progressBB defense vs UTG open at 9 BB
8-max MTT · ante 12.5 % · Under the Gun opens, small blind folds · chip EV
How the BB defends at 9 BB
Facing a Under the Gun open to 2 BB (small blind folds) with 9 big blinds, the big blind folds only 30% of hands, calls 59% 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 all-in: AA, AKs, AKo, AQs, AQo, AJs, AJo, ATs, ATo, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 66.
Folded: K8o, K7o, K6o, K5o, K4o, K3o, K2o, Q8o, Q7o, Q6o, Q5o, Q4o and 20 more.
Against other openers at 9 BB the big blind continues with: vs BTN 72%, vs CO 69%, vs HJ 72%, vs LJ 70%, vs UTG+1 70%. The defence does not simply grow with the position of the opener here; the exact chart for each opener matters.
Closest decisions (the book continues with them only part of the time): T6o 58%, 63o 64%, 95o 28%. These are the hands worth drilling, because a small change in the opponents or the stack flips them.
What changes around 9 BB
The book continues with 70% of hands here, 71% at 8 BB and 70% at 10 BB. These leave it: 95o. Some hands switch to an all-in: A5o.
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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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