ConceptsRanges and boards
Range advantage
On a given board, whose whole range has more equity — which decides who can bet often.
What it is
Range advantage compares two ranges, not two hands: on this board, how much equity does each player's whole range have against the other's? It is the average of every hand's equity, weighted by combos.
Preflop ranges meet the board differently. A button open has more big cards than a big-blind call; the big blind has more small and middling suited hands. So a king-high dry flop favours the opener, and a low connected one narrows the gap or flips it.
Why it matters
The player with the range advantage can bet a lot of their range, often small: most of their hands are ahead, and the rest have enough equity to come along.
The player without it checks more and defends carefully; leading into the stronger range rarely pays.
It is the first question in almost every postflop spot, because it shapes both players' frequencies before a single hand is looked at.
The maths
A range's equity equals the sum over its hands of combos times equity, divided by the total combos.
Worked example
Button open against a big-blind call
Using the illustrative ranges in the widget below: a button opening range against a big-blind calling range, on two flops.
- On K♦7♣2♥ the button's range has about 53% equity against the big blind's.
- On 8♥7♥6♣ the same ranges are nearly even — the button has about 49%.
- An under-the-gun open against the big blind is further ahead on both: about 59% on K♦7♣2♥ and 53% on 8♥7♥6♣.
The tighter the opening range, the bigger its advantage — and the low connected board pulls every matchup back towards even.
Try it
Switch the matchup and the board and watch the equity split move. The ranges are written by hand for teaching, not solved.
Common mistakes
- Judging the spot by your own hand alone.
- Assuming the preflop raiser always has the advantage. On some boards the caller does.
- Confusing range advantage (who is ahead on average) with nut advantage (who has more of the very best hands).