progressBB defense vs UTG open at 55 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Under the Gun opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 55 BB
Facing a Under the Gun open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 55 big blinds, the big blind folds only 30% of hands, calls 64%, 3-bets to 9.5 BB with 6.0% and goes all-in with 0.1%. 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, KK, QQ, JJ.
Folded: K6o, K5o, K4o, K3o, K2o, Q8o, Q7o, Q6o, Q5o, Q4o, Q3o, Q2o and 17 more.
Against other openers at 55 BB the big blind continues with: vs BTN 87%, vs CO 78%, vs HJ 78%, vs LJ 74%, vs UTG+1 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): 52o 60%, K7o 38%, T6o 38%, 63o 64%, 95o 34%, J7o 68%, plus 1 more mixed hands. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 55 BB
The book continues with 70% of hands here, 70% at 50 BB and 70% at 60 BB. Going from 50 BB to 55 BB, no hand crosses the 50% line; only the frequencies shift.
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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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