Building Balanced Ranges from Scratch

Range construction is the art of putting together optimal hand combinations for every situation.

Principles of Range Construction

**Board coverage**: Your range should connect with various board textures

**Balance**: Include both value hands and bluffs in appropriate ratios

**Deception**: Mix strategies so opponents can't read your hand

Start with the strongest hands that should always be played

Add hands that play well postflop (suited, connected)

Ensure the range covers various board textures

Adjust based on position — wider in late position

Identify your strong hands (value betting range)

Identify hands with no showdown value (bluffing candidates)

Identify medium hands that check back or call

Ensure bluff-to-value ratios make opponent indifferent

**Too many bluffs**: Makes your range weak and exploitable

**Too few bluffs**: Makes your value bets less effective

**Ignoring position**: Building the same range regardless of position

**Static ranges**: Not adjusting ranges based on board texture