Which hands should the small blind shove at 17bb?
The small blind posts half a big blind and acts first. With 17 big blinds behind, the solved chart shoves 42.9% of hands, which is 569 of the 1,326 two-card holdings, and folds the rest for the half blind already posted.
In shorthand the shoving range is 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J6s+, T6s+, 96s+, 85s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K8o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T8o+, 98o. By equity against a random hand, 54s is the lowest-ranked hand that still shoves and K7o is the highest-ranked hand that folds. T8o mixes between shoving and folding at this stack, which marks the edge of the range: either choice is close to break-even.
Small blind shove chart at 17 big blinds heads-up. Shoves: 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J6s+, T6s+, 96s+, 85s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K8o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T8o+, 98o.
- Shove
- Mixes
- Fold
- Under 50% equity
Which hands should the big blind call with at 17bb?
When the small blind shoves at 17 big blinds, the big blind calls 24.8% of the time, 329 of the 1,326 combos. Every other hand folds and keeps the stack minus the big blind.
In shorthand the calling range is 33+, A2s+, K8s+, QTs+, JTs, A4o+, K9o+, QJo. By equity against a random hand, 33 is the lowest-ranked hand that still calls and Q9s is the highest-ranked hand that folds. K9o mixes between calling and folding at this stack, which marks the edge of the range: either choice is close to break-even.
Big blind call chart at 17 big blinds heads-up. Calls: 33+, A2s+, K8s+, QTs+, JTs, A4o+, K9o+, QJo.
- Call
- Mixes
- Fold
- Under 50% equity
Which kinds of hands make up the 17bb ranges?
Pairs, suited hands and offsuit hands thin out at different speeds as the stack grows. The table counts the hands of each kind that act at 17bb, out of the 13 pairs and the 78 suited and 78 offsuit hands, and the share of each kind's specific combos that act once mixed hands are weighted by how often they act.
| Kind | Small blind shoves | Share of combos | Big blind calls | Share of combos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pairs | 13 of 13 | 100.0% | 12 of 13 | 92.3% |
| Suited hands | 49 of 78 | 62.8% | 20 of 78 | 25.6% |
| Offsuit hands | 25 of 78 | 31.5% | 15 of 78 | 18.9% |
Which decisions are closest at 17bb?
Edge means the EV of shoving or calling minus the EV of folding, from the start of the hand. The small blind gives up -0.500 by folding and the big blind -1.000. The hands closest to zero are the ones that flip first when the stack changes.
| Hand | Rank of 169 | Shove EV | Fold EV | Edge | Equity when called | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T8o | 91 | -0.500 | -0.500 | +0.000 | 35.4% | Shove |
| J6s | 85 | -0.486 | -0.500 | +0.014 | 35.5% | Shove |
| 85s | 119 | -0.477 | -0.500 | +0.023 | 36.0% | Shove |
| Q4s | 76 | -0.506 | -0.500 | -0.006 | 35.2% | Fold |
| 64s | 138 | -0.512 | -0.500 | -0.012 | 35.7% | Fold |
| K7o | 58 | -0.513 | -0.500 | -0.013 | 34.7% | Fold |
| Hand | Rank of 169 | Call EV | Fold EV | Edge | Equity vs shoves | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K9o | 40 | -1.000 | -1.000 | +0.000 | 47.1% | Call |
| K8s | 37 | -0.926 | -1.000 | +0.074 | 47.3% | Call |
| JTs | 45 | -0.843 | -1.000 | +0.157 | 47.5% | Call |
| A3o | 53 | -1.031 | -1.000 | -0.031 | 47.0% | Fold |
| Q9s | 43 | -1.192 | -1.000 | -0.192 | 46.5% | Fold |
| 22 | 87 | -1.223 | -1.000 | -0.223 | 46.4% | Fold |
Which seat is ahead at 17bb?
At 17bb the small blind's seat is worth -0.151 big blinds per hand dealt, so the big blind's seat is the better one: it acts last and sees the shove before choosing. The value per hand turned negative at 8bb and has kept falling as stacks deepen. Value per hand dealt counts folds, shoves and calls together, from the start of the hand before the blinds go in.
How does the chart change around 17bb?
| Stack | Small blind shoves | Big blind calls | Small blind value per hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15bb | 45.7% | 28.5% | -0.127 |
| 16bb | 44.8% | 26.5% | -0.139 |
| 17bb | 42.9% | 24.8% | -0.151 |
| 18bb | 42.3% | 23.8% | -0.162 |
| 19bb | 40.9% | 22.6% | -0.173 |
Going from 16bb to 17bb, K7o, Q4s and 64s leave the small blind's shoving range; Q9s and A3o leave the big blind's calling range.
The biggest single move for the small blind between 16bb and 17bb is 64s, which goes from shoving 100% of the time to 0%. For the big blind it is A3o, from calling 100% of the time to 0%.
The stack is the effective stack, the smaller of the two, because only that many chips can change hands. At 17bb it is 17 big blinds even if the other player has more.
Where can I check one hand or a different stack?
Each hand on the charts has its own page with the stacks at which it shoves and calls. The push or fold calculator takes any hand and any stack from 1 to 20 big blinds.
How was this chart computed?
The game has two players, blinds of 0.5 and 1, no ante and one effective stack. Every one of the 169 starting-hand classes is dealt in proportion to the card-compatible pairs of specific hands, and a showdown is settled with the exact equity from our preflop table. Each side keeps answering the other's average strategy until neither can gain, then the borderline hands are solved exactly. Exploitability is the most the two players could gain together by switching to a best response, in big blinds per hand. At 17bb the published strategies have an exploitability of under 0.000001 big blinds per hand, against a limit of 0.001.
Source: GeorgeLiPoker's own heads-up solver, run on its exact preflop equity table.
Questions
- What is the push or fold range at 17bb heads-up?
- The small blind shoves 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J6s+, T6s+, 96s+, 85s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K8o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T8o+, 98o, which is 42.9% of hands. The big blind calls 33+, A2s+, K8s+, QTs+, JTs, A4o+, K9o+, QJo, which is 24.8% of hands. Both ranges are for a chips-only game with blinds of 0.5 and 1 and no ante.
- Is T8o a shove at 17bb?
- T8o is one of the closest decisions on the small blind chart. Shoving is worth -0.500 big blinds against -0.500 for folding, so the chart shoves it, and it is rank 91 of 169 by equity against a random hand.
- Should the big blind call with A3o at 17bb?
- The chart folds it, narrowly. Calling is worth -1.031 big blinds against -1.000 for folding, and its equity against the shoving range is 47.0%.