Button Opening Range at 200bb (9-max live Cash)

Two things make a 200bb range different from the 100bb chart most players default to. First, the pot you can win is small relative to the stacks behind, so implied odds and playability matter more: hands that flop big and stack an opponent (suited aces, suited connectors, pairs that set-mine) gain, while thin, dominated offsuit hands that only make one pair lose value. Second, being out of position is more expensive when there is more money left to play for, which is why the Button opens 42.8% here rather than the looser number you would use short.

Full ring adds a third pressure: with eight players left to act, an early open runs into a premium far more often, so the correct Button range is genuinely tight. Most live regs open too wide from up front and pay for it postflop out of position. The button, by contrast, can steal a huge share once the field folds, which is why the two ends of the table look nothing alike.

This is a raise-or-fold range, not a limp. Deep and live, limping in bloats multiway pots you will play out of position with a capped hand. Opening for a raise keeps the initiative and lets the depth work for you when you connect.