# Opening Ranges With 20 Big Blinds

> Source: [Opening Ranges With 20 Big Blinds on Smarter.Poker](https://smarter.poker/learn/20bb-opening-ranges)

## Executive Summary
With 20 Big Blinds The Smarter.Poker Reference Opens The Button With 21.4% Of Hands By Frequency, Against 25.2% At 100 Big Blinds, And The Chart Below Shows Every Hand.

- **Category**: Preflop
- **Curriculum**: [Smarter.Poker Strategy Lessons](https://smarter.poker/learn)

## The Button Chart At 20 Big Blinds

This Chart Comes From The Stack Depth Variants In The Same Smarter.Poker Preflop Reference, Which Adjust The 100 Big Blind Ranges For Shorter Stacks. They Are An Authored Teaching Reference For Six Handed Cash At One Hundred Big Blinds, Not A Solver Export, And No Solve Tree Or Checksum Is Attached To Them. The 20 Big Blind Variant Is An Authored Adjustment Of That Reference, Not A Separate Solve. Two Sizes Describe A Mixed Range And They Are Not The Same Number. The First Counts Every Hand At The Rate It Is Actually Played, So A Hand Opened Half The Time Counts Half. The Second Counts Any Hand The Range Plays At Least Some Of The Time, In Full.

### Button Opening Range, 6 Max, 20 Big Blinds: Raise Frequency Per Hand

- **Range Frequency**: Opens 21.4% Of All Starting Hands By Frequency, And Plays 28.2% At Least Some Of The Time.

## What Changes At 20 Big Blinds

Short Stacks Change Which Hands Make Money. With 20 Big Blinds, A Raise And A Call Before The Flop Already Commit A Large Share Of The Stack, So There Is Little Room To Outplay Anyone After The Flop. Hands That Win By Making Big Pairs And Strong Aces Gain Value, And Hands That Win By Making Disguised Draws And Implied Odds Lose It, Because There Is Not Enough Money Behind To Be Paid Off.

The Reference Does Not Simply Shrink Every Range. Under The Gun Opens 9.6% At 20 Big Blinds Against 8.4% At 100, The Button 21.4% Against 25.2%, And The Small Blind 25.3% Against 20.7%. The Mix Of Hands Shifts Toward High Cards And Pairs Even Where The Total Stays Close.

### Raise First In Range, 20 Big Blinds Against 100 Big Blinds, Frequency Weighted

| Seat | At 20 BB | At 100 BB |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under The Gun | 9.6% | 8.4% |
| Cutoff | 14% | 16.8% |
| Button | 21.4% | 25.2% |
| Small Blind | 25.3% | 20.7% |

## Using It In Tournaments

Twenty Big Blinds Is A Stack You Meet Constantly In Tournaments, Where Antes Add Dead Money To Every Pot And Make Stealing More Attractive Than It Is In A Cash Game. This Reference Is Built For A Six Handed Game Without Antes, So In A Tournament Treat It As The Shape Of A Short Stack Range Rather Than The Exact Numbers, And Widen Your Steals When Antes Are In Play.

A Common Guideline Is That Below About 15 Big Blinds A Player Switches From Opening With A Raise To Moving All In Or Folding, Because A Small Raise That Is Re-Raised Leaves No Good Option. The Lesson On M Ratio And Short Stacks Explains How To Measure That Point With M And Big Blinds.

## Key Poker Terms In This Lesson

- [effective-stack](https://smarter.poker/glossary/effective-stack) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/effective-stack.md))
- [rfi](https://smarter.poker/glossary/rfi) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/rfi.md))
- [implied-odds](https://smarter.poker/glossary/implied-odds) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/implied-odds.md))
- [fold-equity](https://smarter.poker/glossary/fold-equity) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/fold-equity.md))

## Practice & Interactive Tools On Smarter.Poker

- **Training Drill**: [Play Short Stack Ninja](https://smarter.poker/hub/training/play/mtt-008)
- **Interactive Calculator**: [Open Preflop Range Lab](https://smarter.poker/hub/preflop-charts)
- **AI Coach**: [Jarvis Training Insights](https://smarter.poker/hub/training/jarvis)