{"id":2541618,"date":"2025-04-22T16:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T16:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2541618"},"modified":"2025-12-23T20:11:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:11:22","slug":"defending-bb-on-low-card-boards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending BB on Low-Card Boards"},"content":{"rendered":"<a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/peakgto\" class=\"adv-link\" aria-label=\"PeakGTO: PokerCoaching&#039;s free poker solver for GTO study\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner.jpg\" alt=\"PeakGTO: PokerCoaching&#039;s free poker solver for GTO study\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner.jpg 815w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner-746x103.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner-768x106.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px\" width=\"815\" height=\"113\"   \/><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>We recently covered the strategy for <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/defending-bb-on-ace-high-boards\/\" title=\"\">defending BB on ace-high flops<\/a> and playing on <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/defending-bb-on-high-card-boards\/\" title=\"\">high-card boards<\/a>, and now we will analyse low-card textures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we will analyze examples of both dry and connected flops and see what the best way to proceed in different situations is. After analyzing these examples, you should have a good idea of what hands you should fold, call, and raise on low-card flops.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq uagb-faq__outer-wrap uagb-block-19f8e7f4 uagb-faq-icon-row uagb-faq-layout-accordion uagb-faq-expand-first-false uagb-faq-inactive-other-true uagb-faq__wrap uagb-buttons-layout-wrap uagb-faq-equal-height     \" data-faqtoggle=\"true\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"wp-block-uagb-faq-child uagb-faq-child__outer-wrap uagb-faq-item uagb-block-cf4f773c \" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"uagb-faq-questions-button uagb-faq-questions\">\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M432 256c0 17.69-14.33 32.01-32 32.01H256v144c0 17.69-14.33 31.99-32 31.99s-32-14.3-32-31.99v-144H48c-17.67 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.33-31.99 32-31.99H192v-144c0-17.69 14.33-32.01 32-32.01s32 14.32 32 32.01v144h144C417.7 224 432 238.3 432 256z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-icon-active uagb-faq-icon-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 288h-352c-17.69 0-32-14.32-32-32.01s14.31-31.99 32-31.99h352c17.69 0 32 14.3 32 31.99S417.7 288 400 288z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"uagb-question\"><strong>TLDR:<\/strong> See AI summary of this article.<\/span><\/div><div class=\"uagb-faq-content\"><p><strong>Dry Low-Card Boards (e.g., 7\u26605\u26662\u2663)<\/strong> <strong>vs small c-bet (~1\/3 pot):<\/strong> Call ~60% with middle pairs, bottom pairs, and some ace-highs; check-raise ~15% with strong top pairs, sets, and select bluffs like backdoor draws.<br><strong><strong>Dry Low-Card Boards (e.g., 7\u26605\u26662\u2663)<\/strong> <strong>vs <\/strong>large c-bet (~2\/3 pot):<\/strong> Call ~50% with stronger holdings; check-raise ~7% focusing on top-tier hands and occasional bluffs.<br><strong>Connected\/Wet Low-Card Boards (e.g., 6\u26655\u26654\u2666)<\/strong> <strong>vs small c-bet (~1\/3 pot):<\/strong> Call ~65% including pairs, straight draws, and some ace-highs; check-raise ~18% with strong hands and combo draws.<br><strong><strong>Connected\/Wet Low-Card Boards (e.g., 6\u26655\u26654\u2666)<\/strong> <strong>vs <\/strong>large c-bet (~2\/3 pot):<\/strong> Call ~55% focusing on hands with solid equity; check-raise ~10% with top pairs, strong draws, and select bluffs.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Defending BB on Dry Low-Card Boards &#8211; 9s5h2c&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We will use the PeakGTO solver to analyze low-card flop textures in situations where you call from the BB vs the BTN open and see a dry flop with all low cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key assumptions about the hand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The hand is played 100 bb deep&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The button opens, small blind folds, and we call from the BB<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We check to the preflop aggressor and face a bet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To kick things off, it is worth checking our preflop calling range from the BB so we can build a comprehensive strategy on top of that. While we 3-bet most of our <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\">strongest hands<\/a> like premium pocket pairs and top ace-high holdings, we still call a bit over 25% of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-1024x574.jpg\" alt=\"bb calling range versus the button\" class=\"wp-image-2541571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-1024x574.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-746x418.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-373x210.jpg 373w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-768x430.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-calling-range-versus-the-button-2048x1147.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at an example of 9s5h2c and see how we should respond when facing a c-bet from the button. If you are facing a small c-bet, then you should defend quite a lot of hands based on <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/mdf-poker\/\">MDF in poker<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"557\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-facing-a-c-bet-on-low-dry-flop.jpg\" alt=\"big-blind-facing-a-c-bet-on-low-dry-flop\" class=\"wp-image-2541621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-facing-a-c-bet-on-low-dry-flop.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-facing-a-c-bet-on-low-dry-flop-746x406.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-facing-a-c-bet-on-low-dry-flop-768x418.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To be more precise, you only fold around 26% of the time. In this situation, you need to call over 53% of hands and check-raise almost 21% of your holdings, which might look surprisingly high at first glance. To reach that, you need to add a lot of your top pairs to the raising range and put the pressure back on your opponent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That being said, you will mostly face a large bet from the button according to <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/what-is-gto-poker\/\">GTO poker<\/a> strategy, so let\u2019s see how your defense range changes when facing a two-thirds pot size c-bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"bb facing big cbet on low card board\" class=\"wp-image-2541624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-746x420.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-373x210.jpg 373w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bb-facing-big-cbet-on-low-card-board-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to continue with fewer hands when facing a large bet from our opponent, but we still need to defend almost 57% of our <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/ranges-in-poker\/\">range<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this situation, we are check raising almost two times less often but still have 11% of the hands, so our raising range is mostly compiled from our strongest hands and weakest draws. We are raising sets, two pairs, and our strongest top pairs for value and balancing it out with gutshots and bottom pairs with some runner-runner draw potential.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All other hands that have showdown value mostly go into our calling range, but we still fold lower ace-highs that do not have any additional equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check your entire range from the Big Blind<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Defend over 73% of hands vs small c-bet and 57% against a big bet<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check-raise very aggressively against small c-bets with over 20% of your hands<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build proper check-raising range with top pair+ and weakest draws like gutshots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Call with all one-pair hands and other holdings that have additional equity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">C-Betting On Connected Low-Card Boards OOP &#8211; 8h7h5d&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You actually have a significant range advantage on low-connected boards in <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/texas-holdem-rules\/\">Texas Hold\u2019em<\/a>, so you will play a lot of hands after the flop, and we need to build proper ranges for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key assumptions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The hand is played 100 bb deep&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The button opens, small blind folds, and we call from the BB<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We check to the preflop aggressor and face a bet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your opponent on the BTN should only bet one-third of the time and use a small sizing of around 31% of the pot. In this spot, you will need to defend over 70% of the time, so let\u2019s look at an example of 8h7h5d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"561\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-defense-wet-low-flops.jpg\" alt=\"big-blind-defense-wet-low-flops\" class=\"wp-image-2541627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-defense-wet-low-flops.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-defense-wet-low-flops-746x409.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/big-blind-defense-wet-low-flops-768x421.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, we are check-raising around 20% of the time. While we use a mixed strategy for hands that we call and raise for the most part with no pure check-raises, we usually do some raising with sets, straights, guthost with overcards, openedners, and flush draws with a small frequency.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your calling range should mostly consist of hands with good showdown value like top and middle pairs, some bottom pairs with overcards, and even underpairs. Combined with the strongest hands that you only raise some of the time, this makes your calling range unexploitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While you won\u2019t be facing c-bet a lot since you have a significant range advantage, you still want to play quite aggressively when you do face a bet and put your opponent to the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We check all our hands from the Big Blind, even on connected boards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We check raise very aggressively on both dry and connected flops<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You almost always call with any pair and any hand that has additional equity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/peakgto\" class=\"adv-link\" aria-label=\"PeakGTO: PokerCoaching&#039;s free poker solver for GTO study\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner.jpg\" alt=\"PeakGTO: PokerCoaching&#039;s free poker solver for GTO study\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner.jpg 815w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner-746x103.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Peak-test-banner-768x106.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px\" width=\"815\" height=\"113\"   \/><\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently covered the strategy for defending BB on ace-high flops and playing on high-card boards, and now we will analyse low-card textures.&nbsp; In this article, we will analyze examples of both dry and connected [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":2541589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[883,44,16],"tags":[896],"class_list":["post-2541618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advanced-gto","category-cash-games","category-poker-strategy","tag-postflop"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":"20250422"},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards-373x210.jpg",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards-746x420.jpg",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards.jpg",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/defending-bb-on-low-card-boards-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jonathan Little","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/jonathan_little\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"We recently covered the strategy for defending BB on ace-high flops and playing on high-card boards, and now we will analyse low-card textures.&nbsp; In this article, we will analyze examples of both dry and connected [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2541618"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2544592,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541618\/revisions\/2544592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2541589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2541618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2541618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2541618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}