Hand reading is the lifeblood of poker. Good players are always working to assign correct ranges throughout a hand, and the best players can narrow their opponent’s range with great precision. If you are not already working to hand read better in your 6max games – you are leaving heaps of money on the table.
To help you improve your hand reading skillset faster (or refine it if you are already pretty solid at it), I put together this range building video series for you. In it, we go street-by-street through a hand at 50NL 6max dissecting ranges and breaking down the logic and framework every step of the way. And don’t get blinded by the fact that we have KK – because hand reading becomes even MORE important when that damn Ace falls on the river!
THE HAND
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50NL 6max – K♣ K♥
CO opens to $1.50, HERO 3bets to $5 from the SB, CO calls.
Flop ($10.50): 8♦ 6♠ 4♥
Hero bets $5.50, CO calls.
Turn ($21.50): 2♥
Hero bets $13, CO calls.
River ($47.50): A♦
Hero goes all-in, CO calls ($26.50).
PREFLOP
BUILDING THE PREFLOP RANGE
Preflop we actually need to build two ranges. First, what range of hands would the CO open-raise? Then, after we resteal, what hands would the CO call our 3bet with?
When building these ranges keep the following questions in mind. What is the lowest pocket pair that villain would 4bet with? Would villain call your resteal with A9o, 97s, or 54s?
THE FLOP: 864
BUILDING THE FLOP RANGE
On the flop you CB for about 1/2 pot and the CO just decides to call. When building this range consider what the CO might raise with. Would they raise with sets and/or any two pair? Are straights really something to fear? Would the CO float with hands like Ace-high, backdoor draws, or overcards?
THE TURN: 864-2
BUILDING THE TURN RANGE
The turn is a brick deuce, you continue betting, and the CO continues calling you. When building their range, again, consider which hands they would raise with at this point. If they slow-played a set on the flop – would they continue slow-playing it here? Or, would they raise with most/all of their 2pair+ combos?
THE RIVER: 864-2-A
BUILDING THE RIVER RANGE
The river is the oh-so-scary Ace. But rather than panic and go for a check, you decide to rip it in.
Instead of hating the river just because it’s an overcard, slow down and consider how that card really hits the CO’s range. How would they contort their range when you shove into that card?
Hand reading is tough. Assigning precise ranges is very difficult. But improvements in this skill set are what separate the big winners from the breakeven regs.
Improving does not happen overnight though. Improvement happens after doing tons of off-table exploration and study. The good news is that I laid out the homework you should be doing to start hand reading better. And best yet – it’s made specifically for 6max online players – HUD stats and all!
The 6max workbook has 40 exercises to help guide you through the hand reading process. With prompting questions and an intuitive layout, you’ll not only save time while studying – but you’ll study the RIGHT stuff.
Pick up your copy today and if you want even more videos of 6max professionals breaking down hand after hand from this book, grab the Master Mind Combo and get over $1,000 worth of poker training content – giving you the absolute most value from the entire workbook.
Happy exploring!
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