PREFLOP CHART · ~48% of hands
BTN opening range — 6-max cash 100bb
The button is the most profitable seat in poker, and its preflop opening range reflects that. Modern solvers open about 48% of all starting hands from BTN at 100bb in 6-max cash — roughly any two cards above a certain combined-rank threshold, with mixing on the borderline combos. With only the small blind and big blind left to act, BTN gets the last position both preflop (after the blinds defend) and on every subsequent street if called. That positional edge is worth roughly 8–10bb/100 over the average non-button seat and is the single largest reason BTN can profitably open this wide.
Range — the hands you play
- All pocket pairs (22 – AA)
- All suited aces (A2s – AKs)
- All suited kings down to K3s
- All suited queens down to Q5s
- All suited jacks down to J7s
- Suited connectors and one-gappers: T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, 54s, T8s, 97s, 86s, 75s, 64s
- Broadway offsuit: AKo, AQo, AJo, ATo, KQo, KJo, KTo, QJo, QTo, JTo
- Offsuit aces: A9o – A5o (some mixed)
Mixed-frequency hands
A4o, A3o, K9o, Q9o, J9o, T9o, 98s (rare fold), 53s
Key insights
- Open with one consistent size — 2.5x or 2bb works equilibrium-wise. Sizing tells matter more in low-frequency spots.
- Your suited holdings dominate your offsuit ones in expected value at this depth. A6s is materially ahead of A6o.
- Don't widen further vs perceived tight blinds — the blinds defend ~60% combined against a min-open at solver equilibrium.
- At 200bb deep you tighten slightly (about 45%) — implied odds shift relative value among small suited combos.
Frequently asked
Why is the BTN range so wide compared to other positions?
Position is worth a lot. Every postflop street after BTN flats or raises sees BTN act last, which means BTN realizes more equity than its raw hand strength suggests. Marginal hands like A5o or 87s become profitable opens specifically because of that postflop edge — out of position they would be auto-folds.
Should I open the same range at 200bb as 100bb?
Slightly tighter. At 200bb, implied odds favor speculative hands less than they help premium hands win bigger pots. Solver outputs at 200bb shave about 3% off the BTN range, mostly trimming small offsuit aces and weak suited gappers.
What about live cash games where the blinds are passive?
GTO assumes opponents defend optimally. In a live game where blinds fold 75%+ vs an open, you can profitably open closer to 70% — but you should also size up to extract more from the loose post-flop calls you get. The 48% number is the equilibrium baseline, not the exploit.
Why do solvers mix some hands?
Hands like A5o or T9o sit right at the indifference point — their EV of raising and folding is nearly identical. Solvers handle this by raising them at a fractional frequency (e.g., 30% raise / 70% fold) so that no fixed strategy can be exploited. In practice, picking one action consistently for these hands loses very little EV.