progressBB defense vs BTN open at 36 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Button opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 36 BB
Facing a Button open to 2.1 BB (small blind folds) with 36 big blinds, the big blind folds only 12% of hands, calls 68%, 3-bets to 9 BB with 15% and goes all-in with 5.7%. 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, A3o, A2o, KK, KQs, KQo, QQ and 3 more.
Always all-in: ATo, A9o, 66.
Folded: T2o, 94o, 93o, 92o, 83o, 82o, 73o, 72o, 62o.
Against other openers at 36 BB the big blind continues with: vs CO 80%, vs HJ 78%, vs LJ 76%, vs UTG+1 73%, 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): Q4o 60%, T4o 62%, 84o 30%, Q3o 22%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 36 BB
The book continues with 88% of hands here, 92% at 35 BB and 88% at 38 BB. These leave it: Q3o, T3o, T2o, 84o. Some hands switch to an all-in: 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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