LJ vs BB SRP C-Bet Strategy | 30bb Board-by-Board Hit Chart [Ajo MTT Vol.3]
A GTO Wizard walkthrough of c-betting strategy in LJ vs BB SRPs at ES 30bb. Covers c-bet frequency tendencies by high card / suit / pairedness / connectedness, plus eight individual board breakdowns (A95, K95, KK5, K55, 777, 862). Vol.3 of Ajo's MTT Strategy Series.
Written by: Ajo (X: @AjoPoker)
Hi, I'm Ajo.
The theme of Vol. 3 is c-bet strategy from an early position (LJ) vs BB in single-raised pots. BTN vs BB c-bets have been covered widely, but the LJ vs BB version is rarely studied in depth.
In this article, with ES 30bb as our framework, we'll work through board-by-board c-bet decisions — using the question "will the opponent's small pocket pair tough-call or over-fold?" as our exploit anchor.
📌 Setup
- Spot: LJ vs BB SRP (LJ opens, BB calls, heads-up to the flop)
- Stack: ES 30bb
- Solution: GTO Wizard ChipEV (no ICM)
- Range tables: LJ (IP) on the left, BB (OOP) on the right
Preflop Ranges
LJ open range
- The bottom of the open is around 33 and A8o (indifferent, mixed)
- Offsuit broadways down to JTo–KTo are open
- At a shallow 30bb, suited connectors and small pocket pairs lose value, while high cards (broadways) gain value
BB defense range
- BB calls broadly — down to Q4o
- 22 and 33 are pure calls (not mixed into 3-bets)
For a deeper dive into BB defense ranges, see Ajo's separate note article (in Japanese).
C-Bet Frequency Tendencies (4 Lenses)
How does the c-bet frequency change with board structure? Four ways to slice it.
1. By high card
- Boards with a T or higher as the top card see high c-bet frequency
- Frequency drops on 9-or-lower boards
- One subtle exception: KTo is in LJ's range, but the only 9xo is
A9o, which weakens LJ's range on 9x boards
2. By suit structure
- Monotone boards see the highest c-bet frequency but the lowest EV
- On monotone boards, BB also has nutted hands (flushes), so large bet sizes are rarely usable
3. By pairedness
- Paired boards c-bet at 84% — high but not as extreme as you might expect
- As we'll see, low paired boards are the exception because of trips coverage
4. By connectedness
- The drier (less connected) the board, the higher the c-bet frequency
- Less straight potential = clearer range advantage for IP
Individual Board Breakdowns
Eight specific boards.
1. A95 Rainbow
- Range bet (almost every hand bets)
- Sizes used range from 20% to 125% pot
- AT+ is the value lower bound for large bets
- Pocket pairs don't fold to a 33% bet
- Pocket pairs fold to a 55% bet
→ To force pocket pairs to fold, you need 55% or larger.
2. A95 Two-Tone
- Range bet
- Sizes used: 20% to 83%
- AQs with a flush draw favors 55%, while AQs without a flush draw favors 83% for protection
- Pocket pairs don't fold to a 20% bet
- Pocket pairs without backdoor flush draws mostly fold to a 33% bet
- QJo with a backdoor flush draw check-raises at a meaningful frequency
3. K95 Rainbow
- Bets at 81% of range
- Sizes used: 20% to 83%
- High check-frequency hands: ATs–AQs, pocket pairs, K5s–K7s, etc.
- Pocket pairs call a 20% bet
- Pocket pairs with both backdoor flush colors call a 33% bet at low frequency
4. K95 Two-Tone
- Bets at 77% of range
- Even at a 20% bet, small pocket pairs without a backdoor flush draw prefer to fold
- Why? Because gutshots and flush draws have higher continuation priority
- This is a board where small pocket pairs become tough calls in practice
5. KK5 Rainbow
- Range bet
- Most of the time at a 20% size
- Against the 20% bet, even ace-high struggles, and BB folds 53% of its range
- BB raises with most Kx, 5x, and backdoor straight draws
6. K55 Rainbow
- Bets at 55% of range (not a range bet)
- QQ and JJ — marginal hands with low protection needs — check at high frequency
- Only size used: 20%
- Against the 20% bet, ace-high check-raises at high frequency
📍 Exploit point
The "raise-instead-of-call" line on paired boards is theoretically valid, but most opponents under-raise here.
→ You can c-bet looser than equilibrium without much practical risk.
7. 777 (Trips Board)
- Range bet
- Trips boards heavily favor IP (overpair / nut-hand coverage skews)
- Bet without hesitation
8. 862 Rainbow
- Bets at 50% of range (low / connected boards have more checking)
- Most-used size: 83%
- 99–QQ and 8x prefer large bets for protection
- Small pocket pairs don't fold to 55%-or-smaller, but fold to 83%
- Out counts for small pocket pairs:
- vs top hit: 2 outs
- vs bottom hit: 5 outs
Summary
A two-lens framework for c-betting decisions.
Equilibrium lens (from the GTO solution)
- How much does this board favor the IP raiser?
- Can a small bet already fold out a lot of hands?
- Do you hold hands that need protection?
Exploit lens (from opponent tendencies)
- Will this be a tough call? (Especially watch how small pocket pairs respond.)
- Are check-raises sufficient? (Most opponents under-raise.)
Combine both lenses to choose your sizes and frequencies.
⚠️ Where this exploit works — and where it doesn't
The "make small pairs tough-call or over-fold" framing only pays off when you can read your opponent's tendencies. Over-using range bets against adaptive opponents leaves your check range capped and exploitable. Calibrate your frequency based on the player you're up against.
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