Explanation of Three-bet
Bets in poker can be assigned numbers to show where they fall
within a sequence of bets.
One-bet – 4️⃣ The first bet in a sequence
Two-bet – The first
raise in a sequence
Three-bet – The first re-raise in a sequence
Four-bet 4️⃣ – The second
re-raise in a sequence
Five-bet – The third re-raise in a sequence
Note that the first
open-raise preflop in 4️⃣ Hold’em and Omaha is referred to as a “2-bet” because the
mandatory blind payments are considered as the first bet 4️⃣ of the sequence. This can
cause some confusion amongst novice players. It’s common for a postflop 2bet (the first
raise) 4️⃣ to be mistakenly referred to as a “3bet”.
Watch Kara Scott Interview with Martin
Jacobson on 3 betting:
Example of Three-bet used 4️⃣ in a sentence -> Our opponent
open-raised on the button and we three-bet from the big blind.
How to Use Three-bet 4️⃣ as
Part of Your Poker Strategy
3bets happen routinely both preflop and postflop in the
majority of poker variants. Postflop 3bets 4️⃣ are a little less common since they are
often heavily indicative of strength.
For example, in No Limit Hold’em and Pot 4️⃣ Limit
Omaha, it’s extremely rare for a player to 3bet the flop without holding a strong value
hand. While some 4️⃣ 3bets should be a bluff according to poker theory, many players only
ever three-bet postflop for value.
The preflop betting rounds 4️⃣ are a slightly different
ball-game, since even the average recreational player has often been exposed to the
idea of re-raising 4️⃣ a preflop open (3betting) as a bluff. While the average player still
3bets way too tight of a range preflop, 4️⃣ the line is less indicative of strength than a
postflop 3bet. As a rough guide, the later the street the 4️⃣ 3bet occurs, the greater the
amount of strength that is represented.
Preflop 3bet Strategies in Hold’em
Many players
advocate making use of 4️⃣ polarized 3betting strategies preflop, although depolarized
strategies are becoming increasingly popular from a variety of position at the
table.
Polarized – 4️⃣ Implies 3betting a selection of strong value hand and a selection of
semi-bluffs. The semi-bluffs range will typically be comprised 4️⃣ of speculative holdings
such as suited connectors and suited-gappers. They don’t have a lot of raw-equity
preflop but still have 4️⃣ the potential to make big 5-card holdings by the river. These
types of speculative 3bets are especially useful when facing 4️⃣ opponents who fold too
frequently to preflop 3bets.
Depolarized – Implies 3betting a range of hands for
value/thin-value but never semi-bluffing 4️⃣ preflop. Although the line between
thin-value/semi-bluff can become blurred at times, a depolarized three-betting range
won’t typically involve any of 4️⃣ the lower ranked suited-connectors and gappers such as
57s. A depolarized 3betting strategy is especially useful when dealing with opponents
4️⃣ who defend too frequently against 3bets.
Preflop 3bet Strategies in Omaha
As we
increase complexity into a variant by adding additional cards, 4️⃣ it becomes harder to
describe strategies as depolarized/polarized. The lines between the different types of
approaches become blurred. The general 4️⃣ consensus regarding Omaha 3betting strategy is
as follows -
- 3bet the absolute best hands for value. i.e AAJTss, AAKK, AKQJss 4️⃣ etc
etc.
- 3bet a selection of speculative hands with “smooth” equity, especially rundowns
such as T987ss
One might describe this strategy 4️⃣ as “polarized” (since we are 3betting a
mixture of value and speculative holdings), but it could also be considered as
4️⃣ “depolarized” since T987ss just so happens to be one of the best hands in PLO despite
the fact that it 4️⃣ doesn’t have as much raw-equity as holdings with bigger cards. Hence,
the terminology itself loses importance – but the broad 4️⃣ view generally accepted
strategy is that advised above.
What Size Should Our Preflop 3bet Be?
Opinions vary on
the best preflop 3bet 4️⃣ sizing but in most cases it will be somewhere between three times
and four times the size of the initial 4️⃣ open raise. For example, if a player open raises
preflop to 3bb a typical 3bet size might be 10bb.
What Types 4️⃣ of Hands Should We 3bet
Preflop in Hold’em?
It usually makes sense to 3bet holdings that have some type of
potential 4️⃣ to make a big hand postflop. Many players make use of a linear (also known as
‘depolarized’) 3bet range which 4️⃣ simply means that we 3bet a selection of the strongest
possible holdings we are dealt preflop. We would only 3bet 4️⃣ very weak holdings preflop
if our opponent is folding too much to 3bets.
Why is a Preflop 3bet Not the Second 4️⃣ Bet
in the Sequence?
It may appear that a preflop 3bet is the second bet (first raise) in
the sequence rather 4️⃣ than the the third bet (second raise). The missing link here is
that the big blind post is counted as 4️⃣ the first bet in the sequence. An open raise is
therefore a 2bet (the first raise in the sequence). A 4️⃣ re-raise when facing an open
raise preflop is hence referred to as a 3bet because it is considered the third 4️⃣ bet
(second raise) in the sequence.
What Size Should Our Flop 3bet be in Hold’em?
A flop
3bet is usually somewhere between 4️⃣ 2 and 2.5 times the size of the flop 2bet.
Inexperienced players don’t always realise this and may sometimes make 4️⃣ flop 3bets which
are 3 times the size of the 2bet or larger. The error might partly be caused by 4️⃣ the
fact that a flop 2bet is usually just over 3 times the size of the initial flop
bet.
What Does 4️⃣ My Opponent’s Range Look Like When He Calls a 3bet?
We usually know that
our opponent doesn’t have the absolute strongest 4️⃣ holdings (like QQ+, AK) since he may
have decided to re-raise (4bet) preflop the majority of the time. He also 4️⃣ won’t usually
have extremely weak holdings since he would have either folded preflop vs the 3bet or
not open raised 4️⃣ in the first place. Our opponent is usually left with a range of
relatively strong broadway hands, pocket-pairs and mid 4️⃣ to high suited connectors.
See
Also
