progressOpening ranges by position
How the range grows from early position to the button, and how little stack depth changes it.
An opening range is the set of hands you play when everyone before you has folded. The earlier you act, the more players are still to act behind you and the stronger the range has to be. Here is the share of hands the solution book plays (raise plus all-in) in an 8-max tournament with ante:
| Stack | UTG | UTG+1 | LJ | HJ | CO | BTN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 BB | 16% | 18% | 21% | 24% | 30% | 39% |
| 20 BB | 17% | 19% | 23% | 26% | 31% | 41% |
| 30 BB | 18% | 20% | 24% | 28% | 34% | 46% |
| 40 BB | 17% | 20% | 24% | 28% | 35% | 48% |
| 60 BB | 17% | 20% | 23% | 27% | 34% | 48% |
| 100 BB | 16% | 18% | 22% | 28% | 35% | 49% |
What the numbers say
- UTG plays about one hand in six (18% at 30 BB). The range widens seat by seat, slowly at first and then fast: at 30 BB it goes 18%, 20%, 24%, 28%, 34%, 46% from UTG to the button.
- The button opens close to half of all hands at 30 BB and deeper (46% at 30 BB, 49% at 100 BB).
- Stack depth changes much less than position. From 15 to 100 BB the UTG range stays between 16% and 18%.
The small blind is different
From the small blind the book mixes raises, all-ins and limps (it limps 55% of hands at 30 BB and 85% at 100 BB). Only the big blind remains to act, and a limp gives the big blind the price to see a flop, which the small blind balances with a strong range of raises.
Where to see exact hands
Every position and stack has its own chart with hand-by-hand frequencies, for example the UTG range at 30 BB and the button range at 30 BB. All charts are on the preflop ranges page.
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Related guides
Questions
What percentage of hands should I open from UTG?
About 16 to 18 percent in our 8-max tournament book with ante, between 15 and 100 big blinds.
How wide should the button open?
Around 39 to 49 percent in our book, depending on the stack.
Do these ranges apply at the final table?
No. They are chip EV ranges. ICM pressure changes them near payout jumps.
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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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