Who acts first in heads-up poker?

The button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, then last on every street after it. The big blind acts last preflop and first after the flop.

How much equity does the big blind need to defend heads-up?

Call ÷ (pot + call): 25% against a 2bb open, 27.3% against 2.2bb, 30% against 2.5bb, 33.3% against 3bb.

Why are heads-up ranges so wide?

Each player posts a blind on every hand (the big blind every other hand), the big blind already has a big blind in the pot, and two random hands are rarely far apart before the flop.

Heads-Up Poker Strategy: Why Both Players Play So Many Hands

By the Poker Puzzle Trainer team · Published October 20, 2026

Heads-up poker strategy starts with position and price. The button posts the small blind, acts first before the flop and last on every later street. The big blind already has 1bb in the pot, so against a 2.5bb open it calls 1.5bb into a 5bb final pot and needs only 30% equity. With a blind every hand and cheap prices, both players play far more hands than at a full table, and folding too much keeps losing the blinds.

King-seven suited on the button

Heads-up, you act first on the button with K♠7♠. Fold, open to 2bb or open to 3.5bb?

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See the answer

Before the flop, K♠7♠ against hands the big blind might hold:

Big blind's hand	K♠7♠'s equity
Q♦J♣	58.4%
9♥8♥	55.6%
5♣5♦	47.5%
A♥4♦	44%
A♣K♥	29.3%
K♦Q♦	29.2%

K♠7♠ is ahead of or close to most hands; it trails an ace a little and is far behind the hands that dominate its king. Folding gives up the small blind; a small open keeps the price low when a strong hand plays back.

Queen-five offsuit in the big blind

Heads-up with 100bb, the button opens to 3bb and you hold Q♣5♦ in the big blind. Fold, call or 3‑bet to 11bb?

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See the answer

Before the flop, Q♣5♦ against hands the button might open:

Button's hand	Q♣5♦'s equity
T♣9♣	52%
J♥T♥	50.8%
A♠9♦	36.6%
K♠7♠	34.5%
8♣8♦	29.2%
K♦Q♥	24.5%

Against a 3bb open, a call needs 33.3%. Q♣5♦ clears that against most unpaired hands and falls short against pairs of fives or better and hands that dominate the queen.

The price of defending the big blind

Button's open	Big blind calls	Pot after the call	Equity needed
2bb	1bb	4bb	25%
2.2bb	1.2bb	4.4bb	27.3%
2.5bb	1.5bb	5bb	30%
3bb	2bb	6bb	33.3%

The button acts last after the flop, so the big blind realizes less of its equity than these numbers suggest; that gap is why the big blind does not defend every hand that clears the price.

Keep going

What position changes on every street: poker positions.
The defense threshold after the flop: minimum defense frequency.
The price of any call: pot odds.
Heads-up pots in a full game: the 6‑max cash game trainer.
One spot every day: the daily poker puzzle.
3‑bets and 4‑bets one on one: heads-up preflop.
Which flops help the button and which help the big blind: button vs big blind.
K9s to K2s against aces and pairs: suited kings.
Before the heads-up, the prize pool math: ICM poker.
The six-handed table before the heads-up: final table strategy.
The big blind betting first: the donk bet.

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Sources

Every equity is computed by exact enumeration of all boards with the app's equity module, and every price from call ÷ (pot + call), checked on October 11, 2026.
The answers to the spots follow rules written by the app's author; they do not come from a solver.