{"id":2546833,"date":"2026-02-12T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2546833"},"modified":"2026-02-12T01:22:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:22:01","slug":"playing-72s-bb-vs-lj-in-a-50bb-mtt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/playing-72s-bb-vs-lj-in-a-50bb-mtt\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing 72s BB vs LJ in a 50bb MTT Pot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In tournaments, many seemingly standard single-raised pot <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Poker Hand Rankings &amp; The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Hands\">poker hands<\/a> create difficult decisions even on dry boards. These situations matter because they test our ability to balance defense with discipline, recognize when equity shifts between players, and identify which hands belong in our calling region when facing polar pressure. Mastering these spots allows us to continue correctly with our range while avoiding costly over-defends when the solver wants heavy folding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today we will analyze a 50bb tournament spot where the low-jack opens and the big blind defends with 7<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#0693e3\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>2<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#0693e3\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>. This hand illustrates how solver logic evolves street by street across multiple bet sizes, and how the big blind should respond when the <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-positions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Poker Positions \u2013 Know How to Play from Every Seat at the Table\">in-position<\/a> player applies a polarized river bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Assumptions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stacks: 50bb effective<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Positions: LJ vs BB<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Action: LJ raises, BB calls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flop: Q\u26607<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#cf2e2e\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>5<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">\u2663<\/mark> (Pot 5.9bb)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turn: T\u2660 (Pot 13.7bb)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>River: 2<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#cf2e2e\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark> (Pot 30.1bb)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flop: Q\u26607<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#cf2e2e\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>5<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-1-color\">\u2663<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The solver has the big blind checking always. The LJ then plays a mixed continuation strategy: a small bet (1.5bb) at 55.22%, a larger bet (3.9bb) at 43.85%, and a rare check frequency (0.942%). In this runout, LJ chooses the 3.9bb sizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facing 3.9bb, BB\u2019s defense is split across folding (46.39%), calling (43.89%), and raising to 9.4bb (9.72%), with other raise sizes essentially negligible. The important point is that BB is not supposed to \u201calways continue\u201d after defending preflop. <a href=\"https:\/\/peak.pokercoaching.com\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"PeakGTO Dashboard\">PeakGTO<\/a> folds a large portion immediately, and the hands that continue do so with a structured mix of calls and some check-raises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"705\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flop-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1024x705.jpg\" alt=\"Flop strategy Playing 72s BB vs LJ in a 50bb MTT Pot\" class=\"wp-image-2546839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flop-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1024x705.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flop-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-610x420.jpg 610w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flop-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-768x529.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flop-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flop-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot.jpg 1726w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Turn: T\u2660<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After BB calls, the solver keeps BB in a pure check strategy again. LJ continues with a mixed approach that now includes more checking: LJ bets 8.2bb at 54.12%, bets 13.7bb at 20.3%, checks at 25.58%, and uses other sizes only at negligible frequency. This time, LJ selects 8.2bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Versus the 8.2bb bet, BB continues with a raise to 20.2bb at 8.506%, raise 43.9bb at 8.560%, call at 45.825%, and fold at 37.110%. Even after defending flop, the solver still wants BB to fold a meaningful part of <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/ranges-in-poker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ranges in Poker \u2013 Analyze Your Hands Like a Pro\">range<\/a> on the turn and continue with a tight, well-defined set of hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this turn, the key is that our side card drives the continue, not the \u201cquality\u201d of our pair. Versus a more polar barreling range, K7 and J7 aren\u2019t meaningfully stronger than 7<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#0693e3\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>2<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#0693e3\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark> because Villain isn\u2019t betting hands like 78 or J7 for value anyway. The deuce is excellent because it creates almost no reverse implied odds: when we river a 2 to make two pair, Villain doesn\u2019t arrive with many strong hands improved by that card, and we also avoid blocking their natural bluffs from the middling region. That\u2019s why 7<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#0693e3\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>2<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#0693e3\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark> becomes a higher-frequency turn continue than hands like J7 that can improve into two pair while simultaneously completing more of Villain\u2019s strong holdings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"708\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Turn-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1024x708.jpg\" alt=\"Turn strategy Playing 72s BB vs LJ in a 50bb MTT Pot\" class=\"wp-image-2546842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Turn-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1024x708.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Turn-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-607x420.jpg 607w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Turn-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Turn-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1536x1063.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Turn-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot.jpg 1723w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">River: 2<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#cf2e2e\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#cf2e2e\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark> doesn&#8217;t look like it changes the board much, but with our exact hand it improves to two pair. BB still checks most of the time (86.92%), with some small betting of 7.5bb at 13.08%. Importantly, 72s checks at 100% frequency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After BB checks, LJ splits between checking (46.95%) and betting, with the dominant bet size being all-in for 35.7bb at 52.57%. LJ chooses the 35.7bb bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facing 35.7bb into 30.1bb, BB\u2019s solver response is to call 37.433% and fold 62.567%. This is a polarized river node where BB must fold the majority of range and continue only with hands strong enough to sit in the top portion of the distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Obviously, a rivered two pair is well within the range of hands strong enough to call off for our <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/mtt-poker-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"MTT Poker Strategy from Proven Winners \u2013 Crush Your Tournaments\">tournament<\/a> life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"707\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/River-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1024x707.jpg\" alt=\"River strategy Playing 72s BB vs LJ in a 50bb MTT Pot\" class=\"wp-image-2546845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/River-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1024x707.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/River-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-608x420.jpg 608w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/River-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/River-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot-1536x1061.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/River-strategy-Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-MTT-Pot.jpg 1724w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Flop: BB checks range. LJ uses two main bet sizes at high frequency, and BB defends with a meaningful mix of folds, calls, and some check-raises versus the 3.9bb sizing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turn: BB remains pure check. LJ continues aggression most often with 8.2bb and sometimes 13.7bb, while BB still folds a significant portion and continues with a tight range.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>River: LJ polarizes with the large 35.7bb sizing at high frequency. BB must fold most hands and call only 37.433% overall, meaning discipline is mandatory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overall: The solver\u2019s logic is frequency-driven across streets\u2014range checking from BB, multi-size pressure from LJ, and a river decision that collapses into a strict call\/fold requirement versus a polarized bet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In tournaments, many seemingly standard single-raised pot poker hands create difficult decisions even on dry boards. These situations matter because they test our ability to balance defense with discipline, recognize when equity shifts between players, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":2546836,"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":[883,16,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2546833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advanced-gto","category-poker-strategy","category-tournaments"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":"20260212"},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-373x210.jpg",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-746x420.jpg",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb.jpg",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Playing-72s-BB-vs-LJ-in-a-50bb-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":"In tournaments, many seemingly standard single-raised pot poker hands create difficult decisions even on dry boards. These situations matter because they test our ability to balance defense with discipline, recognize when equity shifts between players, [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546833","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=2546833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2546846,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546833\/revisions\/2546846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2546836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2546833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2546833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2546833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}