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Poker Challenges

Race

A close-to-even preflop confrontation, most often a pocket pair against two overcards, where neither side is a big favourite.

A race is not an even coin flip in the literal 50/50 sense: a pair against two live overcards usually sits closer to 52–57% for the pair, a real but modest edge. The term is used loosely for any preflop all-in that is roughly a toss-up rather than a clear favourite-versus-underdog situation, and it matters because getting stacks in as a small favourite repeatedly, rather than waiting for a bigger edge, is a perfectly sound long-run strategy despite how often it feels like a coin flip in the moment.

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