The Basics of 4-Betting and How to Use it to Your Advantage
July 31, 2024 PokerNews
Staff
In this article, we’re going 🍐 to talk about another of those important tools to
introduce to your Texas Hold’em poker arsenal – the 4-bet. When 🍐 utilized effectively,
against the right opponent, this can provide a much-needed boost to your hourly win
rate over time. The 🍐 4-bet is a betting technique that allows you to take advantage of
certain opponents and turn their aggression into a 🍐 weakness that’s hugely profitable
for you.
it’s always best to play your premium hands strongly rather than
slow-playing
You will eventually find 🍐 yourself in 4-bet situations, especially if you
aspire to play poker seriously or even if you just want to give 🍐 yourself the best
chance of winning playing recreationally. Ideally, all poker players should learn an
in-depth 4-bet strategy so they 🍐 can utilize these skills at the table and win against
any type of opponent. But it isn’t as cut-and-dried as 🍐 you may think. Read on to find
out more about how this bold poker play can yield great results in 🍐 the right
situations.
What is a 4-bet and How Does it Work?
If an opponent re-raises an initial
pre-flop raise, this is 🍐 considered a 3-bet. Therefore, a 4-bettor is someone that is
prepared to re-raise the player that placed the 3-bet. We 🍐 mentioned pre-flop raises
because 4-betting is most commonly used before the community cards are displayed, with
players 4-betting based upon 🍐 the strength of their hole cards and that of their
opponents.
There are various reasons why you might consider 4-betting with 🍐 your poker
hand. For starters, you might wish to extract maximum value from players with poor
holdings that simply cannot 🍐 let go of their hands. You might have the bravery to use a
4-bet as a bluff, but we’ll go 🍐 into the scenarios where a 4-bet bluff would be most
effective shortly.
When and Why You Should Consider a 4-bet
4-bets are 🍐 a vital way to
keep your chip stack growing
One of the best ways to use a 4-bet is if you 🍐 have a
premium hand or even the “nuts”. When it comes to No Limit Hold’em, it’s always best to
play 🍐 your premium hands strongly rather than slow-playing in a bid to trap your
opponents. While slow-playing hands can be beneficial 🍐 sometimes, playing a hand
strongly allows you to build a bigger pot and extract more value from your
opponents.
For instance, 🍐 if you face a 3-bet from an opponent pre-flop and you are
holding pocket kings or aces, it’s a good 🍐 idea to 4-bet most of the times. You’ll help
to build funds into the pot when your pre-flop hand is, 🍐 hopefully, ahead of
theirs.
Positionally, a 4-bet should also be employed periodically when you are playing
out of position. Although this 🍐 can seem like a scary leap into the unknown, it can work
brilliantly against players that lack the faith in 🍐 their convictions and tend to fold
meekly to aggressors.
Factoring Opponents Into Your Strategy
Your opponents do heavily
influence when and how 🍐 frequently you choose to 4-bet at the poker table. Their
approach and style of play will determine when you consider 🍐 utilizing it. 4-bets are
typically a good strategy to employ when you are up against some loose and aggressive
gameplay, 🍐 which is a plot that Dan Bilzerian claims to have pioneered. 4-bet bluffs are
an important skill to develop as 🍐 you go through the poker ranks, as these will become
an integral factor in your survival when tournaments go deep 🍐 or you’re playing against
more experienced people for bigger money.
Of course, 4-betting is almost pointless when
you come up against 🍐 an absolute rock that plays tight and is not known for folding
their good hands, regardless of them being the 🍐 victim of a 4-bet. However, 4-betting
does offer huge value against those loose-aggressive 3-bettors that aren’t afraid to
re-raise an 🍐 initial raiser with a wide range of holdings, not just premium made hands.
If you are prepared to 4-bet imposing, 🍐 aggressive players, it demonstrates to the rest
of the table that you aren’t a shrinking violet and you have confidence 🍐 in your hands
and abilities; thereby gaining you respect that can help extract value from hands where
you might bluff 🍐 in the future.
How to Combat Those Who 4-Bet Against You
On the flip
side, if you come up against an opponent 🍐 that regularly 4-bets against you after your
3-bet, do bear in mind that you’ll often be getting good odds to 🍐 flat call. Sometimes,
this can be as much as 3 or 4 to 1. If you find that you have 🍐 25-30% equity against
your opponent’s 4-bet range, it could be a profitable call to make over the
long-term.
The Key Takeaway 🍐 For a Successful 4-Bet Poker Strategy
It’s important when
you start to employ a 4-bet strategy that you don’t just do 🍐 so arbitrarily with hands.
While aggression is good to see, semi-bluffs that could transform weak holdings into
competitive hole cards 🍐 on the flop are opportunistic. Pick the right moments to 4-bet
rather than doing so from the outset with any 🍐 two hole cards. Suited aces are
statistically some of the best hands one could use in a 4-bet scenario. That’s 🍐 because
having an ace in your own hand reduces the chance of the 3-bettor having two aces in
their own 🍐 hand. Suited aces also give you pre-flop outs, whether it’s straight draws or
nut flush draws that all of a 🍐 sudden help your original 4-bet pay off.
You could also
consider 4-betting with suited connectors that aren’t strong enough to simply 🍐 call and
see a flop. Alternatively, off-suit face card hands like KQ off-suit or JQ off-suit
could also be useful 🍐 4-bet hands to block the prospect of premium holdings and give
yourself a chance of improving to a broadway hand.
If 🍐 you are prepared to take this
information on board and use it to your advantage, you should be ready to 🍐 4-bet and
take your poker game to the next level!
