The term 3 bet is one of the most used phrases in modern poker theory, but it might be frustrating ⚽️ to hear so much about a subject you barely understand if you are new to poker.
Because 3 bets have become ⚽️ an integral part of poker strategy nowadays, you won’t get far without mastering this concept.
While the definition of 3bet looks ⚽️ pretty simple, there are much more to 3 bets than meets the eye, and we will discuss everything you need ⚽️ to know in this article. But first, let us answer the question of what is a 3bet in poker.
What is ⚽️ a 3 Bet In Poker?
There are pre-flop and postflop 3-bets, but we will be talking about the one most poker ⚽️ players refer to when they mention the term, which is the pre-flop 3 bet.
In poker, the term 3 bet describes ⚽️ a raise made after the initial raise pre-flop.
Most beginners don’t understand why the 3-bet is called like that when it ⚽️ is the second and not the third raise pre-flop. Well, the blinds are considered the first bet, the first raise ⚽️ pre-flop is considered the 2-bet, and thus the second raise pre-flop is considered a 3-bet.
For example, if you are playing ⚽️ 2/4 No Limit Holdem.
Before the start of the hand, the small blind and the big blind post their blinds. It ⚽️ is a blind bet, which is what confuses newbie players, but a bet nonetheless.
Let’s say that the UTG raises toR$10, ⚽️ and the CO makes a bet toR$25.
Essentially, the UTG’s raise is the second bet made pre-flop - the “2 bet,” ⚽️ while the CO’s re-raise is the third bet made pre-flop - the “3 bet.”
The important thing to note is that ⚽️ only when the player reraises the 2nd bet is his bet considered a 3 bet.
If instead of reraising, the CO ⚽️ just made a call of the UTGR$10 raise, his bet would not be considered a 3 bet.
What Is A Squeeze ⚽️ Bet?
If a player makes a raise pre-flop, one or more players make a call, and then a player makes a ⚽️ 3 bet, this 3 bet is called a squeeze bet.
This type of 3 bet is called a squeeze bet because ⚽️ the purpose of this bet is to squeeze as many opponents from the hand as possible and thus increase the ⚽️ 3 bettor's chances of winning the pot.
Because of the bet's nature and purpose, squeeze bets are made with larger amounts ⚽️ of money or chips than standard 3 bets.
3 Bet Strategy - Why do Poker Players 3 Bet
Now that you know ⚽️ what 3 betting is, it is time to learn why and how poker players use 3 betting to increase their ⚽️ win rate.
3 Betting For Value
In situations where they have a premium hand, poker players use 3 bets to build up ⚽️ the pot and extract as much value from their opponents as possible.
Imagine a situation in which you are playing 0.5/1 ⚽️ NL Holdem
The action is folded to the CO, who makes a raise toR$2.5, and you are sitting on the BTN ⚽️ with As Ad.
In this situation, it is undeniable that you have a better hand (or, in the worst possible scenario, ⚽️ the same hand) than the CO and that you should try to make your opponent put more money in the ⚽️ pot with an inferior holding.
You can only do this by 3 betting him toR$8 or so. By doing this, you ⚽️ are immediately increasing the pot fromR$4 toR$12 and opening the action again by giving your opponent a chance to make ⚽️ additional raises.
3 Betting As A Bluff
The main reason why poker players 3 bet as a bluff is to balance their ⚽️ ranges and to disguise their value 3 bets.
Imagine if you were only 3 betting premium hands, it wouldn’t take long ⚽️ for your opponents to realize this and start folding to your 3 bets and thus prevent you from extracting value ⚽️ from with your good hands.
To prevent this from happening, poker players incorporate bluffs into their 3 bet ranges. To be ⚽️ clear, bluff 3 bets are hands that you reraise your opponent pre-flop with the intention of taking the pot down ⚽️ without a showdown.
Imagine a situation in which you are playing 0.25/0.5 NL Holdem
The action is folded to the CO, who ⚽️ makes a raise toR$1.25, and you are sitting on the BTN with As 5s.
In this situation, your hand is a ⚽️ bit too weak to call and too weak to 3-bet for value, so it makes for a solid 3-bet bluff ⚽️ candidate, especially because the A blocks some of your opponent's strong hands.
So you can use this hand to keep your ⚽️ opponent guessing whether you are 3 betting for value or are betting as a bluff.
Adding 3 bet bluffs to your ⚽️ game will earn you a lot of uncontested pots that you will take down pre-flop. On top of that, you ⚽️ will have multiple chances to win pots post-flop, continuing your aggression even when you miss.
While the concept of 3 bet ⚽️ bluffing is much more complex, we hope that this is enough to explain why you should add this play in ⚽️ your arsenal, and you can keep studying how to do it properly.
3 Betting Strategy - Most Common 3 Betting Situations
Now ⚽️ that you are familiar with the main reasons poker players 3 bets, we will mention some of the most common ⚽️ 3 betting situations.
Building The Pot
We already mentioned this, so we will keep it short and try to give you reasons ⚽️ and specific situations so that you can get a better idea of how building the pot depends not only on ⚽️ your holdings but also on game dynamics, your opponent's style of play and positions at the table.
So, in the previous ⚽️ example in which you had AA, the situation was pretty clear because of the strength of your hand. However, in ⚽️ most situations, the strength of your hand will not be enough to decide if you should 3 bet to build ⚽️ the pot or not.
For example, if a player opens from UTG and you hold JJ in the HJ, should you ⚽️ 3 bet for value, or should you just call? How should you approach this spot?
Well, the first thing you want ⚽️ to consider is the positions. In this case, you have a premium hand, but the player is opening from UTG, ⚽️ so he will have a much stronger range than usual.
The second thing you want to consider is your opponent's style ⚽️ of play:
Is the tight, or is he loose?
Is he passive or aggressive?
Is he a weaker player or a solid regular?
And ⚽️ the third thing that can help you make a good decision is thinking about the game dynamics. Do you have ⚽️ experience with this player where the hand went to showdown? Have you seen him make unorthodox moves, or does he ⚽️ play GTO strategy?
If the answer to these questions is, for example, that your opponent is a solid aggressive regular who ⚽️ understands the game very well and knows his opening ranges, you are better off with just calling your JJ instead ⚽️ of 3 betting as you will probably get action only from hands that beat you.
3-bettingOn the other hand, if you ⚽️ are up against recreational players who play loose and open many hands even from UTG, you are much better off ⚽️ 3-betting and isolating this player to play a heads-up pot.
Isolating Weak Players
This is another way in which good poker players ⚽️ use 3 betting to increase their win rate. As you may already assume, it can be used only in specific ⚽️ situations.
This requires a weaker opponent that plays a lot of pots with questionable hands, does not pay much attention to ⚽️ positions and game dynamics, and calls 3 bets too wide.
If a good poker player has this type of opponent at ⚽️ his table, he will widen his 3 betting ranges to isolate this player and play as many pots against him ⚽️ heads up as possible.
For example, if an opponent opens from the HJ, and you are sitting in the CO with ⚽️ AT (which is not a standard 3 bet for value in this situation), you should consider 3 betting instead of ⚽️ calling because if other players at the table know that your opponent is a weaker player, they will also call ⚽️ with wider ranges to try and get involved which will ultimately lower your chances of winning the hand.
The main principle ⚽️ for this kind of 3 bet with weaker holdings is that you can use your skill advantage over your opponent ⚽️ to make up for the weaker range postflop. On top of that, such players will likely call down way too ⚽️ wide, so you will still have a range advantage, to begin with.
Thinning The Field
This is the concept we already mentioned ⚽️ when we talked about squeeze 3 betting, and it is another great example of how good poker players use the ⚽️ slightest of information to gain an edge over their opponents.
There are two situations where 3 bets are used to thin ⚽️ the field.
First, let’s say that the action is folded to CO, who makes a raise, the BTN calls, SB folds, ⚽️ and you are in the BB with QQ.
In this situation, apart from building the pot, you want to make a ⚽️ 3 bet squeeze to try and get heads up against one of your opponents (preferably the BTN because he has ⚽️ a capped range). The reason why you want to play against one player and not two is that the more ⚽️ players are in the pot, the less equity your hand has.
For example, if CO has AJ and BTN has KT, ⚽️ combined, they have 2 overcards to your QQ, but if you manage to squeeze out one of your opponents, it ⚽️ leaves only 1 overcard. Of course, it is a very simplified example of concrete hands rather than ranges, but it ⚽️ is a good way to illustrate this point.
The second situation in which you might want to thin the field with ⚽️ a 3 bet is when there is a weaker opponent in the hand which you want to isolate.
For example, UTG ⚽️ folds, HJ makes a raise, CO and BTN fold, a weaker player in the SB calls, and you are in ⚽️ the BB with AJ.
In this situation, a 3 bet squeeze is a good way to try and push out the ⚽️ regular from the hand and get heads up against the weaker player with a capped range.
Taking Initiative
The main reason why ⚽️ good poker players play aggressively is that this style of play gives them more opportunities to win the pot. And ⚽️ the best way to take the initiative pre-flop is to make a 3 bet.
To prove our point, let’s analyze two ⚽️ scenarios where we 3bet in the first situation and just call in the second.
Let’s say that the action folds to ⚽️ CO, who raises with As Ts, the player on the BTN has Ad Jc and decides just to make a ⚽️ call, and the SB and BB fold.
The flop comes Ks 7d Qc, and the CO bets a third of the ⚽️ pot, B calls with a gutshot.
The turn is a 5h, the CO makes a half-pot bet, and the BTN folds ⚽️ because he is not getting the right price.
Now, let’s take the same scenario, but instead of calling pre-flop, the BTN ⚽️ makes a 3 bet, and the CO calls.
The flop comes Ks 7d Qc, the CO checks to the pre-flop raiser, ⚽️ B bets a third of the pot, and the CO calls.
The turn is a 5h, the BTN makes a half-pot ⚽️ bet, and the CO folds because he is not getting the right price.
As you can see, because he made a ⚽️ 3 bet pre-flop instead of just calling, the BTN took the initiative in the hand, allowing him to be the ⚽️ aggressor post-flop and take the pot down.
Final Thoughts On 3 Betting In Poker
If you are new to 3 betting, you ⚽️ first want to learn to recognize situations in which you are 3 betting for value and in which you are ⚽️ 3 betting as a bluff. Many newbie players struggle to answer when asked if they are 3 betting for value ⚽️ or as a bluff, but knowing the answer to this question is the first step in developing a good 3-betting ⚽️ strategy.
Another thing you want to do is learn how to recognize different 3 betting situations based on factors such as ⚽️ the skill of your opponents, game dynamics, positions, and stack sizes.
Mastering each of these elements will do wonders for your ⚽️ 3 betting games and make you a nightmare for your opponents.
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