Poker Hands To 3 Bet
3-Betting For Value. The prime reason for 3-betting is to build the pot with your strong hands so you can get the most value from your opponents’ weaker hands. It will be a lot easier to get stacks in by the river if you start with a 3-bet pot. Opponents who fold to 3-bets a lot (80%). See full list on microgrinder.com.
In last week’s edition, we looked at some very simple basics for 3-bet bluffing before the flop. We focused primarily on how new players could start to open up their 3-betting without feeling like they were getting in over their heads. We’re going to continue this theme this week with more on 3-betting. This week, we’re going to look at how to decide which hands to 3-bet before the flop for value and why.
The Idea of Low-Hanging Fruit
The Pareto Principle tells us that 80 percent of our results come from 20 percent of our effort. My goal with this discussion of 3-betting in this week’s article and last week’s is to focus on that 20 percent that really gives you a solid foundation to start with. The main point is that I want to start with really simple ideas that are easy to execute so that you can start putting them into practice right away. Along these lines, we’re really going after some low-hanging fruit for the players who aren’t sure about opening up their pre-flop 3-betting.
How to 3-Bet for Value
For the time being, we’re not really going to worry too much about 3-betting for value and then folding to a 4-bet in 100bb games. Instead, we’re going to start with a base assumption that you 3-betting for value means that you’re going to be 5-betting and getting the money in if you face a 4-bet from the person who put in the pre-flop raise.
As a general principle (that you’ll eventually learn when to violate), you’ll only want to 3-bet for value with hands that are ahead of your opponent’s continuing range (the range that he doesn’t fold). So suppose that, for the sake of example, that you’re against a tight opponent who is going to fold everything but JJ+ against your 3-bet. In this case, you cannot 3-bet QQ for value because it only has about 40 percent equity against your opponent’s non-folding range which consists squarely of AA, KK, QQ and JJ. Along these lines, you would also avoid 3-betting with AKs since it only has about 38 percent equity against our opponent’s continuing range.
With all of that having been said, most players don’t play that tight against 3-bets. For example, suppose you have a looser opponent who will continue with {AK-AQ, KQ, 88+} against your 3-bet. In this case, AKs has about 55 percent equity, so that could be a good 3-bet for value. Along those lines, JJ has about 53 percent equity, so that could also be a good 3-bet. On the other hand, AQs and TT are both a little too weak since they have equities in the 45-49 percent range against our opponent’s non-folding range of {AK-AQ, KQ, 88+}.
Accounting for Position
One of the inherent advantages that you can have in poker is that of position, and that’s something you have to account for when it comes to 3-betting for value. An easy way to deal with this that won’t get you into much trouble is to avoid 3-betting with hands that are just marginally better than your opponent’s continuing range when you will be out of position if they call. This will have the overall effect of you 3-betting a little less when you’re out of position, and that’s not a bad strategy to have.
How All of This Works
Now I’m going to try to explain why this approach to value betting works, and I’m going to start with an example. Suppose that you are 3-betting AA-TT for value and that your opponent folds everything but AA-TT. In this example, when you 3-bet for value and your opponent doesn’t fold, you’re going to be evenly matched in terms of ranges. If you want to gain the advantage in that particular scenario, then you could drop both JJ and TT from your 3-betting range and put them into your calling range instead.
Some players might refuse to just call with JJ and TT here with the logic that the opponent is folding often enough to make 3-bets with those hand profitable. Let’s suppose that it’s true: Then you should still call with them instead. If your opponent is folding a lot of the time, then you’re essentially turning JJ and TT into a bluff here when you have much better hands that you could bluff with. If you move those hands to your calling range and add bluffs to your 3-betting range, then you gain a ton of value overall compared to if you just 3-bet JJ and TT.
More on Hand Selection
Last week, we mentioned that your bluffing hands should be picked from the hands that are just slightly worse than your calling range. When you fit that information in with what we’ve talked about here, you get the following four ranges pre-flop when you are facing a raise:
- First are the strongest hands that will perform well against your opponent if you 3-bet and he does not fold. These are your value 3-bet hands.
- Second are strong hands that aren’t quite strong enough to 3-bet for value. This is your calling range.
- Third are the hands that aren’t strong enough to call, but they do have some nominal amount of playability, and you 3-bet with them as a bluff.
- Fourth are all of the rest of the hands, and this is your folding range.
The basic process here is as follows. First, you choose your value 3-betting range by deciding which hands have sufficient equity against your opponent’s non-folding range. Second, you look directly under that for your calling range until you get to hands that aren’t quite good enough to call. From there, you add however many 3-bet bluffing hands as you think will be appropriate. That’s really all there is to it.
If you've been playing short-handed cash games with any frequency lately you may have noticed a new trend.
The TAG (tight-aggressive) style which used to dominate the games has really started to evolve into a much more LAG (loose-aggressive) style. This of course leads to tougher games and you're liable to find yourself being forced into some rather difficult spots.
One situation that comes up time and time again is when you've opened a pot for a raise and then another TAG/LAG three-bets you. It's up to you to determine if he is three-betting light and what your best plan of attack is.
What is a Light 3-Bet?
Because, as mentioned, the predominant style in these games is fairly loose and aggressive it's key to educate yourself about the three-betting-light trend.
The majority of players open with a wide range of hands pre-flop. The light three-bet is basically just a re-raise before the flop with a hand worse than what they would normally three-bet for value.
One solid defense: Cock your head to side and look at them like they're crazy to three-bet you.
This play is designed to exploit the aggressive players who are opening a wide range pre-flop. Usually the three-bettor hopes to take the pot down immediately, knowing the original raiser will hold average hands the majority of the time.
This begs the question, what is the best defense against a player who employs the light three-bet?
Obviously your primary recourse against a tough player who has position on you is to just leave the table and move on to softer ground.
However, let's say for the sake of the example there are some real big fish at this table that are worth sticking around for... or you're a glutton for punishment.
How to Defend the Light 3-Bet
There are quite a few defenses you can employ. For one, you can try calling these three-bets lighter than you normally would.
This of course is just an example of multi-level thinking. If you know that he knows that you are opening light then you know that he's capable of three-betting light. Thus if you have a hand like A-Q it probably stacks up pretty well against his range, whereas if this were against a normal three-bettor it would be an easy fold.
Put your opponent in a spot where both a call and a fold are wrong and you cause him to make mistakes. Then come the eBucks.
One problem with this modus operandi is that it gives you no momentum - you let your opponent seize the initiative in the pot and you're now forced to play defense. Also, you usually have to hit a decent flop to continue.
Two, you can use calling in conjunction with a donk bet on the flop. A donk bet of course is a bet where you called a raise and then bet into your adversary on the next street. You can do this with or without a hand.
This usually causes an opponent who has raised you light and missed the flop to fold. However, if your opponent is savvy to this move he may just continue his aggression and re-pop your donk bet, forcing you to relinquish the money you invested.
Three, you can call the pre-flop three-bet and then check-raise the flop. Once again you can do this with or without a hand. This is an extremely aggressive counterpunch. The obvious drawback: you're risking a lot of money if you do this on a bluff.
What is a Four-Bet?
Or, there is the ultra-aggressive light four-bet. This move - another instance of multi-level thinking - should be used very sparingly because it will definitely get you into some very tricky situations.
I won't go through all of the levels of thought because then it just seems like a rehashed comedy act from Friends (I know that you know that I know...).
Long story short, if a player is three-betting you ultra-light you can four-bet him for the exact same reason he three-bet you in the first place. The downside to this is the same as with all your other options: you're risking a good portion of your stack usually on a bluff/semi-bluff.
Nonetheless, any of these methods is a decent starting point for defending your raises out of position. Another one you can add to your arsenal when you're in position is to smooth-call the three-bet before the flop. Then on the flop you can raise his c-bet or wait until the turn and float him once he checks to you.
Poker Hands To 3 Bet With
There's no way to say which defence is best. In fact there is never one best defence in poker. Ideally you should have all of these moves in your pocket and you should be able to bust whichever one out as the situation dictates.
Pay attention to your opponents; if you're not, you'll just be throwing money away.
Should I 3-Bet Without a Hand?
Poker Hands To 3 Bet Winning
Obviously you're going to be just throwing money away if you do any of these without proper reads. So you must always be paying attention to your opponents.
How often are they three-betting? How do they react when they are three-bet? How do they react when they get four-bet? Do they always c-bet the flop after three-betting? If they are called do they give up? Or do they check-raise the turn?
You must constantly evaluate and reevaluate your reads while you are playing.
Poker Hands To Bet
You may have noticed me repeating the phrase 'with or without a hand.' I'm harping on it because you must be able to use these moves both with and without hands. This is called 'balancing your ranges.'
If you only, let's say, call the three-bet and check-raise the flop as a bluff, then you are extremely exploitable. But when you can do that with a monster, a bluff or even a marginal hand, it makes you extremely difficult to defend against.
Poker Hands To 3 Bet Poker
If you put your opponent in a situation where both a call and a fold are incorrect, then you cause him to make mistakes. And as we know in poker, if you can force your opponents to make mistakes then the eBucks are sure to follow!