Solver data
PLO Heads-Up Ranges
How wide is a heads-up PLO button open, really? Exact raise, limp, 3-bet, call, and fold frequencies for both seats at 100bb, straight from solver output.
Data generated:
These numbers come from our own decoded MonkerSolver solve — PLO heads-up, 100bb effective, with 5%, 1bb cap rake — part of the same solver library that produced our 6-max opening ranges and 3-betting and defense references. Every percentage is combo-weighted across the full 16,432-canonical-hand PLO preflop range and pinned to a specific decision node.
A note on seats: heads-up, the small blind isthe button — it posts the small blind, acts first preflop, and acts last on every street after the flop. We label it SB in the tables below, but read it as "the button."
Button first-in: 84.9% raise, 2.6% limp
Heads-up PLO opens are famously wide, and here is the real number: the button plays 87.5% of all starting hands — 84.9% as a pot-sized raise plus a 2.6% limp — and folds only 12.5%. For comparison, the 6-max button, the widest seat at a full table, opens 48.6%. With one opponent, guaranteed position, and PLO's compressed preflop equities, even the junk bucket — nearly half the deck — raises 78.2% of the time.
The class table is remarkable for how flat it is: nine of the twelve classes raise more than 90% of the time — wheel hands at 93.4% open nearly as often as AAxx at 98.9% — and even bare one-pair hands raise 86.7%. The one real fold bucket is bare trips (83.2% fold) — three of a kind in your hand kills your own outs and plays terribly even with position.
| Hand class | Raise | Limp | Fold | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 98.9% | 1.1% | 0% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 99% | 1% | 0% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 98.5% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 98.1% | 1.9% | 0% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 96.4% | 3.6% | 0% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 14.7% | 2.1% | 83.2% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 86.7% | 2.9% | 10.4% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 98.7% | 1.3% | 0% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 94.6% | 1.7% | 3.7% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 94.2% | 0.5% | 5.3% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 93.4% | 2.6% | 4% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 78.2% | 2.9% | 18.9% | 48.6% |
BB vs the open: defend 61.4%
Facing the pot-sized open, the big blind continues 61.4% of the time — 43.3% call plus 18.1% 3-bet — and folds just 38.6%. Contrast that with 6-max, where the BB folds 60.2% against a button open and 3-bets only 9.4%: heads-up, the opening range is so wide that the BB must fight back nearly twice as often, out of position or not.
The 3-betting range is anything but polarized. KKxx 3-bets 67.5%, QQxx 50.8%, double-paired hands 89.2%, and rundowns 40.6% — against an 84.9% opening range, big pairs and connected hands are simply value.
| Hand class | 3-Bet | Call | Fold | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 96.7% | 3.3% | 0% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 67.5% | 31.8% | 0.7% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 50.8% | 47.1% | 2.1% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 35.3% | 63.8% | 0.8% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 89.2% | 10.8% | 0% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 0% | 0.6% | 99.4% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 12% | 52.1% | 35.9% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 89.6% | 10.4% | 0% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 40.6% | 46.7% | 12.8% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 42.4% | 40.3% | 17.3% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 13.9% | 57.8% | 28.3% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 9.4% | 36.9% | 53.7% | 48.6% |
BB vs the limp: raise 43.6%
When the button limps instead (2.6% of hands), the big blind attacks: it raises 43.6% of its entire range and checks the rest — checking is free, so there is no folding here. AAxx raises 98.7%, Broadway rundowns 99.9%, and even the junk bucket isolates 30.6% of the time. If you limp the button heads-up, expect to face a pot-sized raise almost half the time.
| Hand class | Raise | Check | Share of all hands |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAxx | 98.7% | 1.3% | 2.6% |
| KKxx | 86.4% | 13.6% | 2.6% |
| QQxx | 78.7% | 21.3% | 2.5% |
| JJxx-TTxx | 70.6% | 29.4% | 4.9% |
| Double Paired | 97.7% | 2.3% | 0.4% |
| Trips | 0% | 100% | 0.7% |
| Pair | 42.8% | 57.2% | 18.7% |
| Broadway Rundown | 99.9% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Rundown | 82.6% | 17.4% | 0.8% |
| 1-Gap | 82.1% | 17.9% | 2.6% |
| Wheel | 46.7% | 53.3% | 15.5% |
| Junk | 30.6% | 69.4% | 48.6% |
Why heads-up looks nothing like 6-max
Two forces drive the gap. First, blind pressure: heads-up you post a blind every hand, so folding is far more expensive relative to playing — the button's 12.5% fold frequency is the price of the small blind, not a statement about hand quality. Second, range-versus-range equity: PLO starting hands run close together, and with only one opponent holding a near-random range, almost any four cards are close enough to contest the pot with position. The skill heads-up is not hand selection — the solver barely selects — it is playing enormous ranges accurately after the flop. Same game, same 5%, 1bb caprake, same solver: the only variable that changed is the number of players, and it moved the button's entry frequency from 48.6% to 87.5%.
Put the data to work
6-max opening ranges →
The full-table baseline these heads-up numbers are compared against.
3-betting & blind defense →
Defense frequencies for four 6-max formations, by hand class.
Solver library →
Study the heads-up solve interactively — including 50bb, 150bb, and 200bb stacks.
Position in PLO →
Why the button gets to play 87% of hands — the theory behind the number.
Source: MonkerSolver solve, decoded in-house (PLO.com solver library). Game: PLO heads-up, 100bb effective stacks, 5%, 1bb cap rake. Heads-up, the SB is the button and acts first preflop. Each table is a pinned decision 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.