Poker 3 Bet Strategy

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By Alton Hardin

Introduction

May 21, 2020 Optimal strategy for 3 Card Poker indicates that you should generally play all hands of a value of Q-6-4 or better and fold everything else. This casino table game will always give the house a slight edge of around 2% over the long-term.

For beginners, 3-betting can be a confusing concept to understand and properly apply at the poker tables. With so much theory being discussed in books, forums, and training videos its easy for beginners to get lost in a fog of poker haze, not knowing when to 3-bet, what range of hands to 3-bet and why. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic framework that beginning and struggling poker players can use to effectively 3-bet.

What Is The Pre-Flop 3-Bet?

  1. If you 3-bet with only strong and/or playable hands, you will hit the flop more often and Doug will have a tough time pushing you around. Raising to around 3 times the open-raise is good when using a merged 3-betting strategy in position. When out of position, use a size around 3.5-to-4 times the open-raise.
  2. 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.
  3. The 2.01 percent house edge is the percentage of that wagering total that the house expects to keep. That makes the Three Card Poker ante-play combination one of the better casino bets. Blackjack basic strategy players face a house edge of less than 1 percent, and so do craps players who bet the pass-plus-odds combination. The house edge of 1.
  4. One of the first steps to incorporating 3-bets into your overall poker strategy is to understand exactly who you should be 3-betting. Of course, the strength of your hand will play a part in this decision, but it is not the only factor that you should consider.

First off, lets level set what a pre-flop 3-bet is. A 3-bet occurs when someone open-raises and another person re-raises pre-flop. The re-raise is a 3-bet. This might be a bit confusing to some people because the 3-bet is the second raise, why is this? Well, in Texas Holdem the posted blinds are considered the first bet, the initial open raise is considered the second bet, and the re-raise is therefore the third bet, hence the term 3-bet.

Linear and Polarized 3-Bets

In poker, there are two main categories of 3-bets, linear and polarized 3-bets:

Linear 3-Betting Range

A linear 3-betting range is one composed solely of value-bets. When we 3-bet a linear range, we are 3-betting for value. For example, the image below shows a linear value 3-betting range of JJ+, AQs+, AKo.

Polarized 3-Betting Range

A polarized 3-betting range is one composed of a combination of value hands and bluffs. So, unlike the linear 3-betting range, when we 3-bet a polarized range, we are sometimes betting for value and other times bluffing. The below image shows a polarized 3-betting range composed of value hands and bluff hands. In this example, we are 3-betting TT+, AJs+, AQ+ for value and 44-22, A4s-A2s, 87s, 76s as a bluff.

Why Do We 3-Bet?

Hopefully you’ve already noticed this from the section above, but we 3-bet for two specific reasons:

  1. When we have a hand that is too good to call, such as KK or AA for value
  2. When we have a hand that is too bad to call, such as A2s or 33

If we have a hand that fits within these two different reasons, then we have a hand we can “potentially” 3-bet.

Linear or Polarized?

So which should you use, the linear or polarized 3-betting model? It depends on our opponents.

Can We 3-Bet Bluff?

You probably heard the phrase, “never bluff the calling station”. Well the same goes for 3-bets. You should only apply the polarized 3-betting model with 3-bet bluffs if your opponent(s) are folding to a lot of 3-bets. If they aren’t, then 3-bet bluffing will only cause you to unnecessarily spew off a lot of chips pre-flop. Conversely, if your opponent(s) are folding to a high frequency of 3-bets, approximately 67% then you can 3-bet bluff profitably.

Therefore, 3-bet bluffing and the polarized 3-betting model works best when you have a lot of fold equity. When your fold equity is low, don’t apply this model and stick with the linear 3-betting model.

How Wide Should We Value 3-Bet Bet?

Again, this is dependent upon how your opponent(s) are reacting to 3-bets. When you are 3-betting for value, the most important factor is your opponent’s 3-bet calling range and 4-betting range.

When you are 3-betting for value, you goal is to maximize your long-term expectation in the hand by having your opponents call your 3-bet with worse hands. For example, if your opponent is folding to 100% of 3-bets (this isn’t really realistic but proves a point), then it does you no good to 3-bet KK or AA. Against this specific opponent it is more profitable to flat his or her pre-flop raise. Conversely, if your opponent is folding to next to no 3-bets, then it is highly profitable to 3-bet a very wide range for value!

So here are some general guidelines on 3-betting for value:

  • Always adjust your 3-bet value range to how your opponents react to 3-bets
  • Consider your opponent’s 3-bet flatting range and 4-betting range
  • The less your opponent is folding to 3-bets, the more you can widen your value range

Low versus High Fold Equity

Poker

Therefore, if you have high fold equity you should employ the polarized model. If you have low fold equity, use the linear 3-betting model.

3-Bet Sizing

When sizing your 3-bets, I recommend beginner start with the 3x rule: raise three times your opponents initial open raise sizing.

  • When you are out of position to the raiser, make your sizing a bit more, closer to 3.5x. Why? Our positional disadvantage in the hand.
  • When you are in position to the raiser, make you sizing a bit less, closer to 2.8x. Why? Our positional advantage in the hand.

Summing Up

This short poker strategy article on 3-betting 101 covered the basics behind 3-betting and linear versus polarized 3-betting ranges. While this article is far from being a comprehensive 3-betting strategy guide, it should help guide beginners in the right direction with their 3-betting game.

For a more comprehensive overview of 3-betting, be sure to watch our The Three-Betting 101 Course!

Learning to implement expert 3bet tactics as part of your poker game is critical to your success. We all know we should pound on opponents with high fold to 3 bets with our junk hands, and pummel fish with big pocket pairs. But these player types are often generalized as ‘regular’ and ‘fish’ respectively and are not taken full advantage of. Some so-called ‘regs’ are borderline fish, and some high VPIP fish play fairly snug postflop, and aren’t just donating. 3 bets need to be completely tailored to every opponent and his overall tendencies, not just a basic fold to 3 bet number in your HUD.

Take a common reg who underutilizes his HUD. He’s in the blinds facing a Button Steal and he consults these basic stats:

Villain Name: 1Gamblor

Poker 3 Bet Strategy

Attempt to steal: 48%

Fold to 3 bet: 50%

This reg might say “Well I can see 1Gamblor has a high-ish ATS and doesn’t fold too much here, I should use a depolarized 3 bet range of AQ+, KQ+ and TT+; this will crush his likely calling range of TJs, AJ, QJ etc”. While that’s a damn good strategy generally here, let’s dig a bit deeper to see what else we should be looking at before making an informed decision:

RFI (raise first in) – ATS is far too broad in my opinion, and not nearly accurate enough. BTN RFI’s can vary by over 30%! This will alter your expert 3 bet strategy immensely.

Positional fold to 3 bet – If these aren’t in your pop up, they should be. These numbers vary widely and you need to adjust for them. Some guys over-defend on the btn.

HERO 3 bet/Fold vs HERO 3 bet – Trackers now have stats that record how your opponent see’s your stats in his HUD. This ideally, is the best 3 bet/f3b number to use. Does he fold to your 3bets more or less than his general HUD number?

Lets look at 1Gamblor’s info with our newly added stats:

BTN RFI – 60%

Poker 3 Bet Definition

Fold vs HERO 3b – 68%

BTN f3b 62%

Wow, this changes things a lot! We can see now that 1Gamblor opens super wide, actually folds on the BTN more than we thought to a 3 bet (because of his 60% RFI) and a lot to HERO’s 3 bets specifically. So why limit ourselves to one range of hands? I’d use my whole value/bluff 3b range here. We’re just leaving money on the table not using that wider range of hands here. Semi-bluff hands like Axs, Kxs, and suited connectors/gappers are great for this because of how many flops they can connect with. The more they fold, the wider we go.

This is just the start of the process. There are other things to consider when Expertly Tailoring 3 bets:

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Poker

Fold to cbet in 3 bet pots (IP/OOP) – IP/OOP vary widely so pay attention. When c-Betting 55% of the pot you only need >35% folds for a +EV play. (Using the formula x/x+y) Pot 20bb: 11/31 = 35%

Fit-or-fold players are a dream here; in that they call a lot pre-flop then fold away on the flop when they miss. Some weak regs call a lot of 3 bets OOP and then fold on the flop > 55% of the time. The same goes for certain breeds of fish. Common fish are sticky non folders, but there are some who play fit-or-fold post-flop. In effect, they are the same as a weak reg and should be treated as such. It matters not that they don’t fold pre-flop to a 3 bet if they are going to fold on the flop. In fact its better for us! I use my semi-bluff range here too as well as standard value.

Strategy

Expert 3 bet Sizing

The more your villain is wiling to call pre-flop the bigger your sizing should go with value hands. This might seem obvious, but many regs just use the same sizes again and again. Pre-flop, start with 9xbb, but the more they call, the more you can make it; 11x, 15x… hell, jump straight to a 4 bet sizing with your 3 bet if he’ll call! With fit-or-fold players described above I’d do the same with semi-bluff hands.

3bet Versus Min open

Players that use a min open strategy from the button are often the guys that steal >60%. We simply can’t allow this to happen and must widen our 3bet ranges. I’d consult the positional stats mentioned above and use a 7.5bb max 3b. Anymore and you are just risking too much for the reward.

Vs a btn f3bet >60% – I’d use at least half of all suited cards to 3 bet bluff + off-suit connectors and Ax.

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Blackjack

50-60% folds – stronger suited cards (Axs, Kxs, connectors/gappers)

<50% folds – Broadway hands

3-betting With Intention To 5 Bet Ship

Worthy of an article on its own, these scenarios arise mostly in steal situations. Guys that 4bet a lot are tricky to deal with. If a reg steals btn 60% and 4bets 10% (positionally you might have guessed), then that’s a 6% 4bet range he’s using. Unless he’s stacking off very wide, these 4bets can’t often take the heat of a 5b jam. Hands that do well here are 22+ and Axs.

Poker 3 Bet Strategy Odds

As you can see there’s a lot more to consider when Expertly Tailoring 3bets. So in conclusion don’t limit yourself to pigeonholing players, pay attention, test guys out and above all, use all of your available information. 3 bets are like a nice suit… much more effective tailored.

-Cinch

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