Board coverage

Also: range coverage

Having hands in your range that connect with every type of flop, so that no board leaves you with nothing to bet or defend. It is the reason pre-flop ranges include suited connectors and small pairs alongside big cards.

Example. Calling with 6-5 suited gives you board coverage on low flops where your big-card hands whiff.

Related terms

Full glossary

Range

All the hands a player could plausibly hold given how they have played so far. Thinking in ranges rather than …

Range advantage

The situation where one player's range of possible hands has more equity — or more of the strongest hands — th…

Capped range

A range that, based on previous actions, cannot contain the strongest possible hands. A player who just called…

Alpha (bluff break-even)

The percentage of the time a bluff needs to work to break even: bet ÷ (bet + pot). It is the mirror image of m…

Balance

Having a mix of strong hands and bluffs in the same line so that an opponent cannot tell which one you hold an…

Bankroll management

The discipline of only playing stakes your bankroll can survive. Rules of thumb: 20–50 buy-ins for cash games,…

Blind steal

A late-position raise with a weak hand whose main purpose is to win the blinds and antes uncontested. Steals f…

Block bet

A small bet made out of position, often on the river, with a medium-strength hand to set a cheap price and dis…