What’s in the SB open range?

📊 SB raises too little preflop

• In general, recreational players in SB open-raise much less than GTO.
• Their open range is a bit stronger than expected, with hands like Ax, broadways (KQ, QJ), and pairs in particular.

📊 The open sizing is often revealing

• Recreational players vary their sizing between 2x and 4x, but their choice is not random:
  • A 2x sizing is often used with a merged, very wide range, often excluding premium hands.
  • A 3x or larger sizing typically indicates a stronger range, composed of solid Ax hands, suited broadways, TT+.

• The larger the sizing, the more cautious you need to be. Opens of 3x or 4x deserve more respect, and you need to tighten your defense range significantly.

📊 SB calls too much against 3-bets

• Recreational players have difficulty folding after they’ve already invested money in the pot.
• Whether it's a non-all-in 3-bet (NA) or a 3-bet shove, they call way too much.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 SB calls way too much against 3-bets.</span>

How to adapt our strategy?

📌 Avoid 3-bet bluffs

• Bluffing against a recreational player in SB is rarely a good idea. Their tendency to call too often makes bluffs ineffective and unnecessarily increases variance.
• The best thing to do is to eliminate 3-bet bluffs and focus on value 3-bets that will fully exploit their tendency to call with weak hands.‍

📌 Exploit the excess of calls with 3-bet shoves

• Against a player who calls too much, 3-bet shoving becomes the most EV+ move.
• It’s not about shoving way more than GTO to exploit your opponents, the simple act of shoving your best hands increases the EV of every hand because recreational players will call with many dominated hands (A5o, KJo…).
• In comparison, a non-all-in 3-bet is less effective, because they call with the same hands but leave us playing a complicated pot postflop.

📌 Which hands to 3-bet shove?

• Hands that dominate the call ranges of your opponents, like the best Ax and best pocket pairs.
• Even 10bb deep, you need to remain tight, as SB’s open range is typically strong.

📌 Adapting your call range

• The majority of your range will be played by calling since being in position offers a strategic advantage. This allows you to exploit SB, who will often make mistakes out of position, by slightly widening your call range.
• However, it's important to stay selective since SB’s open range is generally solid.
• In the end, your call range remains close to what GTO recommends at 10bb+.

📌 Adapting your range according to open sizing

• Our charts have been calculated against an open sizing of 2.5bb 12bb, and 2bb 12bb-.
• You can adapt your call range depending on SB's sizing as follows:‍
• Against a 2bb 12bb+: you can widen your call range (compared to our tables).‍
• Against a 2.5bb 12bb- or 3x+: tighten your range drastically and only play solid hands to avoid complicated postflop pots.

‍

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Only prioritize 3-bet shoves with your best hands, and adapt your calls based on SB’s open sizing.</span>

Common Preflop Mistakes in BB vs SB Open

🔴 Mistake 1: Calling too much against SB’s opens.

• Calling with marginal hands like Q2o or 62o against a standard open increases variance unnecessarily.
  ✅ Solution: Be selective and adjust your call range based on SB's sizing.

🔴 Mistake 2: Including 3-bet bluffs.

• Bluffs are ineffective because recreational players call too frequently against 3-bets.
  ✅ Solution: Remove 3-bet bluffs and focus solely on value 3-bets, which will be far more profitable.

🔴 Mistake 3: Not shoving your best hands.

• Not using the 3-bet shove with your best hands against SB is a significant loss of EV.
  ✅ Solution: Exploit the excess of calls from recreational players by shoving your strong hands to maximize your gains.

The Button’s range is never very strong

📊 Why is the BTN limp a sign of weakness?

• When a player on the BTN chooses to limp, it often indicates a marginal range, made up of middle-strength hands.
• This means you're rarely facing a strong hand. The limp often reflects hesitation or a desire to see a flop at a lower cost with a moderately playable hand.

📌 How to exploit this?

• Understand that you have an opportunity: either by isolating BTN effectively or by seeing a flop at a lower cost if the circumstances allow.

The Button’s range is never very strong

📊 Why is the BTN limp a sign of weakness?

• When a player on the BTN chooses to limp, it often indicates a marginal range, made up of middle-strength hands.
• This means you're rarely facing a strong hand. The limp often reflects hesitation or a desire to see a flop at a lower cost with a moderately playable hand.

📌 How to exploit this?

• Understand that you have an opportunity: either by isolating BTN effectively or by seeing a flop at a lower cost if the circumstances allow.

The Button’s range is never very strong

📊 Why is the BTN limp a sign of weakness?

• When a player on the BTN chooses to limp, it often indicates a marginal range, made up of middle-strength hands.
• This means you're rarely facing a strong hand. The limp often reflects hesitation or a desire to see a flop at a lower cost with a moderately playable hand.

📌 How to exploit this?

• Understand that you have an opportunity: either by isolating BTN effectively or by seeing a flop at a lower cost if the circumstances allow.