A♣5♣ BB vs BTN, preflop, 35 bb
The spot
- You: BB
- Opponent: BTN
- 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
As BB facing the BTN open with A‑5 suited at 35bb, this is the textbook 3‑bet bluff. The ace blocks the BTNs strongest value combos (AA, AK, AQ), reducing the hands that can profitably continue against your raise, which boosts your fold equity. When called you still have a nut-flush draw plus wheel straight potential, so you realize equity even without folds. Against a wide HU opener that folds little, the polar 3‑bet with A5s is high EV: you fold out better A-x, get value-ish action from worse, and never have a reverse-implied-odds problem with a dominated ace. Flatting is fine in a mix but raise is the preferred line here.
Key idea
Suited wheel aces (A5s-A2s) are the canonical BB 3‑bet bluff HU: the ace blocker shrinks villains value range while the nut-flush and wheel draws give you equity when called. Raise as the bluff side of a polar 3‑bet.
Common mistake
Just calling (or folding) A5s because the kicker is weak. That wastes the ace blocker and the nut-flush upside; the strongest line is to 3‑bet it as a bluff.