At a glance
- On the HUD
- CvS
- Formula
calls / steals faced in the big blind with nobody else in- Typical range
25–50%
- Where it shows
- In the player database, where you can see every stat for a player (not on the table badges).
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
The big blind has three answers to a steal: fold, call or 3-bet. CvS is the call. It’s usually the biggest part of a big blind’s defense, because the big blind already has a full big blind in, closes the action and gets a good price to see a flop.
It sits between two other stats on the same spot: BB fold to steal (the fold) and BB 3-bet vs steal (the re-raise). BB defend vs steal is call plus 3-bet.
It isn’t the same as cold call. Cold call counts any open a player faces with no chips in voluntarily, from any seat, overcalls included. A big blind flatting a button steal counts toward both, but CvS looks only at that one spot, so it isn’t diluted by early-position hands where calling is rare.
How it’s calculated
A chance is the same spot as BB fold to steal: the player is in the big blind, the first raise came from the cutoff, button or small blind with no limpers before it, and their first action after it faced that one raise with nobody calling in between. It counts if they flat-called.
- CvS = calls / steals faced in the big blind
- Fold + call + 3-bet ≈ 100% of those steals
The three answers add up to about 100%, not exactly, because a 3-bet chance is only counted when the player had chips behind to raise. A short stack that can only call or fold adds a chance to fold to steal and to CvS, but not to 3-bet vs steal.
CvS is kept as one number for all stealer seats. The fold and 3-bet stats are also split by the stealer’s seat, so look there for the cutoff-versus-button picture.
Example: Nora faced 40 steals in the big blind. She folded 18 (45%), called 17 → 17 / 40 = 42.5% CvS, and 3-bet 5. Once she had only enough chips to call, so her 3-bet vs steal is 5 / 39 = 12.8%, and the three add up to 100.3%.
Why it matters
The flat call decides what the big blind’s range looks like after the flop. If a player calls a lot and 3-bets their best hands, the calling range is wide and capped: few big pairs, lots of suited and connected hands. If they call a lot and almost never 3-bet, the calling range holds everything, aces included, and you can’t barrel it as freely.
The right amount of calling depends on the price, and PokerNow opens are often bigger than 2.5 bb. With the small blind folded (0.5 bb dead), the big blind needs this much equity to call:
| Steal size | To call | Pot after call | Equity needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 bb | 1 | 4.5 | 22.2% |
| 2.5 bb | 1.5 | 5.5 | 27.3% |
| 3 bb | 2 | 6.5 | 30.8% |
| 4 bb | 3 | 8.5 | 35.3% |
So a 45% CvS against 4 bb opens is far looser than the same number against 2.5 bb opens. Check the stealer’s open size before you judge it.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 25%
What it says
Two very different players land here, and the other two numbers on the spot tell them apart. With a high fold to steal, this is a tight, passive big blind (a Nit or Rock) who gives up most pots before the flop. With a high 3-bet vs steal, it’s an aggressive player using a 3-bet-or-fold approach: their few flats are medium hands like small pairs and suited broadways that don’t want to re-raise.
How to exploit it
- Against the folder: steal wider and smaller, and give their rare calls credit for a real hand.
- Against the 3-bet-or-fold player: steal hands that can stand a 3-bet (pairs, suited aces, suited broadways) and drop the weakest offsuit hands that would have to fold. A smaller open also costs you less each time you fold.
- When either one flats, their range is narrow and medium-strength. C-bet boards with an ace or king; slow down on middling boards and respect turn raises.
About right: 25–50%
What it says
A normal flatting big blind: most of the defense comes from calls, with a smaller share of 3-bets, and the calls are mostly suited, connected and middling hands. Within the band, the split matters. A player at 40% calls and 6% 3-bets plays a passive, uncapped range; one at 30% calls and 15% 3-bets has a capped calling range and will punish light steals more often.
How to exploit it
Your edge is the postflop game in position. Against a calling range made of suited hands and connectors, c-bet small on ace-high and king-high boards where they rarely connect, and check back more on low connected boards that hit them. Fire turns that bring a card above their likely pairs. Then check their fold to c-bet and check-raise: a normal CvS with a low fold to c-bet means they call flops too, so bet for value and bluff less; a high check-raise means you should c-bet less on boards that hit their suited hands.
Too high: over 50%
What it says
They call more than half of all steals, which means a wide range with a lot of weak offsuit hands. Add any 3-bets and their total defense is high too. This is usually a Fish or Station who hates folding a posted blind, or a player who doesn’t adjust to bigger opens. At PokerNow tables, where steals are often 3–4 bb, a CvS over 50% means they are paying more than many of those hands are worth.
How to exploit it
- Stop stealing pure trash from the seats they defend against; they won’t fold enough to pay for it.
- Open your good hands bigger. A wide range calling 4 bb instead of 2.5 bb pays you more with hands like A9o, KTo and suited broadways.
- Value-bet three streets with top pair and a good kicker; their range is full of weaker pairs.
- Bluff mostly on the flop and on high cards; cut river bluffs unless their fold to c-bet shows they give up later in the hand.
When it’s your own number
CvS has no read hint, so it never becomes a read, about you or anyone else. Observant players can still see the pattern. If you call steals a lot and rarely 3-bet, your 3-bets look like premium hands and your calls look like everything else.
Check your own number in the player database against the price table. If your CvS is over 50% and the stealers at your table open 3–4 bb, drop the weakest offsuit hands: against a 4 bb open you need 35.3% equity, and you realize less of it out of position. If it’s under 25% while your 3-bet vs steal is low too, you’re folding too much.
Using it on the HUD
CvS lives in the player database only, not on the table badges. Open a player there to see it with the usual colors: gold over 50%, blue under 25%, faded under 12 chances. It makes no reads.
At the table you can still work it out. Before anyone opens, the big blind’s badge shows FtS-BB and 3-bet vs steal; 100% minus those two is roughly CvS.
Samples build slowly, one chance per steal the player faces in the big blind. A 30% CvS over 20 chances is ±10 points; a 50% CvS over 30 chances is ±9. Read it with fold to steal and BB defend vs steal, which rest on the same chances.
Questions
What is a good BB call vs steal percentage?
The HUD treats 25–50% as typical. Where a good player sits depends on the open size: against 2.5 bb steals the big blind needs only 27.3% equity to call, so a number near the top of the range is fine; against 4 bb steals it needs 35.3%, so calling that often costs money.
Should the big blind call or 3-bet against a button steal?
Mostly call, and 3-bet a smaller part of the range. Calling keeps the pot small with hands that play well, such as suited connectors and middling pairs, while 3-bets work best with strong hands and some hands with good blockers. The typical 3-bet vs steal range is 6–16%, far below the typical call rate.
Why don’t fold, call and 3-bet vs steal add up to exactly 100%?
Because a 3-bet chance is only counted when the player had chips behind to re-raise. When a short stack can only call or fold, that hand counts toward fold to steal and call vs steal but not toward 3-bet vs steal, so the three numbers drift slightly apart.
How does the open size change how often the big blind should call?
Bigger opens give a worse price, so the big blind should call less. With the small blind folded, the big blind needs 22.2% equity against a 2 bb steal, 27.3% against 2.5 bb, 30.8% against 3 bb and 35.3% against 4 bb. Judge a player’s calling against the sizes they actually face.