progressButton opening range in tournaments
The widest seat, and a hand by hand look at the marginal hands.
The button acts last after the blinds and has the widest opening range at the table. Our solution book (8-max tournaments with ante, everyone folded to the button) opens this share of hands:
| Stack | Opens | of which all-in | Folds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 BB | 39% | 22% | 61% |
| 20 BB | 41% | 9% | 59% |
| 30 BB | 46% | 0% | 54% |
| 40 BB | 48% | 0% | 52% |
| 60 BB | 48% | 0% | 52% |
| 100 BB | 49% | 0% | 51% |
Which weak hands open
The percentage hides the question players actually ask: is this hand an open? Here is the share of times the book opens some marginal hands, by stack:
| Hand | 15 BB | 20 BB | 30 BB | 40 BB | 60 BB | 100 BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K7o | 2% | 6% | 98% | 100% | 100% | 96% |
| T8o | 0% | 2% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Q8o | 0% | 0% | 2% | 40% | 38% | 10% |
| 97o | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 40% | 60% |
| 85s | 0% | 0% | 2% | 62% | 82% | 100% |
| 64s | 0% | 0% | 2% | 54% | 54% | 100% |
| 53s | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 12% |
What the table shows
- Several weak hands are a fold at 15 BB and an open at 30 BB. K7o opens 2% of the time at 15 BB and 98% at 30 BB; T8o 0% and 100%.
- Marginal suited hands depend on depth. 64s opens 2% at 30 BB, 54% at 40 BB and 100% at 100 BB; 53s opens 2% at 60 BB and 12% at 100 BB.
- Offsuit trash stays out at 30 BB. K6o opens 0% of the time and Q7o 0%.
- The overall share is large at every depth. The button opens 46% of hands at 30 BB.
What to take away
- Open the button wide, but check the stack: many marginal hands switch from a fold to an open somewhere between 20 and 40 BB.
- Do not copy a fixed list from one stack to another. The same hand can be an open at 30 BB and a fold at 15 BB.
- The full grid is in the button chart at 30 BB; the narrower seats are in the UTG guide.
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Questions
How wide should I open the button in a tournament?
In our book 46% of hands at 30 BB, 41% at 20 BB and 48% at 60 BB (8-max, with ante).
Is K7o an open on the button?
At 30 BB the book opens it 98% of the time, at 20 BB 6% and at 15 BB 2%.
Does 64s open?
Rarely at 30 BB (2%), more at 40 BB (54%) and always at 100 BB (100%).
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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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