Solver data
PLO 3-Betting & Blind Defense Ranges
Exact 3-bet, call, and fold frequencies facing a single raise in 6-max Pot-Limit Omaha — four formations, all twelve hand classes, straight from solver output.
Data generated:
These numbers come from our own decoded MonkerSolver solve — PLO 6-max, 100bb effective, with 5%, 1bb cap rake — the same dataset behind our 6-max opening ranges reference and the PLO.com solver library. Every percentage is combo-weighted across the full 16,432-canonical-hand PLO preflop range and pinned to a specific decision node: a single pot-sized open, folded to the defender.
The single most useful fact in this data: defense scales with the opener's position. The big blind continues 39.8% of the time against a button open (30.4% call, 9.4% 3-bet) but only 20.6% against an under-the-gun open. If you defend the same range against every seat, you are either torching money against UTG or folding away equity against the button.
Defense summary: four formations
Each row is the defender's first decision facing exactly one pot-sized raise. "Defend" is 3-bet plus call.
| Spot | 3-Bet | Call | Fold | Defend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB vs BTN open | 8.9% | 5.7% | 85.4% | 14.6% |
| BB vs BTN open (SB folds) | 9.4% | 30.4% | 60.2% | 39.8% |
| BTN vs CO open | 8.1% | 13.1% | 78.8% | 21.2% |
| BB vs UTG open (all fold to BB) | 4.3% | 16.3% | 79.4% | 20.6% |
Three patterns worth memorizing. First, position drives the call/3-bet split: the small blind, stuck out of position with the big blind still behind, 3-bets (8.9%) more than it calls (5.7%) — flatting there invites a squeeze and a postflop nightmare. Second, the big blind is the only seat where calling dominates, because it closes the action and already has one blind invested. Third, the button flats 13.1% against a cutoff open — position is good enough that it can take a wide range to a flop without bloating the pot.
BB vs BTN open — defense by hand class
This is the bread-and-butter blind defense spot, and the widest defense in the 6-max tree: 39.8% total. AAxx 3-bets 95.9%, double-paired hands 3-bet 67.9% — a class that is barely an open UTG becomes a premium squeeze candidate here — and rundowns continue 78.7% of the time. Even the junk bucket defends more than a fifth of its combos.
| Hand class | 3-Bet | Call | Fold | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 95.9% | 4.1% | 0% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 45.7% | 51.7% | 2.6% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 24.8% | 70.2% | 5% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 16.7% | 69.2% | 14.1% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 67.9% | 27.8% | 4.3% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 2.7% | 31.8% | 65.4% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 75.1% | 24.9% | 0% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 7.1% | 71.6% | 21.2% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 21.6% | 50% | 28.4% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 6.1% | 44.1% | 49.8% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 3.9% | 18.6% | 77.6% | 48.6% |
BB vs UTG open — defense by hand class
Same seat, same price, very different answer. Against the tightest opening range in the game the big blind's total defense drops to 20.6%, and the 3-bet rate falls from 9.4% to 4.3%. Even AAxx throttles back — 81.9% 3-bet here versus 95.9% against the button — because the UTG range is dense with the big pairs that have aces dominated or neutralized. Wheel hands, a favorite live-player defend, fold 81.5% of the time.
| Hand class | 3-Bet | Call | Fold | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 81.9% | 17.4% | 0.7% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 16% | 68.3% | 15.7% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 7.3% | 48.4% | 44.3% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 4.6% | 37.6% | 57.7% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 33.4% | 50.2% | 16.4% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 0.8% | 15.1% | 84.1% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 28.2% | 71.7% | 0% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 6.6% | 74.7% | 18.7% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 14.4% | 48.8% | 36.8% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 0.8% | 17.7% | 81.5% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 1.1% | 6.8% | 92.1% | 48.6% |
SB vs BTN open — 3-bet or fold, mostly
The small blind folds 85.4% against a button open — the tightest defense on this page, against the widest opening range. That is not a contradiction; it is what playing out of position with a player still behind you costs. When the SB does continue, it prefers the 3-bet (8.9% vs 5.7% call): KKxx 3-bets 50%, Broadway rundowns 3-bet 59.9%, and the flatting range that remains is deliberately narrow.
| Hand class | 3-Bet | Call | Fold | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 93.2% | 6.3% | 0.5% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 50% | 33.1% | 17% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 23% | 21.8% | 55.2% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 12.7% | 18% | 69.3% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 29.1% | 23.4% | 47.5% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 1.9% | 4.6% | 93.5% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 59.9% | 35.3% | 4.8% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 7% | 21.7% | 71.3% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 20.7% | 8.4% | 70.9% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 5.9% | 7% | 87.1% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 4% | 1.6% | 94.4% | 48.6% |
BTN vs CO open — position flips the script
In position with the blinds still to act, the button flat-calls far more than it 3-bets: KKxx calls 75.9% and 3-bets only 14%, and double-paired hands call 75.7%. The exception is AAxx, which 3-bets 99.1% — the one class that wants the pot big and the field small no matter what. Compare that to the SB table above and you have the cleanest illustration in PLO of how position, not hand strength, decides whether to raise or call.
| Hand class | 3-Bet | Call | Fold | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 99.1% | 0.9% | 0% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 14% | 75.9% | 10.2% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 11.8% | 49.6% | 38.6% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 10.6% | 31.2% | 58.2% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 8% | 75.7% | 16.3% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 2.6% | 11.6% | 85.8% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 47.9% | 52.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 8.8% | 61.2% | 30.1% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 19% | 29.5% | 51.4% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 5.1% | 17.4% | 77.5% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 5% | 3.9% | 91.1% | 48.6% |
How rake changes these numbers
This solve is raked — 5%, 1bb cap — and rake hits calling ranges hardest, because a call creates a raked pot with a marginal hand. That is a large part of why the BB folds 60.2% even against a button open, a number that surprises players raised on rake-free solver output. If your game is effectively rake-free — high stakes, time charge, or heavy rakeback — widen the marginal defends a few points; if you play raked low- or mid-stakes cash, treat these numbers as the correct baseline.
Put the data to work
6-max opening ranges →
The other half of this dataset: RFI frequencies for every position, by hand class.
Solver library →
Explore these exact nodes interactively — look up any hand, any formation.
Preflop charts →
Hand-level opening, 3-bet, and BB-defend charts with clickable example hands.
Three-betting in PLO →
The strategy behind these frequencies: what a PLO 3-bet is actually for.
Flatting vs 3-betting →
How to choose between the two — the decision this page quantifies.
Defending the big blind →
A full walkthrough of BB play built on the frequencies in these tables.
Source: MonkerSolver solve, decoded in-house (PLO.com solver library). Game: PLO 6-max, 100bb effective stacks, 5%, 1bb caprake. Each formation is the defender's first decision facing one pot-sized open at a pinned node in the game tree. Hand classes are PLO.com's canonical preflop buckets; action percentages within a class sum to ~100%. You are free to cite these numbers with a link back to this page.