Is this the strangest hand range ever?

Barry Carter and Bencb reviewed a strange spot that produced an unusual L-shaped poker range - but why?

If you stay tuned to PokerStrategy.com you will soon see a new video I did with Bencb where we both take a deep dive into the topic of ICM. I asked him some tricky questions I already knew the answer to and I was amazed how he was often able to work out the answers in real time, because I needed a solver to ask them. 

One of the things we talked about was this range I got from ICMIZER, which I think might be the most bonkers range I have ever seen. I double taked when I saw it and assumed it was wrong, but when I explained the scenario to Ben he guessed the exact range before I showed him this grid. 

What scenario could possibly have KK as a fold, but any Ace is a continue?

The answer is that this is a 20BB reshove range on the bubble of a satellite where everyone has close to 20BB and one player has opened. The reason for this range skewing to only Ax is because of what hands an opener should bet/call a shove with on a satellite bubble. In this spot the only hands the opener should call with is AA. As such, the only hand we can reshove with is Ax because of the blocker effect.

Fold equity is the most important form of equity in satellites and we will get so many more folds with Ax because we reduce the combinations of AA from six to three, we make it 50% less likely they will call than a shove with any other hand. 

Don't forget also that in some spots in satellites it is correct to fold 100% of hands, so sometimes you will see that manifest in the form of 100% shoving ranges too. But as a general heuristic in satellites, don't bluff unless you block Aces. 

The bigger lesson, however, is to not open raise in the first place. You will have a much more stress free life if you shove your entire range when you get to the bubble of satellites.

Have you seen a weirder looking range? Let us know in the comments: