progressBB defense vs BTN open at 26 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Button opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 26 BB
Facing a Button open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 26 big blinds, the big blind folds only 10% of hands, calls 67%, 3-bets to 7 BB with 7.8% and goes all-in with 15%. The big blind already has one blind in the pot and closes the action, so it gets a good price.
Always 3-bet: AA, AKs, AQs, AJs, A3o, A2o, KK, KQs.
Always all-in: AQo, AJo, ATs, ATo, A9o, A8o, A7o, A6o, A5o, A4o, KQo, K6o, QJs, 88, 77, 66 and 4 more.
Folded: Q3o, Q2o, 94o, 93o, 92o, 83o, 82o, 72o, 62o.
Against other openers at 26 BB the big blind continues with: vs CO 85%, vs HJ 79%, vs LJ 76%, vs UTG+1 74%, vs UTG 72%. The later the opener, the wider its range, and the more the big blind defends.
Closest decisions (the book continues with them only part of the time): T3o 48%, 73o 34%, Q4o 72%, T2o 24%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 26 BB
The book continues with 90% of hands here, 89% at 25 BB and 90% at 27 BB. Going from 25 BB to 26 BB, no hand crosses the 50% line; only the frequencies shift. With the extra chips some former all-ins become small raises: AKo, A9s, A8s.
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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.
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