BB defense vs UTG open at 8 bb (9-max)
When UTG opens, everyone else folds and you're in the BB, with an effective stack of 8 bb in a 9-max tournament, the solver plays 70.6% of its hands (call 56.5%, raise 6.40 bb 1.5%, all-in 12.6%) and folds 29.4%. 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 70.6% of the hands that reach this spot, about 936 combos out of 1,326.
- Call is the main action for 57.0% of hands: from KQs down to 32o, the weakest hand played this way.
- Raise is the main action for 1.4% of hands: from QQ down to 22, the weakest hand played this way.
- All-in is the main action for 13.3% of hands: from AA down to 33, the weakest hand played this way.
- Conversely, the solver plays hands ranked outside the top 100, such as J2s, 96s, T5s, T4s.
What changes at 10 bb (18 hands change action)
- QQ: raise here, all-in at 10 bb
- JJ: raise here, all-in at 10 bb
- KQs: call here, all-in at 10 bb
- A9s: all-in here, call at 10 bb
- KTs: call here, all-in at 10 bb
- A9o: all-in here, call at 10 bb
Frequently asked questions
Which hands should you play from BB, facing an open, at 8 bb in 9-max?
The solver plays 70.6% of the hands that reach this spot, about 936 combos out of 1,326. Call is the main action for 57.0% of hands: from KQs down to 32o, 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 raise, 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 call, A3s call, A4s call, 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.
Short stack: the push/fold chart, from 5 to 20 bb
- BB defense vs MP open at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs MP all-in at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs HJ all-in at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs CO all-in at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs BTN all-in at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB calling range vs SB all-in at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs UTG limp at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs MP limp at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs HJ limp at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs CO limp at 8 bb (9-max)
- BB range vs BTN limp at 8 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.