polarized, polar bear, so it means cold deck???

tbh before this thread i just thot it meant sunglasses where u cud see into the water and see the where the fish were b4 u cast ur bait

It's not as complicated as some have made it out to be. It simply means, in most contexts, the villain represents very few legitimate combinations.

this range has been pulverized.

 

Originally Posted by jdpc27

Polarization is correlated to the action that has taken place preflop / flop, and you can be polarized both pre and post. Usually that action has grouped your hand into one of two or three subsets...for example, air, nuts, thin value.

Polarization is neither bad or good in and of itself...what helps determine that is how your merge and balance your ranges. For example, if you are polarized by a river pot shove to either nuts or air, it is easier to play against you if i have some history that says you mostly value bet your nuts and shove your air. However, if you are balanced and are shoving air and nuts with enough frequency, even though you are polarized per se, it is still hard to play against u, because you are balanced.

When you have the best hand, you will often be less polarized then when you don't have the best hand.

So I take polarization to mean that your actions lead your hand to be grouped into one of a few subsets, usually at different extremes, weak vs. strong for example, but it goes hand in hand with merging and balancing. And, whether or not being polarized is bad or good for u depends on how you are merging and balancing.

JD

ha ur gr8

when i hear polarized i think skewed or unbalanced. It doesn't have to be "nuts or air," but it frequently is. To me it just means that the set(s) that comprise your hand range in a spot are not balanced.

wtf does range mean btw

polarized means you're in a spot where jamming all in on the river will work 60% of the time, every time



c/o Brian Fantana

I always thought this was easy to understand.

I have a very polar range when I'm open raising from 14 tables left in (approx) when I play micro limit $2.20 180 SnGs (yes, i suck, so I play low limits).

I am raising what you would obviously raise with (JJ+, AQs, AKs, AK), and I'm also raising with complete junk.

I'm stealing with junk, and can easily fold it, and when I get reraised, I easily fold. So, my polar range has both ends (where the polar comes in) with the range I mentioned above, plus some junk hands at the other end of the range.

For you guys that play in higher limits against thinking players, I think this comes more into play with the 3betting and four betting.

Some of you guys (not all) will 3bet with a polar range often (you'll reraise the open raiser), and if someone knows your 3bet polar range, they will start to 4bet your ass and get folds often because you have to fold often (because you aren't 3betting with, for example, AJo, but you ARE with AA and 65s).

Of course, you are only 4betting against people that you have a good clue of their 3bet polar range though. Unknowns you probably don't do this against until you have established more of a read.

Is this about right? I'm not so good, so who knows.

 

Originally Posted by Juanda 87

USCphildo should post what he thinks it is IMO.

would prob be something along the lines of what jackaaron said

A polarized range is one that consists of two different extremes. Since a range is every combination of hand a player can have, if it is polarized, it only includes the very top or the very bottom of the range. The most relevant case of range polarizing has been said numerous times already in this thread, and it involves 3betting. Most good players will polarize their 3betting range so that a 4bet will not put them in an awkward spot. One 'pole' will consist of hands that will definitely continue vs a 4bet (AA, KK, AK...) and the other 'pole' consists of hands that are easily folded to a 4bet (34o, 57s...).

As someone stated (I think jdpc), a polarized range is supposed to include both sides of the pole relatively equally in order to be the most difficult to play against. If you raise and 3barrel a K82 3 2 board, your range is most likely polarized. The strong 'pole' will include a range like AK+ (although it may be wider in some cases, such as button vs BB or vs a calling station) and the weak or bluffing 'pole' is probably hands Ace high or worse. When playing against this polarized range, calling with 55 or KJ is essentially the same call.

Merging a range is basically the opposite of polarizing a range. In the above board (K82 3 2), if you were to 3barrel against a strong competent player with K5s you would be 'merging' your range to become even tougher to play against. Your bluffing range is now starting to merge with your valuebet range. If you decide to 3bet with a hand like QKs instead of flatting, you are merging your flatting range and your 3bet range.

When bad players polarize a range they become easy to play against, since is it almost always weighted towards the strong pole. Bad players also merge ranges incorrectly, and will 3bet AJ and 88 instead of flatting, and make themselves vulnerable to 4bets.

Candy bars........candy bars usually come in a wrapper, like wrapping a Christmas present.........Christmas comes when it's cold, like in Alaska........polar bears live there.........Polar, polar, polarity! That it! That's how you polarize a range!

 

Originally Posted by USCphildo

When bad players polarize a range they become easy to play against, since is it almost always weighted towards the strong pole. Bad players also merge ranges incorrectly, and will 3bet AJ and 88 instead of flatting, and make themselves vulnerable to 4bets.

Phil or anyone else mind expanding on this a little bit more, what would be a good example of merging incorrectly or poorly and why it is in correct.

 

Originally Posted by DFish

wow phil this thread was made with serious intentions?

man i am hugely disappointed

seems to me he was tired of hearing people use it wrong and was trying to edumacate, but that is just a guess

I am usually POLARIZED to beer or tequila.....I usually MERGE the cheap liquor with the expensive liquor cuz after 5 shots, who can tell? This leads me open to hangovers and i end up falling on my azz cuz i'm UNBALANCED...On further thought, I should have just stuck to beer.....

JD