Big Blind Calling Range vs Middle Position Shove (9-Max)

At 10bb (9-Max), the Middle Position shoves 11% of hands and the Big Blind calls the shove with 6%. At 20bb the call narrows to 3%. The Big Blind is last to act, so nobody can overcall: the only question is whether the hand beats enough of the Middle Position's shoving range to pay the price, with the big blind already posted.

Effective stack in big blinds before posting blinds, chip-EV, no antes, everyone else folded, solved from 1 to 25bb. A number N means the hand is a pure call (at least 95% of the time) at every stack from 1bb to N; “—” means not even at 1bb. Methodology.

Shove and call share by stack

Stack	MP shoves	BB calls
5bb	21%	26%
8bb	14%	9%
10bb	11%	6%
12bb	9%	6%
15bb	8%	4%
20bb	6%	3%
25bb	5%	2%

Big Blind: call the shove up to (bb)

Big Blind Nash call limit per hand against a Middle Position shove, in big blinds (9-Max)
	A	K	Q	J	T	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
A	AA25+	AKs25+	AQs15	AJs10	ATs8	A9s7	A8s6	A7s6	A6s5	A5s6	A4s5	A3s5	A2s5
K	AKo24	KK25+	KQs8	KJs7	KTs6	K9s5	K8s4	K7s4	K6s4	K5s4	K4s4	K3s4	K2s4
Q	AQo12	KQo7	QQ25+	QJs6	QTs5	Q9s5	Q8s4	Q7s4	Q6s4	Q5s4	Q4s4	Q3s3	Q2s3
J	AJo9	KJo5	QJo5	JJ25+	JTs5	J9s5	J8s4	J7s4	J6s4	J5s4	J4s3	J3s3	J2s3
T	ATo7	KTo5	QTo4	JTo4	TT24	T9s5	T8s4	T7s4	T6s4	T5s3	T4s3	T3s3	T2s3
9	A9o6	K9o4	Q9o4	J9o4	T9o4	9917	98s5	97s4	96s4	95s4	94s3	93s3	92s3
8	A8o5	K8o4	Q8o3	J8o3	T8o4	98o4	8814	87s5	86s4	85s4	84s3	83s3	82s3
7	A7o5	K7o4	Q7o3	J7o3	T7o3	97o3	87o4	7711	76s4	75s4	74s4	73s3	72s3
6	A6o5	K6o4	Q6o3	J6o3	T6o3	96o3	86o3	76o3	669	65s4	64s4	63s3	62s3
5	A5o5	K5o3	Q5o3	J5o3	T5o3	95o3	85o3	75o3	65o3	558	54s4	53s4	52s3
4	A4o5	K4o3	Q4o3	J4o3	T4o3	94o3	84o3	74o3	64o3	54o3	447	43s3	42s3
3	A3o4	K3o3	Q3o3	J3o3	T3o3	93o2	83o2	73o3	63o3	53o3	43o3	336	32s3
2	A2o4	K2o3	Q2o3	J2o3	T2o3	92o2	82o2	72o2	62o2	52o3	42o2	32o2	226

The Middle Position shoving range

These calls are the best response to the Middle Position's Nash shove. See which hands the Middle Position pushes at each stack:

MP 5bb MP 8bb MP 10bb MP 12bb MP 15bb MP 20bb

Other calling ranges (9-Max)

BB vs UTG SB vs MP SB vs UTG BTN vs MP BTN vs UTG CO vs MP CO vs UTG MP vs UTG BB vs SB (heads-up)

Big Blind vs Middle Position shove: FAQ

How wide should the Big Blind call a Middle Position shove at 10bb?

At 10bb (9-Max), the Middle Position shoves 11% of hands and the Big Blind calls the shove with 6%. The table on this page gives the call limit for every hand.

How wide should the Big Blind call a Middle Position shove at 15bb?

At 15bb (9-Max), the Middle Position shoves 8% of hands and the Big Blind calls the shove with 4%.

Should the Big Blind call a Middle Position shove with AQs?

AQs is a pure call against the Middle Position shove up to 15bb under Nash, chip-EV, no antes. Deeper than that, fold it or call only some of the time.

Should the Big Blind call a Middle Position shove with AJs?

AJs is a pure call against the Middle Position shove up to 10bb under Nash, chip-EV, no antes. Deeper than that, fold it or call only some of the time.

Which hands always call a Middle Position shove from the Big Blind?

5 hand classes are a pure call at every stack from 1 to 25bb: AA, AKs, KK, QQ, JJ.

Drill the Middle Position shove against these Nash calls — 20 free hands, no signup.

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