Used correctly 3 Betting can be one of the most valuable weapons in your Arsenal when it comes to No Limit Texas Holdem. Throughout this article we will look at what is 3 betting, why 3 bet, who to 3 bet, and examples before concluding with some key points.
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What is 3 Betting?
3 Betting is a term used in poker when a player re-raises the original raiser in the hand. A quick example would be; Player A opens to $2 pre flop before Player B re-raises to $6. Player B’s move would be called a 3Bet.
There can be many reasons why Player B has decided to 3 bet and we will look at some of these reasons throughout the article.
Why 3 bet?
There are two main reasons why a player would decide to 3 bet:
- For Value – Many players will look to 3 bet their value hands such as JJ+, AQ, AK type hands. This is in an attempt to build the pot as more often than not any one of these hands will be the best hand pre flop so we want to get as much money in at this point as possible.
- As a Bluff – Where as a few years ago you could face a 3 bet pre flop and know your opponent has a good hand; these days people often use 3 betting as a bluff in an attempt to put pressure back on their opponents to try and to get them to fold.
Who to 3 Bet?
Whether to 3 bet or not is very player dependent and it’s important you have a good read or some solid notes on your opponents playing tendencies before looking to 3 bet with anything less than your value hands.
Your value hands will generally play themselves and unless you have a VERY good reason not to, you should be 3 betting these as much as possible against all opponents.
If you decide to use the 3 betting strategy as a bluff than you need to be looking at weak players who have a high fold to 3 bet percentage. These players are unlikely to play back at you, but you know that if they do, they are likely to have a good hand, meaning you can fold with confidence.
You can also look to target players who are unlikely to 4 bet you and just call pre flop. With these players you must make sure you are in position to them post flop, as there’s a chance you could be playing in a post flop situation versus them.
2 Betting Examples
We will take a look at two 3 betting examples; the first where it’s a good spot to do so and the second where it would be ill advised.
Example 1 – Good spot
We find ourselves in the big blind with AA facing an open from an aggressive button, who we know has 4 bet light in the past and is susceptible to stacking off very light pre flop.
Whilst people often use the 3bet to defend their blinds due to high amount players trying to steal in the games these days, aggressive players are trying to counteract that by introducing a 4 bet bluff. This is a great situation as we could easily be 3 betting light in this scenario in an attempt to defend our big blind, whereas, we are actually 3 betting for value in the hope the aggressive button decides to get tricky pre flop.
Example 2 – Bad spot
We find ourselves in the small blind with 9T facing an open from UTG and a call from the button. We know that the UTG player has been relatively tight and the button has also been quite tight.
So if these two players are both tight, then why not put pressure on with a 3 bet? Two reasons; one, we have a speculative hand at best and if we do get called we could be out of position to not one but possibly two players. Two, with UTG already being a tight player, his UTG range is going to be so tight that we can narrow it down to maybe 6 premium hands of which he’s not going to fold pre flop.
Key Points
- Pick your opponents that you feel are weak and will fold more often than not.
- Don’t overkill the 3bet.
- Be selective and time your plays.
- Balance your bluffing range with premium hands.
