what does polarized mean when used in poker talk?

What term polarized mean in poker? I thought I knew but I have seen it used number of times where it doesn't really make any sense.

From Pokerplayer.co.uk

For example, suppose a player moves all-in on the river and there are three hearts on the board. You might decide that the villain’s range of hands includes any two hearts, any pair which made a set, any two cards which make a straight, and a few bluffs.

A polarised range means that in a given situation a player’s range of hands is overly skewed towards having either a very strong hand or a bluff, with little in between. In the three hearts example, you can imagine that the all-in player’s range included not only made flushes, but also straights, sets and bluffs. However, let’s change the example a little. Now everyone at the table limps in before the flop and checks it to the river. The final board is Kh-Qh-8h-6h-2c:, meaning that anyone with a heart has a flush. The player UTG now moves all-in. What do you think his range of hands is?

This is a basic and somewhat extreme example of a polarised range. It’s quite unlikely that any player would be moving all-in for value with a hand such as 8-8 (bottom set on the flop), given the action before the river and the low likelihood of being called by a worse hand. That means the only two types of hands that make sense to bet are complete bluffs (because there is no way to win the pot without betting) and strong flushes (for value).

You’d thus say that the UTG player has a ‘polarised range’, because he either has a monster or a bluff. A polarised range can actually make your decision easier, by reducing the possibilities you have to consider. Backtracking through the hand may enable you to eliminate one end of the range or the other, or you may be able to do so by reading your opponent’s body language. Clearly, if there are two diametrically-opposed possibilities and you eliminate one of them, your decision becomes a lot easier!


Hope this helped.

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