My approach to the 3-bet (preflop)

Hi. As the title says I'm going to talk about my approach to the 3-bet pre-flop. (I'm going to assume I'm playing in a 9-man game.)

First thing to consider is, what are the percentages of TRULY getting a hand that's worthy of a 3-bet ? According to party-poker, it's 2.1% to get a pair of picture cards (JJ QQ KK AA) or AK. Now, I'm going to include 10/10 & 9/9 & AQ, and bump it up to 3%. That's about 1 in 33 hands.

So, knowing that, Ideally, I like to 3-bet at least TWICE every 3-4 orbits. This means, on average, that I'm 3-betting "lite" (w/o a true premium hand) about 50% of the time. This serves a couple of purposes: it makes my 3-bets range hard to predict, it gives some of my worse hands a chance to win a pot pre-flop, and people can call my 3-bet with their AJ / 88 (Which is GREAT when I DO have a premium hand.)

Some things to consider: when 3-betting "lite" make sure you pick your spots correctly. Personally, I like to 3-bet my "lite" hands when a semi-loose (or loose) player opened for the initial raise, AND when he had a few callers. If a loose player opens for a raise, and 2-3 people call after him, it's pretty standard that none of the callers are VERY strong. So, the callers are usually going to fold to my 3-bet. (If they DO call, they might have a small-medium pocket-pair, and are looking to hit a set. Mid Pocket pairs are one of the few hands that can CALL an initial raise, then CALL a RE-RAISE with validity.)

Also, I almost NEVER 3-bet with hands like A/9 or KQ or KJ. Personally, I 3-bet with hands like 5 - 7 suited, or 9 - 10 suited. Hence, I try to 3-bet with cards that are LIVE yet deceptive, but easy to fold if I NEED to, when I AM 3-betting "lite"!

Anyways, that's enough for today. Hope someone enjoyed this!

Pt.2 (Post-flop)

If you DO get a caller or two, when you're on your "lite" hands, the flop itself should be a big factor when deciding whether or not to continue your story (bluff.) If it's a very dry board, OR if I hit ANY piece of it, I'll continue my story that I have a premium hand. For example, if it comes 10-J-Q (rainbow) and I have 5-6 suited, VERY often this flop is going to have hit my opponent, which means I will shut it down.

Also, you might need to 3 barrel here, very lite. So, if that's not part of your game yet, you might not want to start 3-betting with your "lite" hands yet.

great insight!

This is great to balance your range. I also think against experienced players, this can be taken advantage of. People can start 4 betting so it really depends how well you play to 4 betting. But nonetheless great post.

QA77 said:

This is great to balance your range. I also think against experienced players, this can be taken advantage of. People can start 4 betting so it really depends how well you play to 4 betting. But nonetheless great post.

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Yeah, good point & thank you.

My thought's on getting 4-bet in the above scenario.....

If I DO get 4-bet, and I have 5-7 suited, I'll usually fold (unless it's a min-raise /I'm priced in.)

But, something to consider....the jump from a 3-bet to a 4-bet is usually when the money becomes MUCH more significant. For example, in a 2$/5$ game, my 3rd bet will be 40$-60$, and a 4th bet will be in the ball-park of 100$-140$. (Generally.)

So, if someone wants to 4-bet me, they are essentially "flipping" a coin on whether or not I have a premium hand. If they win, and I have a crap hand, they win my 3-bet. But, if they lose, they lost a 4-bet. (Unless it's just a standard cooler or whatever.) Essentially, what I'm implying is this: 50/50 chance, but they are risking twice as many "units."

Their value 4bet range would be a lot tighter than you so I think you will be put in tougher situations and actually losing when you decide to just call. But this is all dependent on if you get 4 bet.