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Push/fold at 10 BB: why you shove K9s on the button

October 28, 2026 · 6 min read · Push/fold

The spot

Turbo tournament, eight-handed, big-blind ante. You have 10 big blinds on the button and everyone folds to you. There are 2.5 BB in the middle already: the small blind (0.5), the big blind (1) and the BB ante (1). With 10 BB, a normal raise commits a big chunk of your stack, so the trainer treats this as a shove-or-fold decision.

What the chart says

The 10 BB first-in ranges in the trainer are a published chip-EV push/fold chart (marked reference in the app):

K9s is in the shove range from every seat at 10 BB, even under the gun. On the button it isn't close.

The math, step by step

To keep it simple, assume both blinds also have 10 BB and call according to the reference 10 BB calling chart:

• Big blind calls a button shove with 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q6s+, J8s+, T8s+, 98s, A2o+, K5o+, Q9o+, JTo (≈38% of hands).
• Small blind calls with 22+, A2s+, K6s+, Q9s+, J9s+, A2o+, K9o+, QTo+ (≈29%).

So both blinds fold about 44% of the time (0.71 × 0.62). When that happens you win 2.5 BB without a showdown.

When you're called, K9s isn't in great shape, but it's not dead either. Our Monte Carlo equity engine puts it at about 47% against the big blind's calling range and 43% against the small blind's.

Expected stack after shoving, starting from 10 BB (ignoring the rare double call):

Folding leaves you with exactly 10 BB. Shoving is worth about +0.95 BB every time you're dealt K9s here. That's almost half an orbit's worth of blinds and antes, every time.

Where the line actually is

Run the same calculation down the king-x hands and the chart's border shows up on its own:

K5o is the last offsuit king in the button chart, and K4o is out. That's exactly where our simplified model crosses zero.

Why "waiting for a better hand" loses

Every orbit you fold costs you 1.5 BB in blinds plus the 1 BB ante when it's your big blind: 2.5 BB, a quarter of your stack. Wait one orbit with 10 BB and you're down to 7.5, which means less fold equity next time. A hand with an edge now beats a slightly better hand later with a smaller stack.

Common mistakes

• Min-raising and folding to a shove. At 10 BB that throws away 2 BB and your fold equity. Shove or fold.
• Limping the button. It invites the big blind to see a cheap flop with any two cards.
• Copying the button range in early position. UTG shoves under half as many hands. Position is the whole game here.

Caveats

This is a chip-EV model: equal stacks, no ICM, folded to you. Near the money bubble or at a final table, payouts change the answer (see ICM basics). Against a big blind who calls far too often, tighten the bottom of the range. Against one who never calls, widen it.

Training content, not financial advice. Numbers come from the Play Perfect Poker trainer's own models (labelled reference, approximate or heuristic) and simplify real play. No real-money gambling is offered on this site.