Which hands should the small blind shove at 19bb?
Here is the small blind's side at 19 big blinds: 40.9% of hands shove, which is 542 combos in all, and the other hands fold.
In shorthand the shoving range is 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J7s+, T6s+, 96s+, 86s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K9o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T9o, 98o. By equity against a random hand, 54s is the lowest-ranked hand that still shoves and K8o is the highest-ranked hand that folds. No hand mixes here: every hand either shoves or folds, so the chart has no coin flips.
Small blind shove chart at 19 big blinds heads-up. Shoves: 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J7s+, T6s+, 96s+, 86s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K9o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T9o, 98o.
- Shove
- Mixes
- Fold
- Under 50% equity
Which hands should the big blind call with at 19bb?
At 19bb the big blind calls a shove with 22.6% of hands, which is 300 of the 1,326 combos, and folds all others.
In shorthand the calling range is 33+, A2s+, K9s+, QTs+, A5o+, KTo+, QJo. By equity against a random hand, 33 is the lowest-ranked hand that still calls and K8s is the highest-ranked hand that folds. No hand mixes here: every hand either calls or folds, so the chart has no coin flips.
Big blind call chart at 19 big blinds heads-up. Calls: 33+, A2s+, K9s+, QTs+, A5o+, KTo+, QJo.
- Call
- Mixes
- Fold
- Under 50% equity
Which kinds of hands make up the 19bb 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 19bb, 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 | 47 of 78 | 60.3% | 18 of 78 | 23.1% |
| Offsuit hands | 23 of 78 | 29.5% | 13 of 78 | 16.7% |
Which decisions are closest at 19bb?
At 19bb the tightest decisions are the hands whose edge over folding is smallest. Folding costs -0.500 for the small blind and -1.000 for the big blind, and every figure below is in big blinds.
| Hand | Rank of 169 | Shove EV | Fold EV | Edge | Equity when called | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q5s | 72 | -0.495 | -0.500 | +0.005 | 35.2% | Shove |
| Q9o | 56 | -0.491 | -0.500 | +0.009 | 35.2% | Shove |
| 98o | 99 | -0.484 | -0.500 | +0.016 | 35.8% | Shove |
| 85s | 119 | -0.507 | -0.500 | -0.007 | 35.6% | Fold |
| J6s | 85 | -0.520 | -0.500 | -0.020 | 35.0% | Fold |
| K8o | 51 | -0.520 | -0.500 | -0.020 | 34.7% | Fold |
| Hand | Rank of 169 | Call EV | Fold EV | Edge | Equity vs shoves | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QJo | 39 | -0.979 | -1.000 | +0.021 | 47.4% | Call |
| A5o | 41 | -0.711 | -1.000 | +0.289 | 48.1% | Call |
| 33 | 66 | -0.710 | -1.000 | +0.290 | 48.1% | Call |
| A4o | 49 | -1.121 | -1.000 | -0.121 | 47.0% | Fold |
| JTs | 45 | -1.163 | -1.000 | -0.163 | 46.9% | Fold |
| K8s | 37 | -1.257 | -1.000 | -0.257 | 46.7% | Fold |
Which seat is ahead at 19bb?
At 19bb the small blind's seat is worth -0.173 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 19bb?
| Stack | Small blind shoves | Big blind calls | Small blind value per hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17bb | 42.9% | 24.8% | -0.151 |
| 18bb | 42.3% | 23.8% | -0.162 |
| 19bb | 40.9% | 22.6% | -0.173 |
| 20bb | 40.2% | 21.7% | -0.183 |
Going from 18bb to 19bb, K8o, J6s and 85s leave the small blind's shoving range; JTs and A4o leave the big blind's calling range.
The biggest single move for the small blind between 18bb and 19bb is K8o, which goes from shoving 100% of the time to 0%. For the big blind it is A4o, from calling 100% of the time to 0%.
Read the chart by the shorter of the two stacks. If you hold 19bb and your opponent holds more, the extra chips never play, and this 19bb chart is the one to use.
Where can I check one hand or a different stack?
Hands near the edge of the 19bb ranges have pages of their own, and the calculator answers any hand at any stack from 1 to 20 big blinds. For tournament prize money, see the ICM examples.
How was this chart computed?
We solve a chips-only game for two players: small blind 0.5, big blind 1, no ante, equal stacks. Starting hands are the 169 classes, weighted so that shared cards are impossible, and equity comes from counting every five-card board. The solver plays itself with best responses, averages them, and fixes the hands on the edge so they are exactly indifferent. Exploitability is the most the two players could gain together by switching to a best response, in big blinds per hand. At 19bb 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 19bb heads-up?
- The small blind shoves 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J7s+, T6s+, 96s+, 86s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, A2o+, K9o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T9o, 98o, which is 40.9% of hands. The big blind calls 33+, A2s+, K9s+, QTs+, A5o+, KTo+, QJo, which is 22.6% of hands. Both ranges are for a chips-only game with blinds of 0.5 and 1 and no ante.
- Is Q5s a shove at 19bb?
- Q5s is one of the closest decisions on the small blind chart. Shoving is worth -0.495 big blinds against -0.500 for folding, so the chart shoves it, and it is rank 72 of 169 by equity against a random hand.
- Should the big blind call with A4o at 19bb?
- The chart folds it, narrowly. Calling is worth -1.121 big blinds against -1.000 for folding, and its equity against the shoving range is 47.0%.