Min Raise or Shove?
The switch sits at roughly 13 big blinds. Below it the solver shoves 83 % of the time, above it it min-raises 80 % — and in between, at 11 to 15 big blinds, it is almost a tie. So there is no fixed rule, just a place where the ratio turns over.
The number
168 of the 178 opening spots in our library offer both: a min raise or a shove. Counted is which of the two the solver prefers per hand — hands it folds do not count.
| Stack | Min raise | All-in | Spots |
|---|---|---|---|
| up to 10 big blinds | 17 % | 83 % | 32 |
| 11–15 big blinds | 49 % | 51 % | 30 |
| 16–25 big blinds | 74 % | 26 % | 45 |
| over 25 big blinds | 80 % | 20 % | 61 |
In total: 6076 min raises against 3631 shoves — 63 to 37. So the min raise is the normal case, not the exception. The middle row rests on 30 spots; it shows that something turns over there, not at which blind exactly.
Why it turns over
At ten big blinds a raise to two is not a raise any more, it is an invitation: whoever calls sees a flop with almost your whole stack behind it. The shove takes that decision off the table — and that is exactly what it is for.
At twenty big blinds it reverses. A shove risks twenty to win one and a half; a raise to two risks two. The min raise wins the same blinds at a tenth of the cost — and leaves you the option of folding after the flop.
In between lies the place where both are worth about the same. It is not a threshold but a transition: at 11 to 15 big blinds the solver picks one way half the time and the other way the rest — depending on the hand, the seat, and who is sitting behind you.
Why there is no chart here
The answer of this article is a ratio, not a range. A 13×13 chart can show which hands get played — it cannot show that 63 % of them raise and 37 % shove. Two charts side by side would claim a sharpness that does not exist within a single spot.
Where this answer stops
All numbers describe the first entry into the pot, in tournaments with a payout ladder. Once somebody has raised in front of you it is a different question. And the 13 is rounded: it comes out of four steps, not out of a calculation.
Try it yourself
In the trainer you see both buttons side by side, and afterwards which one the solver picked and how often.