How a range is built

Why 43 charts are really 14, and how to work out the rest.

Open any villain's ranges and you'll find 43 charts: every seat, against every kind of raise. That looks like a lot to learn, but you don't have to memorize them. Each villain has only about 14 different ranges, and every one of them is built by the same few rules. If you know the rules and one starting chart, you can work out the rest at the table. That's also how you'll guess the ranges of a player you've never seen.

In short

Most spots share a range: 43 charts, about 14 different ranges.
Start from one chart: their open from under the gun.
The later the seat, the wider the range. Each seat adds a layer.
The raise is the top of the range, and the call is the middle.
Each raise after that cuts it down to the same few big hands.
The player type sets how wide; the shape stays the same.

The charts repeat much more than the screen suggests. For the TAG:

Facing a 3-bet, a 4-bet or an all-in: one range each, the same from every seat.
Facing an open: their 3-bet range depends on their seat, never on who opened. So does their calling range.
Facing a limp: the same raise from every seat.

So only the opens really change seat by seat. The TAG's 43 charts hold just 14 different ranges, and every other villain has between 13 and 15.

AAAKsAQsAJsATsA9sA8sA7sA6sA5sA4sA3sA2sAKoKKKQsKJsKTsK9sK8sK7sK6sK5sK4sK3sK2sAQoKQoQQQJsQTsQ9sQ8sQ7sQ6sQ5sQ4sQ3sQ2sAJoKJoQJoJJJTsJ9sJ8sJ7sJ6sJ5sJ4sJ3sJ2sAToKToQToJToTTT9sT8sT7sT6sT5sT4sT3sT2sA9oK9oQ9oJ9oT9o9998s97s96s95s94s93s92sA8oK8oQ8oJ8oT8o98o8887s86s85s84s83s82sA7oK7oQ7oJ7oT7o97o87o7776s75s74s73s72sA6oK6oQ6oJ6oT6o96o86o76o6665s64s63s62sA5oK5oQ5oJ5oT5o95o85o75o65o5554s53s52sA4oK4oQ4oJ4oT4o94o84o74o64o54o4443s42sA3oK3oQ3oJ3oT3o93o83o73o63o53o43o3332sA2oK2oQ2oJ2oT2o92o82o72o62o52o42o32o22

The TAG's call against a 3-bet: 70 combos, from every seat.

Start from the tightest open

Under the gun is the tightest spot: five players still to act, any of whom could have a big hand. So every range starts as a small block of the best hands: pairs, big aces and big kings.

The Nit's open from under the gun: 144 combos, 11% of hands.

Learn this one chart for each villain. Everything else is built from it.

Each seat later adds a layer

With fewer players left to act, a seat can open more hands. Each step around the table adds the next-best hands to the block: smaller pairs, smaller suited aces, suited kings and queens, suited connectors, then more offsuit hands.

The Nit opens from	Combos	Share of hands
UTG	144	11%
HJ	172	13%
CO	218	16%
BTN	310	23%
SB	278	21%

The Nit's open from the cutoff: 218 combos, the same corner grown outward.

The small blind is the one step back. Most villains open a little tighter there than on the button, because they'll play the rest of the hand first to act. The TAG opens the same range from both.

The raise is the top, the call is the middle

When someone has already opened, the range splits in three. The strongest hands raise. The next tier calls. Everything below that folds. That's why a calling range has a hole at the top: the big pairs and AK left to raise, so they never just call.

The aggressive players add a few bluffs to the raise, picked from just below the call. Small suited aces are the favorites: they block aces and can still make a straight or a flush.

The LAG's 3-bet from the button: the top of their range plus small aces to bluff with. 158 combos.

The calling range shifts with the seat too, and the big blind usually calls the most: they've already put in a blind, and nobody can raise behind them.

Each raise cuts it down

Every raise after the open is a bigger bet, so it takes a stronger hand to keep going. Each time, the range falls toward the same handful of big hands. Here's how much the TAG keeps playing in each spot, from under the gun:

Spot	The TAG plays
Their open	190 combos
Facing a 3-bet	104
Facing a 4-bet	40
Facing an all-in	34

What the TAG calls an all-in with, from every seat: 34 combos.

Every villain ends up somewhere near this block. Here's how much each one calls an all-in with:

Villain	Calls an all-in with
The Nit	16 combos
The TAG	34
The LAG	50
The Short Stacker	50
Calling Station	76
The Maniac	128

The player type sets the width

Every villain uses the same shape. What changes is how far it reaches.

Villain	Opens from UTG	Opens from BTN
The Nit	11%	23%
The TAG	14%	37%
The LAG	20%	50%
The Maniac	38%	63%
The Short Stacker	9%	32%

The Maniac's open from under the gun: 38%, already wider than the Nit's open from the button.

Two villains bend the rules, and the way they bend them is how you spot them:

Calling Station barely raises. They open the same small block of about 9% from every seat. Their wide range is in their limps and calls instead, and those still grow with the seat: they limp 42% of hands from UTG and 66% from the small blind.
The Short Stacker has only 40 big blinds, so they never just call a 3-bet. They go all in or fold.

Work it out instead of looking it up

Say the LAG opens from the cutoff and you can't remember the chart. Build it:

1. Start: the LAG opens about 20% from under the gun. 2. Seat: the cutoff is two seats later, so add a layer or two: smaller suited kings and queens, more suited connectors, a few weaker offsuit aces. 3. Type: a loose player adds more at each step than a tight one, so be generous.

That gives you a range of about a third of all hands. The real chart:

The LAG's open from the cutoff: 442 combos, 33% of hands.

Your read doesn't have to be perfect. Getting the width about right and knowing what kind of hands fill it is what counts. The same steps work on a player you've never seen: guess their type, start from that type's tightest open, and adjust for the seat.

Try it

Before you check a villain's chart, guess it first: start from their open under the gun, then add a layer for each seat. Then compare. Do it for a different seat each day and you'll stop needing the charts.