I was just curious if anyone could give me a clear definition of what a polarized hand is. I kind of understand that it deals with bets and being either at the very top of your range or the very bottom, but I guess I don't understand what makes a bet polarized...what board textures, or lines make a bet polarized??? Just kind of a concept that has stumped me, and was wondering if anyone could elaborate for me.
Thanks

that's it. No matter what board textures or lines, every time you bet either top or bottom of your range in a gives spot, that's a polarized bet.

Describing a bet as polarized is a bit strange. The term polarized makes more sense when used to describe a range. You may get a better understanding if you google or search twoPlusTwo for 'polarized range' and not polarized bet, or polarized hand.

For me the board texture is a component but a polarized bet 'fits' on any board. The bets are typically pot or over-sized in an effort to create an 'all or nothing' picture to the opponent and typically don't fit into the previous street's bet pattern.

A 2x pot bet/shove on J72 4 K with 'standard' previous betting would imply that the bettor has smashed the K or slow played a set ... or was firing with AQo

Whereas the same bet on JT7 4 K has the same kind of implications but (should) fits into any remaining player's range and yet still creates the polarizing effect ... all or nothing.

Although you are technically bluffing if you do this with air, since you are also doing this with the nuts it becomes polarizing. Espeically on the 2nd board where you typically wouldn't be betting KQ here for 'normal' value very often. GL

Depends on the ranges and the board imo.

very static board: I'm often betting a big chunk of my strong hands and hopefully profitably bluffing with the best backdoor draws. I'm checking stuff in the middle strength category, thus my betting range is polarized.

somewhat static board: I'm often betting a smaller chunk of my strong hands and hopefully profitably bluffing with the best backdoor draws though not as often as on very static boards. I'm checking even more hands than above, thus my range is even more polarized.

somewhat dynamic board: I'm betting often with a smaller chunk of my range than above and bluffing often with the best draws, and less often with the weak draws. I'm also giving up with the real junky hands on this board type. However, my betting range could still be called polarized because I'm checking the stuff in the middle of it. It's not quite as polarized as on static boards though due to the equity of my bluffs.

very dynamic board: I'm betting less often with a very much smaller chunk of my range than above, and bluffing only with the strongest of draws at high frequency, though I choose to check the weaker draws at high frequency. The result is a betting range that is polarized with strong hands and draws, but the range is less polar than all of the above board types due to the high equity of my bluffs.

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Not every situation is equal. Position matters in determining if a board is static or dynamic. utg vs btn coldcall behaves differently than btn vs big blind, ad nauseum. I recommend playing with equilab to examine range vs range equities, which is the man factor in determining board texture. The more equity the preflop raiser has, the more static the board will typically be. The less equity the preflop raiser has, the more dynamic the board will typically be.

Having a polarised range means that you are doing "x" with hands that are the bottom of your range as well as the top. For example if you only 3bet pre with JJ+ then your opponents will be able to put you on these hands fairly quickly. If you throw in a few 3bets with the lowest end of your range eg. 78s but never mid range ef KQ/KJ/QJ then you would be said to have a polarised 3bet range. Take this concept and apply it to post flop play and theres your answer.