 3-betting with just about anything they will raise with. Whereas, at higher limit games, the 3-betting range is narrower than the raising range.

C. Limp-re-raising. This move is less common, but often has a polarized range attached to it. It is either a bluff with nothing or a sort of wiseguy slow-play of Kings or Aces. But when it happens and the hand is shown down, take note. When it occurs, if often flummoxes players.

D. Bet sizing. In many higher limit games, bet sizing is pretty standard-- a raise is 3 to 4 times the big blind + 1 bb for every limper. But you sometimes see smaller raises (on High Stakes Poker, for instance, Daniel Negreanu raises small with the suited connectors and other small-ball hands he likes to play). In microstakes play, min-raises sometimes happen. What do they mean?

2. POST-FLOP

A. Continuation betting. At some levels, a c-bet is standard and tells you almost nothing. At other levels, players only c-bet when they hit the flop.

B. Betting into a raiser. At some levels, this is almost never done. At other levels, it is quite common. The big thing to try and figure out about it is whether it is typically a bluff (to try and take the aggression away from the raiser) or typically the sign of a big hand that the player thinks can beat the pre-flop raiser's hand.

C. Semi-bluffing. Do players typically bet flops or turns with flush draws and OESD's? Do they check-raise with such hands? Do they play them passively?

D. 2-barreling. Do players do this with nothing? Do pre-flop raisers do this with nothing? Semi-bluffers? Or does 2-barreling usually mean TPGK or better?

E. Bluffing the river on a wet board. How common is this? Do players typically only value bet the river, or are bluffs common?

F. Bet sizing. Post-flop, there's usually more variety. But what do the following bets usually mean: minimum, 1/2 the pot, 2/3 of the pot, 3/4 of the pot, pot, over-pot, shove all-in? And what do a minimum raise, a moderate raise, and a raise all-in typically mean?

G. Bets to protect one's hand. How common are these on wet boards? How much do players typically bet?

I think every player should have basic answers as to what typical players do at the level they normally play at in each of the situations that I list here. Once you have that, you should be able to create reasonably accurate generic ranges in a wide range of common betting situations.

Really good post. I think my generic ranges tend to be a little to pessimistic

At microstakes (and against fish at any level) I tend to find giving wider ranges than you'd expect when they're calling, and tigher ranges than you might think when they're bet/raising works out well.

I like the post. I think sitting down and doing this and shoring up your own ranges to combat theirs is great

Good stuff, Law Dude. And here's the thing - games develop their our style of play, so villains to see OUR ACTIONS as indicating the generic ranges for our site/stakes. Most villains at the micros have no clue about our ranges, so we donk lead air into them and they credit us with top pair 'cuz that's what everyone else seems to do.

The more we think about the "typical" actions and ranges at our tables, the more we understand how the players around us are probably thinking. Some people say "I'm repping JJ+ here," but you're only repping what they'll believe you'll have which is based on the table culture at your site/stakes.

Originally Posted by Robb

Good stuff, Law Dude. And here's the thing - games develop their our style of play, so villains to see OUR ACTIONS as indicating the generic ranges for our site/stakes. Most villains at the micros have no clue about our ranges, so we donk lead air into them and they credit us with top pair 'cuz that's what everyone else seems to do.

The more we think about the "typical" actions and ranges at our tables, the more we understand how the players around us are probably thinking. Some people say "I'm repping JJ+ here," but you're only repping what they'll believe you'll have which is based on the table culture at your site/stakes.

This is a great point and is a step forward from the Level 1 thinking in my post. "How do the players at my level typically react to various levels of aggression?" is a great question to be asking yourself and can lead you to all sorts of successful ram-and-jam, slow play, check-raise, and bluffing strategies.