The spot
Eight players, everyone has the same stack. The first player (UTG) opens, the next four fold and the button decides. We looked at how that decision changes between 10 and 40 BB.
UTG's own range is stable. The book opens 17.6% of hands at 10 BB, 16.5% at 15 BB, 17.4% at 20 BB, 18.3% at 30 BB and 18.2% at 40 BB. At 10 BB part of that range is all-in (10.6% of hands), from 15 BB up it is a min-raise.
Calling, raising and going all-in all count as continuing. The button folds the other 84% to 88%, so most of the work is choosing which hands stay in.
How the button continues
At 15 BB the button either calls (5.1% of hands) or goes all-in (8.3%). A raise that is not all-in is almost absent. At 30 BB the all-in almost disappears (0.7% of hands): the book calls 8.5% and raises 6.2%. At 40 BB it calls 8.8% and raises 6.8%.
Confirmed
- UTG opens 17.6%, 16.5%, 17.4%, 18.3% and 18.2% of hands at 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 BB. progressGTO strategy book
- The button continues with 11.8%, 13.4%, 14.3%, 15.4% and 15.7% at the same depths. progressGTO strategy book
Still open
- These are equal-stack, chip-EV numbers. Payout structures, bounties and unequal stacks change them.
- The book is our own approximation of equilibrium with a modelled postflop, not an exact solution.
- We did not compare with a version of the book without antes, so we make no claim about how much the ante widens ranges.
- How real opponents open from the first seat is not part of the calculation.
How to use this
Drill the button facing an open at 15 BB first (the drill deals openers from several seats, not only UTG). Then open the Library, change the stack to 30 BB and see which all-in hands turn into calls and raises.
Questions readers ask
How wide should UTG open at 15 BB?
In our strategy book (8-max, ante from every player, chip EV) UTG opens 16.5% of hands at 15 BB. At 20 BB it is 17.4% and at 40 BB 18.2%. It is our own approximation of equilibrium.
How often does the button continue against a UTG open?
The book continues with 11.8% of hands at 10 BB, 13.4% at 15 BB, 14.3% at 20 BB and 15.7% at 40 BB.
Does the button go all-in or call at 15 BB?
Both. The book calls with 5.1% of hands and goes all-in with 8.3%.
Do these numbers hold in every tournament?
No. They assume equal stacks and chip EV. Payout structures, bounties and unequal stacks change them.
