Opening from the button

The button is the best seat: it acts last after the flop, and only two players are left to beat. At 25 BB, the standard play is to open with a min-raise, 2 BB, with a wide range: close to 40 % of all hands.

The matrix below is the reference range. Hands in colour are opened, the rest is folded: every pair, almost every ace, most kings, the broadways and the suited connectors down to 76s. The colours also show what the solver does after the raise (fold, call or shove if a blind moves all-in); you will learn to read those lines in the intermediate level.

Why a min-raise, and why not a limp

The min-raise is the cheapest raise that still takes the initiative. It costs 2 BB, it wins the blinds outright when both fold, and it keeps the stack-to-pot ratio manageable for the hands that see a flop.

Limping from the button gives the blinds a cheap flop with hands they would have folded, and it hands the initiative to the big blind. The solver does limp a small slice of the range, about 5 % of combos: small pairs and suited hands that like a cheap flop. That is advanced material. For now, raise everything you open: a beginner who min-raises the whole opening range gives up almost nothing.

With the top of the range you do the same thing: raise, not shove. Shoving AA at 25 BB folds out everything that would have paid you.