MTT preflop strategy

BTN range vs BB 3-bet at 25 bb (6-max)

When you open from BTN and BB 3-bets you, with an effective stack of 25 bb in a 6-max tournament, the solver plays 61.8% of its hands (call 40.6%, raise 13.00 bb 3.1%, all-in 18.1%) and folds 38.2%. These frequencies come from Exploit It's full preflop tree: a chip-EV equilibrium with antes, computed for every position at the table.

Fold 38.2%Call 40.6%Raise 13.00 bb 3.1%All-in 18.1%

Each cell: the share of each action for that hand, left to right. Gray cell: hand not in the range at this point.

Put it into practice

Random hands in this exact spot, with the solver's answer after each choice.

Train on this spot Open in the solver

Borderline hands

Where the solver mixes its actions. EV in bb relative to folding.

76sFold 47% +0.00Call 49% -0.05Raise 13.00 bb 2% -1.59All-in 2% -1.89

96sFold 48% +0.00Call 50% -0.04Raise 13.00 bb 2% -2.03All-in 1% -2.48

A8oFold 45% +0.00Call 5% -0.08Raise 13.00 bb 2% -0.71All-in 49% +0.06

A9sFold 2% +0.00Call 47% +1.54Raise 13.00 bb 3% +1.49All-in 47% +1.58

85sFold 47% +0.00Call 51% -0.05Raise 13.00 bb 1% -2.33All-in 1% -2.87

J6sFold 46% +0.00Call 52% -0.04Raise 13.00 bb 1% -2.31All-in 1% -2.78

T8oFold 54% +0.00Call 44% -0.05Raise 13.00 bb 1% -2.32All-in 1% -2.71

J9oFold 42% +0.00Call 55% -0.03Raise 13.00 bb 1% -1.89All-in 1% -2.21

Key takeaways for this spot

The solver plays 61.8% of the hands that reach this spot, about 356 combos out of 577.
Call is the main action for 41.9% of hands: from QQ down to 64s, the weakest hand played this way.
All-in is the main action for 19.0% of hands: from AA down to A2s, the weakest hand played this way.
Surprise: the solver folds some top-50 hands here, such as A7o, K9o, A6o, A5o.
Conversely, the solver plays hands ranked outside the top 100, such as 96s, 76s, 87o, 85s.

What changes at 30 bb (7 hands change action)

88: call here, all-in at 30 bb
A8o: all-in here, fold at 30 bb
A2s: all-in here, fold at 30 bb
J4s: call here, fold at 30 bb
76s: call here, fold at 30 bb
87o: call here, fold at 30 bb

Frequently asked questions

Which hands should you play from BTN, facing a 3-bet, at 25 bb in 6-max?

The solver plays 61.8% of the hands that reach this spot, about 356 combos out of 577. Call is the main action for 41.9% of hands: from QQ down to 64s, the weakest hand played this way.

What should you do with small pairs (22 to 66) in this spot?

The solver's main action with each hand: 22 fold, 33 fold, 44 fold, 55 call, 66 call.

What should you do with weak suited aces (A2s to A5s) in this spot?

The solver's main action with each hand: A2s all-in, A3s all-in, A4s all-in, A5s call.

How do you train on this spot?

Exploit It's free quiz deals you random hands in this exact spot and shows you the solver's answer after each choice.

The same spot at other depths

8 bb 25 bb 30 bb 40 bb 50 bb 70 bb 100 bb

Related spots

Equilibrium computed by the Exploit It solver in chip-EV, antes included, open size 2 bb, a little more at deep stacks (up to 2.5 bb on the button at 100 bb), 2 to 3.5 bb from the SB. EVs of actions the equilibrium does not play are indicative: play the frequencies.