Best Betting Picks - NFL, NCAA, NBA, NHL, MLB, Soccer and More #1. Bonus: 50% up to $250. Bonus: 50% up to $1000. Bonus: 50% up to $1000. There are many ways to bet sports. If you can think of anything to bet. The 3-bet (or more specifically, light 3-betting) is an advanced concept that adds an extra weapon to a game that has likely become repetitive and stagnant, even if that current game strategy is winning you money at the tables. 3-betting will shake up a mid-stakes player's game about as much as the continuation bet.

The Three Bet

One of the common definitions you will hear as you play poker is “3-bet”, or “three-bet”. A 3-bet as most players use the term means the act of putting in the third bet, technically the second “raise”, the “3-bet” during any given round of action. It’s only in recent years that the term has become popular, indicative of its use during online play.

For flop games, such as hold’em and Omaha, the pre-flop 3-bet is technically different than the post-flop 3-bet. In these poker games blinds are used, and the act of posting the small and big blinds is considered the first “bet”. Subsequent players, beginning with the “under the gun” (UTG) player to the big blind’s immediate left, have the option of calling that first bet (the amount of the big blind), or folding or raising. In a typical game, the first pre-flop raise is technically a “two-bet”, but you’ll never hear it called that. Instead, it’s when another play makes a second raise, going over the top of the first raiser, that the “three-bet” term is used. Below is a visual of what a pre-flop 3-bet looks like.

In post-flop play, the 3-bet consists of an initial bet, a raise, and then a re-raise (perhaps by the initial bettor). Since the initial bet itself can be sizable, the post-flop 3-bet is proportionately larger in most instances than its pre-flop counterpart. In cash games and in the late stages of tourneys, 3-bets often involve all-in moves by one or more players, though you’re just as likely to hear the words “pushing” or “jamming” (moving one’s entire stack into the middle) in those instances.

What Does a 3-Bet Mean?

A 3-bet, which is always a form of a re-raise is designed to be an indicator of a true premium hand. The 3-bet is a shot over the bow of the initial raiser, designed to capture that pot right there. The intent of the 3-bet is to say to the initial bettor, “Yeah, you may have a good hand, but I’ve got a better one.” One common variation involves the initial raise coming from a late position, the button player or the cut-off (to the button’s immediate right), and the 3-bet is made by the small or big blind, who may assume the button or cutoff is attempting to steal the blinds. Overall, the 3-bet is traditionally one of the strongest moves a player can make, trailing perhaps only the all-in push and the check-raise in its ability to change a hand. It’s supposed to mean that the player making the move has a very strong hand, though this being poker, that is not always the case.

Making Your Own 3-Bets

The use of 3-bets is best done selectively, at opportune moments. 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. Knowing your opponents’ tendencies is vital to success, because the best poker players play their opponents as much as their own hands. A 3-bet works best against fairly loose players, some of whom are described as “calling stations”, who simply cannot fold marginal holdings when prompted. Another successful type of 3-bet can be done against a player who might over-value the long-term prospects of the game or tourney in deference to what might happen in that specific hand. He might be surrendering a bit too much of his chance to win in hopes of getting a better opportunity in a later hand.

Then there are bluffs. The bluff type of 3-bet is called a “re-steal”, and properly executed, it can be one of the most profitable moves in a player’s arsenal. However, like any good play, using it too much is one of the quickest ways to go broke. Other players will eventually react to a player that is putting in too many 3-bets, and sooner or later, the player putting in those over-the-top bets will be “looked up” (called) by his opponent. However, if you’re a steady, conservative player, 3-betting an aggressive foe will work more often than you might believe. Those players are trying to steadily make small gains against your perceived, relative passivity, and when you fight back they’ll often go try another door.

Defending Against the 3-Bet

Defending against the 3-bet boils down to understanding both your opponents and the circumstances of the game. Against a tight opponent who plays few hands, a 3-bet invariably means a monster and you can ditch all but the largest hands against this opponent. Even if he’s on a rare bluff, his natural tendencies against bluffing should serve as a warning.

Three Bet Poker

Aggressive, late-position players will often three-bet with holdings such as middle pairs, AK or AQ, and depending on your own hand, it’s often correct to play or even to put the 4-bet in and take your chances. Be aware that with position and with correct “pot odds” – referring to the relationship between the amount of money already in the pot and the total amount a player stands to win – a late-position player may be “priced in” to making his own call with more inferior hands than you might hope.

Author:Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
(C) Copyright PokerWebsites.com, 2018

A common theme in $2-$5 live no-limit hold’em games is that most players don’t three-bet preflop very much. Mostly, of course, people are three-betting with the most premium hands: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K. Since these hands are dealt so rarely—and you have to face a raise in front of you to three-bet—you simply don’t see very many three-bets.

Some $2-$5 players will step out of this mold a little bit. Recreational players sometimes like to make what I call a “what the heck?” three-bet. A typical situation would be this: A player limps. The next player limps with J 10. Another player limps, and then an aggressive player raises the button. The blinds fold, the first limper calls, and then the player with J-10 throws in a three-bet.

The problem with these “what the heck?” three-bets is that they are extremely transparent. If you normally three-bet only with A-A and K-K, then you’ll have a three-betting hand less than one percent of the time. But the “what the heck?” three-bet is often made with any old hand—it’s a reaction to a certain player’s raise. This player could raise 30 percent of the time. So, when you see one of these three-bets, which is more likely? The player actually has the less than one percent hand or the player is just reacting to the raise?

Mostly, however, when I talk to $2-$5 regulars about three-betting, most seem to think there isn’t much point to it. Most players won’t fold, they rationalize, so if you three-bet with a less-than-premium hand, you’re just rolling the dice in a big pot.

At $2-$5, I three-bet preflop more than nearly anyone else I play with. It’s not like I’m three-betting every other hand I play, but in some common scenarios I will three-bet more than 25 percent of the time.

Why?

I think preflop three-betting is important in these games for a number of reasons. First, it builds a pot and puts stacks in play. Players frequently sit with $700 or $1,000 or even more. In typical raised pots, these stacks never sniff the middle unless it’s a cooler hand like top two pair against bottom set.

In a reraised pot, however, where the pot is already $140 or more on the flop, it’s much easier to get stacks involved.

Why is this good? Assuming you make better post-flop decisions on average than your opponents do, you benefit from bigger bets and pots. If your opponent makes a $20 mistake in a $100 pot, the same mistake is worth $100 in a $500 pot. The bigger the mistakes you can pin on your opponents, the more money you can win.

Furthermore, typical $2-$5 players really do play these pots poorly. It’s no surprise—since players three-bet so infrequently, your average regular gets few opportunities to practice these pots. I’ve noticed two common scenarios.

Scenario 1: Your opponent gives your three-bet too much credit.

Since most players three-bet only with A-A and K-K, he’s giving you credit for these hands far more often than you actually have these hands (if you three-bet a lot). Even opponents who know that you sometimes three-bet with lesser hands will often still give your three-bet too much credit.

Three Betting

A common example of this came up recently in a $2-$5 game in Las Vegas. A regular player opened to $15 from one off the button. I was in the small blind with K Q. I reraised to $50. The big blind folded, and the regular called.

The flop was 9 7 3. I bet $70. He stared at the board for about 20 seconds, then folded.

I’m fairly certain he had a hand like A-J or A-Q. He seemed to know that these are still fairly strong hands on a ragged, low-card board like this one. He also seemed to know that I could be three-betting with a less-than-premium hand in this scenario. (In fact, I would three-bet the small blind here against his open quite frequently. I could have hands like A 4, 6 5, and 3 3.)

Yet, he ultimately made the poor decision to fold to my flop bet because he gave me too much credit for an overpair. He also likely didn’t feel like he’d know what to do if he didn’t pair the turn and I bet again.

Scenario 2: Your opponent doesn’t give your three-bet enough credit.

This player seems to pretend that I just called preflop rather than three-bet. He just fires away after the flop with little concern that I could hold A-A or K-K.

The problem with this approach is that, if I do have A-A or K-K, I will indeed three-bet and not call. So, even if I’m three-betting some other hands, in general, you should be more careful against me post-flop when I’ve three-bet than when I’ve just called. I’m more likely to have something good after a three-bet.

These guys will stack off for $700 or $1,000 with a flopped top pair against an overpair. Since this is a relatively common scenario, this error can be very lucrative, but you do have to wait for the right card set-up to take advantage of it.

In general, however, at least in Las Vegas, I find more opponents make the error in the first scenario. They give the three-bet too much credit. Even when they know they shouldn’t just put me on A-A, if they miss the flop, they seem to back down too easily.

Final Thoughts

I consider three-betting preflop to be a bread-and-butter strategy to create consistent advantages in live $2-$5 games. Most players don’t see the play that often, so they aren’t practiced in reacting to it.

Three Bet Meme

Reraising is a great way to defend against a possible blind steal. When your opponent is caught with a wide range of hands, he might just fold to the initial three-bet. If he calls, he will usually flop a weak hand. When you combine that likelihood with the chance that he overestimates your hand strength, you can win most of these pots with flop and turn bets.

If you aren’t used to three-betting very often, this situation is a great place to try the play out. When someone makes a likely blind steal raise—either opening from late position or sometimes raising one or two limpers from the button—go ahead and three-bet with a wide range. Pick suited hands. It’s best to use connectors like 8 7 or ones with high-card strength like K 6. Then bet the flop and, if called, bet the turn. Try it ten times, and you will be surprised how often it works. ♠

Three Bet Poker

Ed’s newest book, Poker’s 1%: The One Big Secret That Keeps Elite Players On Top is available now at his website edmillerpoker.com. You can also find original articles and instructional videos by Ed at the brand new site redchippoker.com.

Three Beths