How deep can the small blind shove 97s?
97s shoves at every stack from 1 to 20 big blinds as the small blind. Its shove EV stays above the -0.5000 big blinds it earns by folding at each of them.
| Stack | Shove frequency | Shove EV | Fold EV | Equity when called |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1bb | 100% | -0.018 | -0.500 | 49.1% |
| 2bb | 100% | -0.035 | -0.500 | 49.1% |
| 3bb | 100% | -0.065 | -0.500 | 47.4% |
| 4bb | 100% | -0.129 | -0.500 | 43.5% |
| 5bb | 100% | -0.187 | -0.500 | 40.9% |
| 6bb | 100% | -0.206 | -0.500 | 40.0% |
| 7bb | 100% | -0.203 | -0.500 | 39.7% |
| 8bb | 100% | -0.222 | -0.500 | 39.5% |
| 9bb | 100% | -0.211 | -0.500 | 39.3% |
| 10bb | 100% | -0.210 | -0.500 | 39.1% |
| 11bb | 100% | -0.234 | -0.500 | 38.8% |
| 12bb | 100% | -0.242 | -0.500 | 38.8% |
| 13bb | 100% | -0.230 | -0.500 | 39.0% |
| 14bb | 100% | -0.238 | -0.500 | 38.9% |
| 15bb | 100% | -0.276 | -0.500 | 38.8% |
| 16bb | 100% | -0.277 | -0.500 | 38.4% |
| 17bb | 100% | -0.285 | -0.500 | 38.1% |
| 18bb | 100% | -0.286 | -0.500 | 38.2% |
| 19bb | 100% | -0.305 | -0.500 | 37.9% |
| 20bb | 100% | -0.305 | -0.500 | 37.9% |
When should the big blind call with 97s?
97s calls every time as the big blind up to 6.5bb. At 6.5bb its call is worth -0.9022 big blinds against -1.0000 for folding. At 6.5bb a call breaks even at 42.3% equity, because the big blind has already posted a full blind that folding gives up. At 7bb it mixes, so either choice is close to break-even at that stack. At that stack the call is worth -1.0000 big blinds, level with the -1.0000 for folding. Past 7bb the chart folds it.
| Stack | Call frequency | Call EV | Fold EV | Equity vs shoves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1bb | 100% | -0.018 | -1.000 | 49.1% |
| 2bb | 100% | -0.130 | -1.000 | 46.7% |
| 3bb | 100% | -0.357 | -1.000 | 44.1% |
| 4bb | 100% | -0.530 | -1.000 | 43.4% |
| 5bb | 100% | -0.680 | -1.000 | 43.2% |
| 6bb | 100% | -0.848 | -1.000 | 42.9% |
| 7bb | 66% | -1.000 | -1.000 | 42.9% |
| 8bb | 0% | -1.276 | -1.000 | 42.0% |
| 9bb | 0% | -1.413 | -1.000 | 42.1% |
| 10bb | 0% | -1.540 | -1.000 | 42.3% |
| 11bb | 0% | -1.823 | -1.000 | 41.7% |
| 12bb | 0% | -2.025 | -1.000 | 41.6% |
| 13bb | 0% | -2.264 | -1.000 | 41.3% |
| 14bb | 0% | -2.529 | -1.000 | 41.0% |
| 15bb | 0% | -2.936 | -1.000 | 40.2% |
| 16bb | 0% | -3.171 | -1.000 | 40.1% |
| 17bb | 0% | -3.405 | -1.000 | 40.0% |
| 18bb | 0% | -3.607 | -1.000 | 40.0% |
| 19bb | 0% | -3.915 | -1.000 | 39.7% |
| 20bb | 0% | -4.156 | -1.000 | 39.6% |
What makes 97s different from similar hands?
97s is 4 combos out of the 1,326 two-card hands and ranks number 94 of the 169 starting-hand classes by equity against a random hand. From the small blind, 97s shoves at every stack from 1 to 20bb, while 97o shoves every time only up to 10.5bb. From the big blind, 97s calls cleanly 2bb deeper than 97o (6.5bb against 4.5bb). Suited hands win more often because of flushes, which is why the suited version is the more playable of the pair.
Where can I check other hands like 97s?
The stack pages show the full shove and call charts at each depth, and the hands closest to 97s in strength, along with 97o, have pages of their own. The combos page counts the specific hands that make up 97s and how card removal changes them.
How were the numbers for 97s 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.
Source: GeorgeLiPoker's own heads-up solver, run on its exact preflop equity table.
Questions
- Is 97s a shove at 10bb heads-up?
- Yes. At 10bb the small blind shoves 97s: shoving is worth -0.210 big blinds and folding -0.500.
- Should the big blind call a shove with 97s at 15bb?
- No. At 15bb calling with 97s is worth -2.936 big blinds against -1.000 for folding, so the chart folds.
- Does 97s ever fold heads-up at 20bb or less?
- Not from the small blind: 97s shoves at every stack from 1 to 20bb. As the big blind it calls cleanly up to 6.5bb and folds or mixes deeper.