PREFLOP CHART · ~25% of hands call
BB calling range vs BTN 10bb jam
When BTN open-jams 10bb, BB needs to put in 9bb more to win a pot that's already 10.5bb (10 from BTN + 0.5 from SB blind). That's calling 9 to win 19.5 — needing ~46% equity to break even. The Nash equilibrium call range for BB ends up being about 25% of hands: pocket pairs from 22+, broadway offsuit hands, all suited aces, and some suited connectors.
Range — the hands you play
- All pocket pairs (22+)
- All suited aces (A2s – AKs)
- All Ax offsuit down to A6o (A2o-A5o mixed)
- K9o+, KTo+, KJs+
- QTs+, JTs
- Suited connectors mixed (76s, 87s)
Key insights
- Don't call too tight. The pot odds are favorable enough that hands like 33 and A6s are clear calls despite looking marginal.
- Don't call too wide either — JTo and K8o are folds despite looking 'playable' at 100bb.
- Sizing matters: if BTN jams a non-standard 9bb (slight min-raise then forced all-in), your calling range widens. Recalculate based on actual pot odds.
Frequently asked
Why is BB tighter against a BTN jam than the BTN's own jamming range?
BTN is jamming with 55% of hands — that range includes a lot of weak holdings. BB still needs 44% equity to call, and the bottom 25-30% of BTN's jamming range loses to even mediocre BB holdings. So BB calls with the top of its own range, where it has equity edges against BTN's full distribution.