progressBig blind defense against UTG and button opens
The same seat, two very different opponents.
The big blind closes the action and gets a discount, but the right defence depends on who opened. This table shows the share of hands our solution book defends (call, 3-bet or all-in) when the small blind folds, in an 8-max tournament with ante:
| Stack | vs UTG open | vs button open |
|---|---|---|
| 15 BB | 74% | 79% |
| 20 BB | 73% | 85% |
| 30 BB | 72% | 91% |
| 40 BB | 70% | 88% |
Fold / call / 3-bet / all-in
Here is the full split for each stack, in that order:
| Stack | vs UTG | vs button |
|---|---|---|
| 15 BB | 26% / 66% / 0% / 8% | 21% / 56% / 1% / 22% |
| 20 BB | 27% / 65% / 0% / 8% | 15% / 62% / 2% / 21% |
| 30 BB | 28% / 65% / 6% / 0% | 9% / 69% / 12% / 10% |
| 40 BB | 30% / 64% / 6% / 0% | 12% / 69% / 17% / 2% |
What the tables show
- The big blind defends far more against the button. At 30 BB it defends 91% against the button and 72% against UTG.
- Most of the defence is a call at 20 to 40 BB. At 30 BB the call share is 65% against UTG and 69% against the button.
- Shallow, the raises are shoves. At 15 BB against the button the all-in share is 22% and the 3-bet only 1%; at 40 BB the 3-bet is 17% and the all-in 2%.
What to take away
- Do not use one defence range for every opener. The fold share against UTG at 30 BB is 28% and against the button 9%.
- Defend mostly by calling at 20 to 40 BB and keep the raising range small.
- See the grids in the big blind chart against the button and the big blind defence guide.
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Questions
How often should the big blind fold to a UTG open?
In our book 28% at 30 BB, 27% at 20 BB and 26% at 15 BB (8-max, with ante, small blind folds).
How often does the big blind fold to a button open?
9% at 30 BB and 21% at 15 BB.
Does the big blind 3-bet more at 40 BB?
Against the button the 3-bet share is 17% at 40 BB and 2% at 20 BB.
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progressGTO guides use our own solution book (v13, 8-max tournaments with ante, chip EV): an approximation of equilibrium with a modelled postflop, not an exact solution. Numbers are computed from the book and from the exact ICM model.
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