progressBB defense vs CO open at 29 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Cutoff opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 29 BB
Facing a Cutoff open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 29 big blinds, the big blind folds only 15% of hands, calls 70%, 3-bets to 7.5 BB with 8.8% and goes all-in with 6.4%. 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, AQs, AJs, ATs, A6o, KK, KQs, QQ, TT, 99.
Always all-in: AQo, AJo, A5o, 88, 77, 66.
Folded: Q4o, Q3o, Q2o, T4o, T3o, T2o, 94o, 93o, 92o, 83o, 82o, 73o and 2 more.
Against other openers at 29 BB the big blind continues with: vs BTN 91%, vs HJ 79%, vs LJ 75%, vs UTG+1 73%, 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): 84o 56%, Q6o 66%, J2o 66%, T5o 26%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 29 BB
The book continues with 85% of hands here, 85% at 28 BB and 85% at 30 BB. Going from 28 BB to 29 BB, no hand crosses the 50% line; only the frequencies shift. With the extra chips some former all-ins become small raises: AKo.
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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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