Using Your Own Hand Ranges to Guide Decisions Against Unknown Opponents

United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT)If we don’t know much about our opponents, thinking about our own ranges can often guide us. Playing an event at UKIPT Bristol, I had two opportunities to do just that.

First Principles

Situations in multi-table tournaments can be very complicated. Stacks alone can vary in endless arrangements, making hard work even for supercomputers to find solutions. And with tables breaking and a sometimes unfamiliar player pool, getting reads on opponents can be a challenge sometimes as well.

When I don’t know my opponents, a main assumption I follow is to use my own ranges to guide my action. One example of this would be to raise with hands that are not quite…