progressBB defense vs BTN open at 35 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Button opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 35 BB
Facing a Button open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 35 big blinds, the big blind folds only 8.0% of hands, calls 70%, 3-bets to 8 BB with 16% and goes all-in with 5.4%. 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, AKo, AQs, AQo, AJs, ATs, A9s, A6o, A4o, A3o, A2o, KK, KQs and 6 more.
Always all-in: ATo, A9o, 66, 33, 22.
Folded: 93o, 92o, 83o, 82o, 72o, 62o.
Against other openers at 35 BB the big blind continues with: vs CO 84%, vs HJ 78%, vs LJ 75%, vs UTG+1 72%, vs UTG 71%. 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): Q2o 48%, T2o 54%, 73o 42%, Q3o 68%, 94o 22%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 35 BB
The book continues with 92% of hands here, 92% at 33 BB and 88% at 36 BB. These leave it: Q2o. With the extra chips some former all-ins become small raises: AJo, 77.
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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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