Drill PokerTen big blinds is the most common stack in the late stage of a tournament — and the most common spot where players bleed chips not on hard decisions but on easy ones: they fail to shove a hand that belongs all-in, or shove one that belongs in the muck. This chart covers exactly that situation: nobody has entered the pot in front of you, you have 10 BB, and the only question is push or fold.
Position
How to read the chart
The 13×13 grid is the standard starting-hand matrix. The diagonal is pairs, above the diagonal are suited hands (s), below it — offsuit hands (o). Select a position above the grid: highlighted cells are the hands you shove, everything else is a fold.
The chart is built on Nash equilibrium: if you shove exactly these hands, opponents cannot exploit you either by calling or by folding. That doesn't mean every shove wins against a particular player — it means that against the field on average, you are not making a mistake.
Key benchmarks by position
The more players left to act behind you, the higher the chance someone wakes up with a calling hand — and the tighter the range.
- UTG (9-max) — about 12% of hands: pairs from 55, suited aces from A7s, AJo and AQo, broadways from KTs, QTs and JTs, KQo. First position is no place for speculation.
- Middle positions — about 16%: mid pairs, weak suited aces and KQo join the range.
- CO — about 28%: any pair and any suited ace, most offsuit aces, broadway hands.
- BTN — about 38%: almost any ace, kings from K3s and K9o, queens, jacks, connectors.
- SB — about 58%: against a single opponent, shoving becomes correct with the majority of hands, including plenty of "junk". If folding the small blind at 10 BB feels normal to you, that is one of the most expensive leaks there is.
Exact percentages depend on the number of players at the table and on antes; the chart above is precise — the numbers here are reference points.
When to deviate from the chart
The chart is a baseline, not dogma. Deviate when you have a concrete reason:
- Antes in play. There is more dead money in the pot, so shoves pay off more often. Widen every range by roughly a third.
- Tight blinds. If the players in the blinds fold everything but premiums, you can shove noticeably wider than Nash — they don't punish you.
- A loose caller behind. A player who calls shoves with K9o turns your weak shoves into losers. Tighten up and keep the hands with good equity against his calling range.
- The bubble and ICM. Near the money, busting costs more than doubling up gains. Shoves stay wide if short stacks act behind you, but against a big stack with nothing to lose the range shrinks. See the ICM adjustments chart for details.
- 10 BB with the blinds coming. If in a hand or two you'll be in the blinds with 8 BB, shoving now is worth more — the stack is melting.
Common mistakes
- Folding A2o or K9s on the button — both are comfortably inside the range.
- Shoving KTo from UTG "because it's two paint cards" — at a full table that's a fold.
- Limping or min-raising weak hands at 10 BB: it leaves you with no pot and no fold equity.
- Shoving by the chart without looking at who is in the blinds. The chart sets the boundary; your opponents move it.
You don't memorise a chart with your eyes — you memorise it with your hands. The trainer deals a random position, stack and hand, and shows your mistake instantly. Twenty minutes a day at 10 BB, and within a week you won't need the table.