Push/Fold Charts with Antes: Big Blind Ante Nash Ranges
A big blind ante puts 2.5bb in the pot instead of 1.5bb, so every Nash shove range gets wider: at 10BB in 9-max the Button shoves 43% of hands instead of 33% and the Small Blind shoves 75% of hands instead of 58%.
Across the 54 published spots (5 to 20BB, 6-max and 9-max) the ante adds between 3 and 23 percentage points to the share of hands shoved. Most tournaments now play a big blind ante, so these are the charts to study for them; the no-ante push/fold charts cover the rest.
BB-ante ranges solved 2026-10-12 · data version 0.2.0 · How the ranges are computed
BB-ante charts by stack depth
Every position's range for one stack depth, on a single page.
How much the ante widens each seat
Each cell is the share of hands shoved with a big blind ante; the number under it is the gain in percentage points over no ante. Open a cell for the full 13×13 chart.
What the ante changes in the model
- The Big Blind posts 1 extra big blind as the whole table's ante. The pot starts at 2.5bb instead of 1.5bb, for every seat.
- A shove wins more when everyone folds, and both the shover and the callers need less equity when the money goes in. Callers call wider too, but the shover gains more, so every range widens.
- Stacks are counted in big blinds at the start of the hand, before the blinds and the ante are posted; the Big Blind pays the ante out of its own stack. Everything else is the same chip-EV Nash model as the no-ante charts, with no ICM. Methodology
Open BB-ante dataset (CC BY 4.0)
Chip-EV Nash push/fold (shove-or-fold) frequencies with a 1bb big blind ante (2.5bb of dead money) for all 169 starting-hand classes, every seat that can open-shove in 6-max and 9-max, at stacks from 1 to 25 big blinds. Each row gives the push frequency and a shove/mixed/fold verdict. Free to use, including commercially, with attribution: push-fold-ranges-bb-ante.json · push-fold-ranges-bb-ante.csv (table,seat,players_behind,stack_bb,hand,push_freq,verdict). License
Push/fold with antes — FAQ
Do antes change push/fold ranges?
Yes. With a big blind ante the Big Blind posts 1 extra big blind for the whole table, so 2.5bb is in the pot before anyone acts instead of 1.5bb. A shove wins more when everyone folds and needs less equity when called, so every seat shoves wider: at 10BB in 9-max the Button shoves 43% of hands instead of 33% and the Small Blind shoves 75% of hands instead of 58%.
How much wider should I shove with a big blind ante?
Across the 54 published spots (5 to 20BB, 6-max and 9-max) the ante adds between 3 and 23 percentage points to the share of hands shoved. For example, at 10BB in 6-max Under the Gun shoves 21% of hands instead of 13%, and the Small Blind shoves 75% of hands instead of 58%.
Is a big blind ante chart the same as a chart with regular antes?
It depends on the table. A big blind ante puts 1bb of ante in the pot whatever the number of players. A classic 12.5% ante paid by every player adds up to the same 1bb at an 8-handed table, more at a fuller table and less at a shorter one, so these ranges match a 12.5% ante chart most closely 8-handed.
What do the stack sizes on these charts mean?
10BB means every player starts the hand with 10 big blinds, before the blinds and the ante; the Big Blind pays the ante out of its own stack. The ranges are chip-EV Nash equilibria with no ICM, solved from 1 to 25bb against the Nash calling ranges of the players left to act. All of it is chip-EV: near the bubble, ICM pressure makes correct ranges tighter.
Drill these spots in the free trainer, with the BB-ante switch already on.
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