SPOT PRINCIPLE
Rougly 45% of hands – the standard wide live button open against two blinds.
The reference tier. Standard live full-ring opening ranges: value-weighted, position-sensitive, no limping.
The button is the best seat in poker, and it appreciates with every blind of depth: absolute position on every postflop street of a potentially enormous pot.
Assumes a live-standard open to ~4bb, raise-or-fold. In straddled games, halve your effective big blinds and read the chart at that depth.
Baseline assumptions: 9-handed · no ante · no straddle · 4bb opens · low-rake live structure · cold-calling allowed. Charts reduce low-frequency mixes to a single default action; adjust live for opponents and rake. Baseline v1 · updated 2026-08.