What is a "balanced range" ?

I havent been able to find an explanation on this and have noticed that balancing gets mentioned in quite a few posts. Would someone be able explain what this means?

Suppose you make a flop check-raise ONLY with TPTK (top pair, top kicker). Your play is unbalanced, easily readable.

A balanced range includes both strong, medium and weak hands to keep our opponents off balance. Another term you'll hear is "polarized range." That's a range that only includes very strong and very weak/bluffy hands.

All that said, if you're at 25nl and below, the concept probably doesn't have much application to your game.

Is there any relation between a balanced range and starting hands, or are we only talking about the strenght/weakness of our hand based on the cards that are on the board?

Originally Posted by Biglines

Is there any relation between a balanced range and starting hands, or are we only talking about the strenght/weakness of our hand based on the cards that are on the board?

For example, if you limp and then reraise only AA/KK then you're going to be easily readable. This is because your range is not balanced. But if you do this with small pps 10% of the time, your opponent doesn't know that you have AA/KK, you could be holding 44 instead.

Ok, I probably wasnt that clear in the question regarding starting hands, I meant that if we are balancing our range are we then also playing starting hands that are trash?

Am I correct in thinking that when we balance our range we are playing different cards the same way, this does not mean we are playing trash though.

Originally Posted by Biglines

Ok, I probably wasnt that clear in the question regarding starting hands, I meant that if we are balancing our range are we then also playing starting hands that are trash?

Am I correct in thinking that when we balance our range we are playing different cards the same way, this does not mean we are playing trash though.

Depends on what you mean by trash. Let's talk blind stealing from the button. If you're stealing by open raising your normal range and adding in all Ax, Kxs, broadways, sc's, Q9s+, and J9s+ (for example), then your range is pretty balanced. There's a lot of weak, medium and strong hands in there.

Suppose you get called from the blinds. Then the flop is checked to you, and you have air. If you only bet the flop with TPTK or an overpair, and check down everything else, your range isn't balanced. You have to cbet with some "trashy" hands like 2 overcards and/or some weak draws, or your play will be extremely readable.

Of course, at 10nl and lower, no one's paying attention. So just letting most "trash" hands go isn't a big leak. Again, balancing ranges isn't all that important at the micros.

But one caveat. We should be stealing blinds at levels of poker even with "trash" and "air." Sometimes a 2nd barrel on the flop is needed to complete the steal. Read's are important, though. Don't just 2 barrel with trash hands and expect it to +EV.

Originally Posted by Biglines

Am I correct in thinking that when we balance our range we are playing different cards the same way, this does not mean we are playing trash though.

ding ding ding. WWCD (winner, winner, chicken dinner)

Realize that balancing is so overrated in microstakes games. That includes up to 25nl and most of the time at 50nl and 100nl.