A♣5♣ BTN vs BB, preflop, 35 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♣5♣
- Board: preflop, no board yet
- Effective stack: 35 bb
- Pot: 2 bb
Heads-up preflop confrontation between BTN and BB.
Best default HU preflop action?
See the answer
Best play: Raise / 3-bet
Why
Hero is BTN first to act with A5s at 35bb. HU the BTN opens ~80-100% of hands, so any ace is an automatic raise. A5s sits near the top of that range: the ace is the best card in a wide-vs-wide war, the A blocker shaves villain AA/AK combos, and the suit plus wheel straight potential give nut-flush and nut-straight playability when the BB defends wide. Folding here would be a gross error and a limp surrenders the initiative that wins HU pots, so raise (open) is the only EV-max line.
Key idea
HU the BTN button range is enormous, so the question is almost never fold-or-not but raise-or-limp. Suited wheel aces like A5s combine a value blocker with nut draws, so they open every time and play well postflop against a wide defending BB.
Common mistake
Treating A5s like a full-ring trash hand and folding or limping it. HU it is a premium open: you give up free button equity and the nut-draw edge if you do not raise.