Which hands should the small blind shove at 6bb?
Shove or fold is the whole decision for the small blind at 6 big blinds. The chart below moves all in with 68.3% of hands (906 combos out of 1,326) and gives up the small blind with every other hand.
In shorthand the shoving range is 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J2s+, T2s+, 95s+, 84s+, 74s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s, A2o+, K2o+, Q2o+, J5o+, T7o+, 97o+, 86o+, 76o. By equity against a random hand, 43s is the lowest-ranked hand that still shoves and J4o 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 6 big blinds heads-up. Shoves: 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J2s+, T2s+, 95s+, 84s+, 74s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s, A2o+, K2o+, Q2o+, J5o+, T7o+, 97o+, 86o+, 76o.
- Shove
- Mixes
- Fold
- Under 50% equity
Which hands should the big blind call with at 6bb?
At 6bb the big blind calls a shove with 54.4% of hands, which is 722 of the 1,326 combos, and folds all others.
In shorthand the calling range is 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J4s+, T6s+, 97s+, 87s, A2o+, K2o+, Q4o+, J7o+, T8o+, 98o. By equity against a random hand, 87s is the lowest-ranked hand that still calls and J3s 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 6 big blinds heads-up. Calls: 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J4s+, T6s+, 97s+, 87s, A2o+, K2o+, Q4o+, J7o+, T8o+, 98o.
- Call
- Mixes
- Fold
- Under 50% equity
Which kinds of hands make up the 6bb 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 6bb, 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% | 13 of 13 | 100.0% |
| Suited hands | 66 of 78 | 84.6% | 47 of 78 | 60.3% |
| Offsuit hands | 47 of 78 | 60.2% | 38 of 78 | 48.7% |
Which decisions are closest at 6bb?
At 6bb 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86o | 127 | -0.500 | -0.500 | +0.000 | 35.7% | Shove |
| J5o | 107 | -0.488 | -0.500 | +0.012 | 35.7% | Shove |
| 43s | 150 | -0.486 | -0.500 | +0.014 | 36.5% | Shove |
| 63s | 147 | -0.501 | -0.500 | -0.001 | 36.2% | Fold |
| 94s | 123 | -0.504 | -0.500 | -0.004 | 35.7% | Fold |
| T6o | 112 | -0.518 | -0.500 | -0.018 | 35.4% | Fold |
| Hand | Rank of 169 | Call EV | Fold EV | Edge | Equity vs shoves | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98o | 99 | -1.000 | -1.000 | +0.000 | 41.7% | Call |
| J4s | 95 | -0.956 | -1.000 | +0.044 | 42.0% | Call |
| T6s | 96 | -0.952 | -1.000 | +0.048 | 42.1% | Call |
| Q3o | 98 | -1.021 | -1.000 | -0.021 | 41.5% | Fold |
| 96s | 103 | -1.026 | -1.000 | -0.026 | 41.4% | Fold |
| J3s | 97 | -1.038 | -1.000 | -0.038 | 41.4% | Fold |
Which seat is ahead at 6bb?
At 6bb the small blind's seat is worth +0.038 big blinds per hand dealt, so the shove range steals enough blinds to come out ahead of the big blind's seat. The small blind stays ahead until the stack reaches 8bb, where the value per hand turns negative. 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 6bb?
| Stack | Small blind shoves | Big blind calls | Small blind value per hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4bb | 73.8% | 74.1% | +0.066 |
| 5bb | 71.5% | 62.1% | +0.056 |
| 6bb | 68.3% | 54.4% | +0.038 |
| 7bb | 66.3% | 48.6% | +0.017 |
| 8bb | 61.9% | 45.0% | -0.004 |
Going from 5bb to 6bb, J4o, T6o, J3o and 94s leave the small blind's shoving range; J3s, Q3o, T7o, J6o, 96s and 9 more leave the big blind's calling range.
The biggest single move for the small blind between 5bb and 6bb is 94s, which goes from shoving 100% of the time to 0%. For the big blind it is J3s, 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 6bb it is 6 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?
Both players hold one of the 169 starting-hand classes, weighted by the pairs of specific hands that share no card, so blockers count. Blinds are 0.5 and 1 with no ante and equal stacks. Each pair of classes is scored with its exact equity over every five-card board, and the solver repeats best responses against the other side's running average until the hands on the edge are made exactly indifferent. Exploitability is the most the two players could gain together by switching to a best response, in big blinds per hand. At 6bb 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 6bb heads-up?
- The small blind shoves 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J2s+, T2s+, 95s+, 84s+, 74s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s, A2o+, K2o+, Q2o+, J5o+, T7o+, 97o+, 86o+, 76o, which is 68.3% of hands. The big blind calls 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J4s+, T6s+, 97s+, 87s, A2o+, K2o+, Q4o+, J7o+, T8o+, 98o, which is 54.4% of hands. Both ranges are for a chips-only game with blinds of 0.5 and 1 and no ante.
- Is 86o a shove at 6bb?
- 86o 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 127 of 169 by equity against a random hand.
- Should the big blind call with Q3o at 6bb?
- The chart folds it, narrowly. Calling is worth -1.021 big blinds against -1.000 for folding, and its equity against the shoving range is 41.5%.