progressBB defense vs CO open at 25 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Cutoff opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 25 BB
Facing a Cutoff open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 25 big blinds, the big blind folds only 15% of hands, calls 69%, 3-bets to 7 BB with 5.0% and goes all-in with 11%. 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, ATs, KK, KQs.
Always all-in: AKo, AQo, AJo, ATo, A5o, A4o, K6o, JJ, 99, 88, 77, 66.
Folded: Q4o, Q3o, Q2o, T4o, T3o, T2o, 94o, 93o, 92o, 83o, 82o, 73o and 2 more.
Against other openers at 25 BB the big blind continues with: vs BTN 89%, vs HJ 79%, vs LJ 77%, vs UTG+1 74%, vs UTG 73%. 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): Q6o 60%, J2o 64%, 84o 64%, T5o 24%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 25 BB
The book continues with 85% of hands here, 84% at 24 BB and 85% at 26 BB. Compared with 24 BB, these hands come into the range: Q6o, J2o.
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