The main objective of 3 Bet Bluffing in Texas Hold'em is to take down the pot pre-flop. Many players don’t recognise what hands they should 3 Bet for value and what should 3 Bet to to bluff. Some players are simply ‘clicking buttons’ and do not have a solid preconceived plan to follow.
Many hyper-aggressive players 3-bet with a wide range of hands, including many garbage hands, in the nature of bluffs. Most 3-bets, however, are done with big hands. When to 3-bet a hand and when to just call (called a “smooth call” or “smoothing”) is one of the trickiest lessons players must learn. In this hand we 3 bet AQs from the SB and hit a flop that is good for our range. We first a c-bet bluff and Bart and the caller discuss if we should take it all the way. If you want to call in. If you only three-bet a tight range – say AA-QQ and A-K – your opponents know that when you three-bet you can only have one of four hands. Obviously, that’s not a balanced range. When your re-raising range is so narrow your opponents can always make the right decisions.
Benefits of 3 Bet Bluffing are:
1) Boosting our Win Rate
2) Creating an Aggresive Image
3) It's low variance due to the fact we don’t have to c-bet and play postflop when our opponents fold.
Who should be target for the 3 Bet Bluff?
1) an opponent who folds to 3bets often. stats wise f3b 70%+
2) an opponent who attempts to steal often(Button opening of 40%+)
What position to 3 Bet Bluff in?
Hands to 3 Bet Bluff with
1) Bet the top of your range with hands that are not strong enough to call with. Hands such as AxS, KxS, suited 1 gappers (97s, 68s), suited 2 gappers (710s), Small pocket pairs (if you can’t set mine profitably).
Hands not to do it with
2) We shouldn't use this play with hands we can dominate our opponents range with. KQos for example. If they fold to the 3bet then we miss out on potential post flop value.
Positional Awareness:
1) Our 3bet will be interpreted as stronger or weaker depending on the positions involved.
2) Blind vs. Blind battles. We may get played back at more from these positions.
3) 3bets look much stronger MP vs EP than BB vs BTN
I am ready to take my poker game to the next level!
Pay attention of:
Who we are 3betting - For example If a fish folds to 3bets a lot from CO but not EP then we should not be bluffing vs his EP open a lot. However vs a reg we can do it as we get more credit for our 3bets.
Bet Sizing for 3 Bet Bluffs:
Should be somewhere between 2.8x and 3.5x the original raise. This will allow us to get most respect but to lose the least if 4Bet.
Squeeze sizing from blinds should be around 12bbs vs 2 players.
How often does our 3bet bluff need to work?
SB raises to 3bb, hero BTN raises 9bb, Risking 8bb more to win the 4bb pot. Total pot = 12bb. Hero invests 8bb/12bb which is 66.66% so we need to win the pot this amount of the time to break even in the long run. Anything above this is profit. If the villain has a f3b 67%+ then heros play is +EV in the long run.
Final Pointers:
1) Don’t go crazy - Players will play back at us.
2) Our play works more if we have a tight table image.
3) Don’t do it all the time until it stops working. Be smart and constantly adjust to your opponent.
By Alton Hardin
Introduction
For beginners, 3-betting can be a confusing concept to understand and properly apply at the poker tables. With so much theory being discussed in books, forums, and training videos its easy for beginners to get lost in a fog of poker haze, not knowing when to 3-bet, what range of hands to 3-bet and why. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic framework that beginning and struggling poker players can use to effectively 3-bet.
What Is The Pre-Flop 3-Bet?
First off, lets level set what a pre-flop 3-bet is. A 3-bet occurs when someone open-raises and another person re-raises pre-flop. The re-raise is a 3-bet. This might be a bit confusing to some people because the 3-bet is the second raise, why is this? Well, in Texas Holdem the posted blinds are considered the first bet, the initial open raise is considered the second bet, and the re-raise is therefore the third bet, hence the term 3-bet.
Linear and Polarized 3-Bets
In poker, there are two main categories of 3-bets, linear and polarized 3-bets:
Linear 3-Betting Range
A linear 3-betting range is one composed solely of value-bets. When we 3-bet a linear range, we are 3-betting for value. For example, the image below shows a linear value 3-betting range of JJ+, AQs+, AKo.
Polarized 3-Betting Range
A polarized 3-betting range is one composed of a combination of value hands and bluffs. So, unlike the linear 3-betting range, when we 3-bet a polarized range, we are sometimes betting for value and other times bluffing. The below image shows a polarized 3-betting range composed of value hands and bluff hands. In this example, we are 3-betting TT+, AJs+, AQ+ for value and 44-22, A4s-A2s, 87s, 76s as a bluff.
Why Do We 3-Bet?
Hopefully you’ve already noticed this from the section above, but we 3-bet for two specific reasons:
Poker 3 Bet Bluff Ranger
- When we have a hand that is too good to call, such as KK or AA for value
- When we have a hand that is too bad to call, such as A2s or 33
If we have a hand that fits within these two different reasons, then we have a hand we can “potentially” 3-bet.
Linear or Polarized?
So which should you use, the linear or polarized 3-betting model? It depends on our opponents.
Can We 3-Bet Bluff?
You probably heard the phrase, “never bluff the calling station”. Well the same goes for 3-bets. You should only apply the polarized 3-betting model with 3-bet bluffs if your opponent(s) are folding to a lot of 3-bets. If they aren’t, then 3-bet bluffing will only cause you to unnecessarily spew off a lot of chips pre-flop. Conversely, if your opponent(s) are folding to a high frequency of 3-bets, approximately 67% then you can 3-bet bluff profitably.
Therefore, 3-bet bluffing and the polarized 3-betting model works best when you have a lot of fold equity. When your fold equity is low, don’t apply this model and stick with the linear 3-betting model.
How Wide Should We Value 3-Bet Bet?
Again, this is dependent upon how your opponent(s) are reacting to 3-bets. When you are 3-betting for value, the most important factor is your opponent’s 3-bet calling range and 4-betting range.
When you are 3-betting for value, you goal is to maximize your long-term expectation in the hand by having your opponents call your 3-bet with worse hands. For example, if your opponent is folding to 100% of 3-bets (this isn’t really realistic but proves a point), then it does you no good to 3-bet KK or AA. Against this specific opponent it is more profitable to flat his or her pre-flop raise. Conversely, if your opponent is folding to next to no 3-bets, then it is highly profitable to 3-bet a very wide range for value!
So here are some general guidelines on 3-betting for value:
Poker 3 Bet Bluff Rangers
- Always adjust your 3-bet value range to how your opponents react to 3-bets
- Consider your opponent’s 3-bet flatting range and 4-betting range
- The less your opponent is folding to 3-bets, the more you can widen your value range
Low versus High Fold Equity
Therefore, if you have high fold equity you should employ the polarized model. If you have low fold equity, use the linear 3-betting model.
3-Bet Sizing
When sizing your 3-bets, I recommend beginner start with the 3x rule: raise three times your opponents initial open raise sizing.
- When you are out of position to the raiser, make your sizing a bit more, closer to 3.5x. Why? Our positional disadvantage in the hand.
- When you are in position to the raiser, make you sizing a bit less, closer to 2.8x. Why? Our positional advantage in the hand.
Summing Up
This short poker strategy article on 3-betting 101 covered the basics behind 3-betting and linear versus polarized 3-betting ranges. While this article is far from being a comprehensive 3-betting strategy guide, it should help guide beginners in the right direction with their 3-betting game.
For a more comprehensive overview of 3-betting, be sure to watch our The Three-Betting 101 Course!