BB defense vs BTN open at 17 bb (9-max)
When BTN opens, everyone else folds and you're in the BB, with an effective stack of 17 bb in a 9-max tournament, the solver plays 74.6% of its hands (call 45.7%, raise 6.40 bb 3.3%, all-in 25.6%) and folds 25.4%. These frequencies come from Exploit It's full preflop tree: a chip-EV equilibrium with antes, computed for every position at the table.
Each cell: the share of each action for that hand, left to right. Gray cell: hand not in the range at this point.
Key takeaways for this spot
- The solver plays 74.6% of the hands that reach this spot, about 989 combos out of 1,326.
- Call is the main action for 46.5% of hands: from K9s down to 43o, the weakest hand played this way.
- Raise is the main action for 1.8% of hands: from AA down to JJ, the weakest hand played this way.
- All-in is the main action for 26.4% of hands: from TT down to J2s, the weakest hand played this way.
- Conversely, the solver plays hands ranked outside the top 100, such as J6o, J2s, 96s, T5s.
What changes at 15 bb (17 hands change action)
- AA: raise here, all-in at 15 bb
- KK: raise here, all-in at 15 bb
- QQ: raise here, all-in at 15 bb
- 77: all-in here, call at 15 bb
- K9s: call here, all-in at 15 bb
- QTs: call here, all-in at 15 bb
What changes at 20 bb (15 hands change action)
- A9s: all-in here, raise at 20 bb
- KJs: all-in here, call at 20 bb
- KTs: all-in here, call at 20 bb
- KJo: all-in here, call at 20 bb
- QJs: all-in here, call at 20 bb
- KTo: all-in here, call at 20 bb
Frequently asked questions
Which hands should you play from BB, facing an open, at 17 bb in 9-max?
The solver plays 74.6% of the hands that reach this spot, about 989 combos out of 1,326. Call is the main action for 46.5% of hands: from K9s down to 43o, 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 all-in, 33 all-in, 44 all-in, 55 all-in, 66 all-in.
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 all-in.
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.
- BB defense vs UTG open at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB defense vs MP open at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB defense vs HJ open at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB defense vs CO open at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs BTN all-in at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs SB all-in at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs UTG limp at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs MP limp at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs HJ limp at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs CO limp at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs BTN limp at 17 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs SB limp at 17 bb (9-max)
Equilibrium computed by the Exploit It solver in chip-EV, antes included, open size 2 bb at 25 bb or less and 2.2 bb deeper. The model's range-width caps can make some EVs of unplayed actions optimistic: play the frequencies.