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