Poker 3 Bet Strategy

This advice was written for 200NL or lower 6Max games. It applies when effective stacks are 80-125BB preflop. Please deviate from this strategy as necessary when you have either developed good reads or know your opponent has certain assumptions about the way you play.

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Games
Poker 3 Bet Strategy Blackjack
Poker 3 Bet Strategy Rules
Poker 3 Bet Strategy Odds

Continuation bets should be anywhere from 2/3-3/4PSB, depending on what sizing is best for getting all in on the turn. As a note, if you feel you are better at playing after the flop than your opponent, 3betting to a smaller size preflop and making a smaller c-bet on the flop is a good way to set the hand up to play 3 streets, allowing you the greatest opportunity to exercise your skill advantage.

Three Betting in Poker - What is Three Betting. Three betting has increased in popularity as poker games have gotten more and more aggressive. If you’re not making constant three bets, you are probably being crushed by the other aggressive players at the table. The problem with three betting for most players, is that they are three betting. BASIC 3 CARD POKER STRATEGY The usual strategy for when to make the Play wager is to bet whenever you have Queen-6-4 or better, including any time your high card is an Ace or a King, no matter how high your other two cards are, and also anytime your hand is Q-7 or better, regardless of your third card. Fold if your hand is not at least that high. Poker 3-Bet: Cutoff & Button. We are currently at a point in poker where 3-bets from the cutoff and button appear weak because they are often assumed to be positional raises. Here’s how I play it. I will 3-bet from those positions with marginal or even weak poker hands early in poker tournaments. By doing this, I can win two ways. A 3-bet is when there has been a raise and then another raise after that. Simple enough, but let me give you one quick example to drive it home: After the SB and BB post the $1 and $2 blinds, lets say there is a raise to $8 from a player in MP. If another player in LP raises it again to $24, this is called a 3-bet.

The Rules

1). If an Ace/King hits the flop, bet nearly 100% of the time, regardless of position. These flop types are highly polarized (a.k.a. 'hit or miss') and your opponents aren’t going to be calling/raising your flop bets lightly. The other good polarized flop texture to bet on is when the flop comes all of the same suit.

2). If your hand is as strong as a pair of Kings or better, bet/call the flop.

Note: Pair + draw hands are considered as strong as a pair of Kings or better in a reraised pot. Nut flush draws are also considered as strong as a pair of Kings or better

The Flop

Out of Position…

1). 2-2 – 9-9 or suited connectors, check/fold.

2). K-xs/A-xs, bet/fold if you have a backdoor straight, backdoor flush draw, or a gutshot. Otherwise, check/fold.

3). A-10 – A-Q, bet/fold.

However if you flop a pair of Tens, Jacks, or Queens AND it is top pair, check/call flop and check/fold turn.

4). A-K, bet/fold.

5). 10-10 – Q-Q, check/call x-x-x flops and check/fold the turn unimproved.

Also check/fold (A/K)-x-x flop. The reason not to bet Ace/King high flops with these pairs is because our hand has a lot of showdown value if our opponent doesn’t have an Ace/King. It also helps to lower our c-bet frequency from ~100% on those flop types.

6). K-K+, bet/call.

If you flop a weak draw (7 outs or less), alternate between check/folding and check/raising all in depending on your table image. Bet/fold a blank turn if the flop is checked around.

In Position…

1). 2-2 – 7-7 or suited connectors, check behind.

2). K-xs/A-xs, bet/fold if you have a backdoor straight, flush draw, or a gutshot. Otherwise, check behind.

3). A-K, bet/fold.

4). K-K+, bet/call.

Check behind on the flop if you are holding a draw with 7 outs or less. Fold to a turn bet unimproved, bet if checked to.

Turn/River Play:

If your hand is…

– Worse than a pair of Kings, you are generally finished betting or calling bets.

– A pair of Kings and an Ace comes on the turn, you are generally finished betting or calling bets.

– A pair of Aces, two pair, or a set and an Ace comes on the turn, check/raise all in. If a straight or flush completes, you are generally finished betting or calling bets.

– A straight/flush and an Ace comes on the turn, check/raise all in. If a flush completes and you are holding a straight, you are generally finished betting or calling bets.

– A pair of Kings or better and a non scare card comes on the turn, go all in.

Extra:

– Monotone flops are great to stab at since they are a good hit/miss flop type, but they are not good to float on. If you have an overpair (smaller than Q-Q) on a monotone flop and are faced with a bet, folding is generally your best option.

– Slowplaying on occasion is necessary to help balance the range of hands that you will check with on the flop.

The Three Bet

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Games

One of the common definitions you will hear as you play poker is “3-bet”, or “three-bet”. A 3-bet as most players use the term means the act of putting in the third bet, technically the second “raise”, the “3-bet” during any given round of action. It’s only in recent years that the term has become popular, indicative of its use during online play.

For flop games, such as hold’em and Omaha, the pre-flop 3-bet is technically different than the post-flop 3-bet. In these poker games blinds are used, and the act of posting the small and big blinds is considered the first “bet”. Subsequent players, beginning with the “under the gun” (UTG) player to the big blind’s immediate left, have the option of calling that first bet (the amount of the big blind), or folding or raising. In a typical game, the first pre-flop raise is technically a “two-bet”, but you’ll never hear it called that. Instead, it’s when another play makes a second raise, going over the top of the first raiser, that the “three-bet” term is used. Below is a visual of what a pre-flop 3-bet looks like.

In post-flop play, the 3-bet consists of an initial bet, a raise, and then a re-raise (perhaps by the initial bettor). Since the initial bet itself can be sizable, the post-flop 3-bet is proportionately larger in most instances than its pre-flop counterpart. In cash games and in the late stages of tourneys, 3-bets often involve all-in moves by one or more players, though you’re just as likely to hear the words “pushing” or “jamming” (moving one’s entire stack into the middle) in those instances.

What Does a 3-Bet Mean?

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Blackjack

A 3-bet, which is always a form of a re-raise is designed to be an indicator of a true premium hand. The 3-bet is a shot over the bow of the initial raiser, designed to capture that pot right there. The intent of the 3-bet is to say to the initial bettor, “Yeah, you may have a good hand, but I’ve got a better one.” One common variation involves the initial raise coming from a late position, the button player or the cut-off (to the button’s immediate right), and the 3-bet is made by the small or big blind, who may assume the button or cutoff is attempting to steal the blinds. Overall, the 3-bet is traditionally one of the strongest moves a player can make, trailing perhaps only the all-in push and the check-raise in its ability to change a hand. It’s supposed to mean that the player making the move has a very strong hand, though this being poker, that is not always the case.

Making Your Own 3-Bets

The use of 3-bets is best done selectively, at opportune moments. Many hyper-aggressive players 3-bet with a wide range of hands, including many garbage hands, in the nature of bluffs. Most 3-bets, however, are done with big hands.

When to 3-bet a hand and when to just call (called a “smooth call” or “smoothing”) is one of the trickiest lessons players must learn. Knowing your opponents’ tendencies is vital to success, because the best poker players play their opponents as much as their own hands. A 3-bet works best against fairly loose players, some of whom are described as “calling stations”, who simply cannot fold marginal holdings when prompted. Another successful type of 3-bet can be done against a player who might over-value the long-term prospects of the game or tourney in deference to what might happen in that specific hand. He might be surrendering a bit too much of his chance to win in hopes of getting a better opportunity in a later hand.

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Rules

Then there are bluffs. The bluff type of 3-bet is called a “re-steal”, and properly executed, it can be one of the most profitable moves in a player’s arsenal. However, like any good play, using it too much is one of the quickest ways to go broke. Other players will eventually react to a player that is putting in too many 3-bets, and sooner or later, the player putting in those over-the-top bets will be “looked up” (called) by his opponent. However, if you’re a steady, conservative player, 3-betting an aggressive foe will work more often than you might believe. Those players are trying to steadily make small gains against your perceived, relative passivity, and when you fight back they’ll often go try another door.

Defending Against the 3-Bet

Defending against the 3-bet boils down to understanding both your opponents and the circumstances of the game. Against a tight opponent who plays few hands, a 3-bet invariably means a monster and you can ditch all but the largest hands against this opponent. Even if he’s on a rare bluff, his natural tendencies against bluffing should serve as a warning.

Aggressive, late-position players will often three-bet with holdings such as middle pairs, AK or AQ, and depending on your own hand, it’s often correct to play or even to put the 4-bet in and take your chances. Be aware that with position and with correct “pot odds” – referring to the relationship between the amount of money already in the pot and the total amount a player stands to win – a late-position player may be “priced in” to making his own call with more inferior hands than you might hope.