Sorry for my naive question, but I cannot get the gap concept in line with modern range vs. range play.
Gap concept says you need a stronger hand to call with than you need to raise with.
On the other hand the calling range is always capped and don't contain the "stronger" hands.
Looking over to the AQK game, K is the bluff catcher as the middle strength hand but according to the gap concept, the right hand to call with is the A.
Also stack sizes are not considered with gap concept.
So lets say I'm in the BTN against a CO open and I'm looking down at KQs.
Usually I 3bet this hand as well as I 3bet Axs and Kxs, but this would actually be a hand to call with (strong).
Looking at 65s-98s those are hands I'd like to call with since they have good board coverage and good equity vs opening range. But are those "strong" hands? No. I'd say they fit the K in the AKQ game.
Can anybody shed light on this issue. Is the gap concept just outdated?
The gap concept just states that the range you'd call (or 3-bet with) on the button is narrower/stronger than the range you'd open on the button if CO had folded.
While it's true that you might be more inclined to call or 3-bet with 98s than call with KT, despite 98s being lower-ranked than KT, if the CO had folded, you'd play 98s and KT.
The presence of an opener just means the total number of playable hands becomes less than it would have been if the action was folded to you.
To put it another way, if you were playing a game where your opening range only contained aces, kings and queens, then you'd play Ax/Kx/Qx on the button if everyone folds to you. But if the CO opened Ax/Kx/Qx, then your Qx doesn't beat anything, so you'd only play Ax/Kx at most.
