Move Beyond the Hand Chart: 3-bets & 4-bets preflop in No Limit Hold'em Cash Games

3-bets & 4-bets preflop in No Limit Hold'em Cash Games

Cash games in the Unlimited Texas Hold Thems have dramatically increased in skill level over the past few years, to the point where simple tight play will no longer beat the game for a healthy win rate. One of the first & easiest skill sets to learn is how to correctly 3-bet and 4-bet preflop to maximize our expectation.

This article is written for cash game players, who are playing with a HUD, and who encounter a decent number of regular players each time they play poker. If you don't know what I mean when I say a 30/20/2.8 opens from the CO, this thread is not for you. This reference will cover 3/4-betting our opponents from various positions, and how to counter 3/4-bets from our opponents.

3-betting

Okay, so lets just jump right into this crap. Most aggressive winning players will 3-bet with a fairly large frequency preflop (between 3% and 10% for 6-max games, slightly less for full ring). Wether or not to 3-bet hinges on the following things, in the order of importance:

1) What cards am I holding & what is my position?
This one is fairly simple. 3-bet hands that are ahead of your opponent's range for value, and 3-bet implied odds hands as bluffs. What I mean by implied odds hands are small pocket pairs, small suited gappers, and suited aces. These hands hit flops very hard or they completely whiff, and they play well against an opponent who has a very strong range.

As far as position goes, be more inclined to 3-bet when you are out of position. The smaller the stack to pot ratio becomes, the less important position becomes. This is because one of the main advantages of position is controlling the pot size. But with a 3-bet pot, pot control usually goes out the window. Thus, you should be very rarely calling raises from the small blind, and be more inclined to call with position on the button since you can then play more streets with position.


2) How strong is their raising range?
Obviously, if my opponent is only raising preflop with aces, I shouldn't 3-bet him, right? And I determine how strong an opponent's range is by using the following information.

• Preflop Raise % ("PF" on my HUD)
• Steal % ("ST" on my HUD)
• Their position (UTG, BTN, ect.)
• Are they isolating a fishy limper?

Generally, I target players who have at least a 9-10% preflop raise to 3-bet as a bluff (or light) when playing 6-max. Otherwise, their range is just too strong to tangle with. Here's an example:



If this player opens UTG, I wouldn't consider him a good candidate for a 3-bet as a bluff. While his preflop raise percentage is high enough, his % to steal combined with the fact that he's in first position gives him a pretty strong range.

3) How often do they fold to a 3-bet?
This is pretty simple, just look at the fold to 3-bet percentage ("F3" on my HUD).

This stat, in addition to affecting how often I 3-bet, affects what cards I use to 3-bet my opponent with.

If F3 is over 50-60%, then we should be 3-betting hands like 33, 34s, A4s (as well as AK, JJ+). These hands are implied odds hands that allow us to hit some flops very strongly (flopping combo draws, ace high flush draws, or sets). We'll either flop well and have awesome equity against their strong range, or we can just let it go. Also, we should be less inclined to c-bet against a player who rarely calls 3-bets.

If F3 is less than 50% (and their PFR is higher than 10-15%), then we need to widen the range of hands that we 3-bet for value. These players likely know about 3-betting light, and they will be calling in position or 4-betting more often. Thus, hands like AQ, TT, KQ, and 99 can be added to our 3-betting range because we'll be ahead of their 3-bet calling range. 3-betting these weaker hands does require you to play better postflop, as players who call a lot of 3-bets can still have good cards.

4) Is your raise a squeeze play?
This is pretty obvious as well. If you're squeezing 2 players, there's more money in the pot to be won by 3-betting, so your 3-bet has to work less often to be profitable. Additionally, players often call raises in position with weak implied odds hands that can't stand a 3-bet. Squeezing takes advantage of this. For me, personally, my squeeze percentage is about 2% higher than my 3-bet %.

5) How early in the session is it?
Against players I don't play with very frequently, I am far more likely to 3-bet them early in a session. Players generally will give you more respect the first time you 3-bet (or 4-bet them). Take advantage of this, and 3-bet some really raggy crap early in the session.

6) Stack sizes
If myself & the player I'm 3-betting is deep stacked, then I will 3-bet far more hands for deception. I also may stop 3-betting hands like AK, AQ, again for deception. When you're 200bb's deep, you still can't go broke with TPTK, even in a 3-bet pot, so 3-betting AK type hands & playing a large pot with TPTK isn't usually advisable this deep.


Lets take another example to wrap all this up. It is folded to an aggressive regular on the CO, who raises. A loose player on the button calls (assume stats of 40/24, 4% 3-Bet). The CO's stats are as follows:



The CO knows about 3-betting light (3-bet % is 9.1%), he raises a wider range on the button than usual (Steal % = 21%, Normal PFR = 16%), and he doesn't like folding to 3-bets. Also, our 3-bet is a squeeze, so it has to work less often to be profitable.

I would 3-bet this player with a hand range of AQ+, 99+, KQ, and 22-55. Only 22-55 is a bluff, and this range plays well against his calculated calling range of 11.5% of hands:

My 3-bet Range (8.1% of hands): 52.568% { 99+, 55-22, AQs+, KQs, AQo+, KQo }
Villain's 3-bet calling Range (11.5% of Hands): 47.432% { 77+, A9s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, ATo+, KQo }

Now we have an equity advantage, we have initiative, and we have trapped dead money from the cold caller in with a squeeze. We are out of position against a reg, which isn't a great situation to be in, but the stacks are now shallower because of our 3-bet, so position isn't quite as important.

You can remove hands like 99 & KQ if this player is good postflop, since you will be out of position. Calling with hands like KQ & 99 is also a good alternative. You'll lose initiative, however, you will gain equity against their range, since you do not fold the weakest parts of their range away by 3-betting.

Countering Light 3-betting

or 4-betting vs. Calling

If you run into a regular player who knows about 3-betting light, you'll have to adjust (or move tables!). Generally, I look for a 3-bet % ("3B" on my HUD) of 6% or more when playing 6-max before I start adjusting to their 3-bets. Also, be much more inclined to adjust to their 3-betting if you have LAGgy stats. So if you're running 30/28, a good TAG opponent will be 3-betting you exceptionally often.

How to adjust? Just like light 3-betting, you'll want to make the decision to 4-bet or call in position based on your hand, position, how likely they are to fold, and how strong their 3-betting range is.

And while stopping light 3-bets isn't as simple as 3-betting is, there are some good general rules:

1) Call out of position with an exceptionally strong range. I would probably only call with JJ+, AKs if I were out of position. And even then, I rarely call out of position. I usually 4-bet instead. I reserve calling OOP for opponents who 3-bet VERY often (10%+), c-bet often (75%+), and who fold to 4-bets.

2) Call more often if you're deep stacked. This one is pretty obvious. If you're even 140 bb's deep, you're likely getting set odds even in a 3-bet pot. So calling with those small pairs is a winning play.

3) One of the main objectives of 3-betting is to make the SPR unfavorable for set mining & implied odds. And if your opponent has already 3-bet, then that objective is already accomplished. 4-betting just gets more money in the pot while you're ahead, but if you're holding QQ+, then 4-betting may not be the best way to accomplish this against their entire range.

Thus, vary your strategy between smaller 4-bets (so you can 4-bet/fold), 4-betting large/shoving (with hands that have good equity if called), and rarely ever 4-betting (calling a lot with position). And try to use your notes to keep up with which strategy you are using against a particular reg. If I have called in position with a raggy hand against a reg, I will then also call in position with my "value range" (JJ+, AK) as well. If I have 4-bet small & folded against a reg before, I will 4-bet my value range small.

4) Hands like AQs-ATs, A5s-A2s are great to 4-bet bluff large with, because they have good equity against QQ+ & AK (about 30%). Also, the ace in your hand blocks combinations of AK & AA. For example, if there were 2 limpers, and you raise to 6xbb from the button, and get 3-bet 3.5x, you will likely be committed if you 4-bet due to the size of the pot. 4-bet shoving hands like A2s give you lots of fold equity, and you still have very good equity against his range if called.

Conclusion

To sum things up, poker is always a balance between betting for value & betting to get your opponent to fold. You want to bluff the folders, and value-town the callers. Preflop is no different, and hopefully I've made it easy for you to determine which mistakes your opponent is likely to make. Use your HUD stats to determine if your opponent is likely to fold or call with worse, and then make the right decision.

And don't be afraid to contest or discuss this stuff! This is a discussion forum, and none of these rules are set in stone.

The only question I have is at what levels this becomes relevant. I can't imagine needing to 3bet light at 2nl or 5nl but does it become necessary at 10nl, 25nl?

The level doesn't make much difference. If a player at 2$ NL exhibit these criteria, then this strategy applies. If you find a player who has stats of 21/20/2 with a fold to 3-bet % of 70%, and a steal % of 40% at 2$ NL, then I'd be 3-betting him with a wide range.

The main issue at the low stakes though are that fish will often get in your way. You'll 3-bet light the 1 regular at the table, and 2 fish behind you will cold call your 3-bet with random crap they think looks pretty from the blinds. So yeah, it is a lot harder to put this strategy to work at micro stakes. But I did get into some blind battles & button battles against the 1 or 2 competent players at 10$NL while I was there.

And at 25$ NL, it really depends on the table. I've sat with 4-5 regs before, where many many pots were 3-bet light. However, some tables are full of fish where I'm not 3-betting any worse than AQ+/TT+.

Nice article C9....def helps a newb like me

FWIW Steve i find that it is pretty relevant at 25nl simply because players don't know how to respond

even the regs at 25nl don't know how to respond to it and don't play back too often

also you can 3 bet players light who fold to c-bets often and take advantage of the fact that they just give up to aggression


good post C9

Awesome post C9. Definately got some things out of this

Kudos

Analysis is quality. You are balancing well against opponents described. I will look at this further but optimal play can only break even, and this should force exploitive strategies from opponents.

Opponents will be forced to adjust their own 3 betting ranges, which will make them uncomfortable...and then they will make mistakes, and you will profit.

I will be studying this more closely when time allows. As a post of this analysis deserves a well thought out response.

OP I will be watching your threads.

-Bill

Excellent post. Nice one c9

As always C9..... Excellent stuff m8.

Very good stuff C9. And about the micro stakes thing. Right now I am playing the majority of my hands at Carbon and there is very little three betting even at 100nl. I am starting to do more and more and for the most part when I 3 bet I am taking down the pot, which is great cause pt3, nor hem works with carbon. But great post and looking forward to using the info when I move to pokerstars full time in January.

Yeah, when you don't have a HUD, its a little trickier to determine if you should be 3-betting a balanced range, or a polarized one. But you can still get an idea by what they showdown in a 3-bet pot, and how often they fold.

If they're calling lots of your 3-bets, or showing down hands like KJ or 9Ts in a 3-bet pot, then you can pretty safely assume that villain is adjusting to your 3-bets and calling more loosely. Thus, you shift your range to more hands like AQ/KQs, ect.

Also, if that player has shown a tendancy to 3-bet a lot, or 3-bet more than AK, JJ+, then you can safely assume (if he's a solid player otherwise) that he's going to be calling your 3-bets wider than just that range. You don't have to have HUD numbers to use any of these strategies, but they certainly make things easier.

Nice post, I don't have a HUD but your descriptions of specific things the HUD tracks really helps me to understand what I'm missing with a HUD.

archiving~