Min-raise
The smallest legal raise: raising to twice the big blind when you open.
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- What it means
- A min-raise is the smallest raise the rules allow. Preflop, when nobody has raised yet, that means raising to 2bb.
- How it is calculated
- The raise has to be at least as big as the last bet or raise. The big blind is a 1bb bet, so the smallest open is to 1bb + 1bb = 2bb.
- Worked example
- At 20bb you min-raise to 2bb from the button. If the big blind re-shoves and you fold, you lose 2bb, 10% of your stack; a 3x open would have cost 15%.
- Why it matters
- Short-stacked tournament players min-raise most of their opens: it steals the blinds and antes as well as a bigger raise, and folding to a re-shove costs less.
Lessons that teach it: What you owe decides what you can do · lessons other than the free one need an invite
See also: Open size, RFI, Stack depth