progressBB defense vs BTN open at 12 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Button opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 12 BB
Facing a Button open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 12 big blinds, the big blind folds only 25% of hands, calls 49%, 3-bets to 4.5 BB with 0.7% and goes all-in with 25%. The big blind already has one blind in the pot and closes the action, so it gets a good price.
Always all-in: AA, AKs, AKo, AQs, AQo, AJs, AJo, ATs, ATo, A9s, A9o, A8s, A8o, A7s, A7o, A6s and 19 more.
Folded: Q3o, Q2o, J6o, J5o, J4o, J3o, J2o, T6o, T5o, T4o, T3o, T2o and 13 more.
Against other openers at 12 BB the big blind continues with: vs CO 70%, vs HJ 72%, vs LJ 73%, vs UTG+1 73%, vs UTG 72%. The defence does not simply grow with the position of the opener here; the exact chart for each opener matters.
Closest decisions (the book continues with them only part of the time): Q5o 46%, 85o 56%, Q7o 68%, 96o 68%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 12 BB
The book continues with 75% of hands here, 73% at 11 BB and 76% at 13 BB. Compared with 11 BB, these hands come into the range: Q7o, J7o, 96o. Some hands switch to an all-in: 22.
Free 7-day ICM course by e-mail
One short lesson a day, each with a worked example in exact numbers: chips vs. money, the bubble factor, who feels the pressure, payout structures, satellites. No account needed.
Numbers come from the progressGTO solution book (v14, chip EV, 8-max, ante 12.5 %): our own equilibrium computation with a modelled postflop. It is an approximation, not an exact solution, and it keeps improving. Hover or tap a hand to see its exact frequencies.
progressGTOAll rangesGuidesDaily spotICM calculatorOpen the appPrivacyTerms