Range architecture & advantage

Advanced range work begins when “strong” and “weak” stop being enough. A range can be linear (best hands downward), polarized (very strong hands plus bluffs), or merged (strong hands, bluffs, and selected medium hands). Its shape determines which size it can support. Range advantage asks who has more equity overall; nut advantage asks who owns more of the strongest combinations. They are related, but they are not interchangeable.

  1. Rebuild the entry ranges.Start from position and the preflop line, not your exact hand.
  2. Map the distribution.Compare the weak, middle, and nutted regions on this board.
  3. Name the shape.Decide whether the candidate betting or raising range is linear, polar, or merged.
  4. Choose the target.State which worse hands call or which better hands fold before choosing a size.

Worked example: one flop, two advantages

Button opens, big blind calls, and the flop is A♣7♦2♠. The button retains AA, AK, and AQ at full weight, while the big blind usually 3-bets some premium aces and pairs preflop. The button therefore has more equity across the range and more top-end combinations. A small, frequent bet can include medium aces, pocket pairs, and backdoor bluffs: a fairly linear betting range targeting the big blind's many misses. Change the flop to 8♠7♠6♦. The big blind now owns more two-pair and straight combinations. The button should check more, and the hands that do bet need a more selective shape. “Preflop raiser” did not change; the distribution did.