Defending from the BB

So I have done this with a range of hand vs a range of open sizes and positions. I still find though that in general being a little too loose isn't great. It is easy to say if you have say 3.5-1 you should call a wide range but realizing your equity out of position is so much harder. When 20bb and under it is a lot easier as you don't necessarily need to play all 3 streets.

What I am asking is how wide are people defending the BB in MTT's 20+bb and how successful and/or easy are you finding it to play your range. (excludes defending vs SB)

I believe! it depends a lot on who is involved in the hand, what information you have about the villains, and the structure of the tournament, the more you did is the standard. the correct standard reasoning.

With a comfortable stack playing BB, I can call a raise if I need to add 1bb to a 5bb pot or more, even a 27os hand. This is only if the stack allows you to play so aggressively. This brings variety to a rather cautious game in other positions. With a small stack in turbo tournaments where many people have small stacks at the table, I defend bb in a fairly narrow range or spit on everything and go allin.

ASMautoneJr said:

I believe! it depends a lot on who is involved in the hand, what information you have about the villains, and the structure of the tournament, the more you did is the standard. the correct standard reasoning.

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I suppose the question is quite vague as there are a lot of layers.

Alekxandrovi3 said:

With a comfortable stack playing BB, I can call a raise if I need to add 1bb to a 5bb pot or more, even a 27os hand. This is only if the stack allows you to play so aggressively. This brings variety to a rather cautious game in other positions. With a small stack in turbo tournaments where many people have small stacks at the table, I defend bb in a fairly narrow range or spit on everything and go allin.

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Is that because you suspect people are stronger?
I was under the impression that it is much easier to realize your equity when the effective stack size is shallow.

For defending BB my criteria is as follows.

1. More then 3x bb bet by villian is a fold unless its premium hands like AA, KK, QQ, AK

2. I will defend if I have at least average size stack compared to the rest of the field.

3. Min raise defends for suited connectors or QJ, Q10, K10.

My BB defense range depends entirely on my read of the opening raiser, their position, their stack size, my stack size, and my table image.

Against a tight/aggressive player, I find the fold button often. I 3-bet with AA-TT, and AK. Call AQ, and KQ. If I have enough big blinds (40+), I'll set mine with 22-99.

Your ranges here can widen as the player's style loosens. Push back on loose aggressive players raising your blinds from late position, but still be careful of these players if they're raising from early position.

Against a tight/weak player who you've seen fold to 3-bets before, you can throw suited connectors and smaller pairs into your 3-bet range.

619Leafs said:

For defending BB my criteria is as follows.

1. More then 3x bb bet by villian is a fold unless its premium hands like AA, KK, QQ, AK

2. I will defend if I have at least average size stack compared to the rest of the field.

3. Min raise defends for suited connectors or QJ, Q10, K10.

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All of this is dependent on your read of villain. Are you seriously folding TT or JJ every time someone opens for more than 3bb? Against a loose and aggressive player those are hands that you MUST push back with. Against an unknown player, I am not folding those hands, and likely 3-betting. Against a tight player, I am still rarely finding the fold button here, but perhaps willing to flat call and see what the texture of the flop is.

619Leafs said:

For defending BB my criteria is as follows.

1. More then 3x bb bet by villian is a fold unless its premium hands like AA, KK, QQ, AK

2. I will defend if I have at least average size stack compared to the rest of the field.

3. Min raise defends for suited connectors or QJ, Q10, K10.

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This seems very tight and I guess it is certainly dependent on your stack size. I do however feel that tournament average shouldn't be a factor, I am open to having my mind changed though.

royalburrito24 said:

My BB defense range depends entirely on my read of the opening raiser, their position, their stack size, my stack size, and my table image.

Against a tight/aggressive player, I find the fold button often. I 3-bet with AA-TT, and AK. Call AQ, and KQ. If I have enough big blinds (40+), I'll set mine with 22-99.

Your ranges here can widen as the player's style loosens. Push back on loose aggressive players raising your blinds from late position, but still be careful of these players if they're raising from early position.

Against a tight/weak player who you've seen fold to 3-bets before, you can throw suited connectors and smaller pairs into your 3-bet range.

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Love this response, very detailed with the specifics. Do you use a HUD if so what sort of 3b from the BB are you running 30+bb? Interesting to know. I have been introduced to a HUD in the last 2 weeks as I have joined a couple of sites and it's very interesting to use but I wouldn't depend on it.

Dtownie88 said:

Love this response, very detailed with the specifics. Do you use a HUD if so what sort of 3b from the BB are you running 30+bb? Interesting to know. I have been introduced to a HUD in the last 2 weeks as I have joined a couple of sites and it's very interesting to use but I wouldn't depend on it.

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I do not use a HUD, but I plan to get that set up soon. I only recently started playing online again due to the pandemic. From November 2019-mid March 2020 I had worked up a nice bankroll playing 1-1-2 NL live cash games, but before that I hadn’t played seriously or regularly since early 2009. 13 years ago I began learning the game by playing online SNGs and MTTs and by participating in this wonderful cardschat community. So, now I’m coming back full circle and trying to build a new online bankroll the same way, 11 years later!


Between 30 and 40bb I do not 3-bet very often, as you are likely risking about 1/4-1/3 of your stack. As a general rule, if I’m about to risk 30% of my stack or more, I just go all in. Therefore, you’ll need a hand worth going all in (depending on your opponents style and opening range) as 3 betting from the BB usually gets pretty close to 30% of your stack if you have 30bb.


I like 3-betting a bit lighter when my stack gets above 50bb, as I’m not committing myself to a pot with sometimes weaker holdings like 98s. You can still get away from the hand if villain shoves over your 3-bet, or if you missed the flop and your c-bet faces aggression.

more vines need to protect bb for the sake of chips, but it depends on how much i bet and how many players play when i am at bb, but in more cases i am involved in exhun

it all depends on the situation. there is no universal solution. mostly play reliable