Polarized 3-Betting Ranges Poker. Your value and bluff 3-bet range will change depending on position and players you are dealing with where your value range will increase/decrease and bluff.
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.
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)
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Cbetting Articles:The Continuation Bet : More Cbetting Tips : When To CBet (Examples) : Double Barrelling
SplitSuit's C-Betting Like A Champion concept video is all about how to cbet more effectively. Worth a watch if you're struggling with your cbet frequencies.
In my very first article on continuation betting (cbetting, cbets) I went over the basics of performing cbets in NL Hold’em. In this article I am going to explain how and why certain flop textures are good or bad for cbetting.
This will be more of an example orientated guide, which I’m sure many of you will appreciate more than just the theory.
As I write these examples I’m assuming that we are heads up, have missed the flop (i.e not made a pair, a strong draw or better) and would like to see our opponent fold their hand. We are betting as a bluff rather than for value.
Flop textures for cbetting.
Starting with the best type of flops (flop textures) for cbetting and working my way down, I will explain why each is good, okay or bad for cbet bluffing.
Ace high or King high dry flops.
- Great for cbetting.
- Cbet ~90% of the time.
These are perfect for cbetting because unless your opponent has at the very least 2nd pair they are unlikely to continue with their hand. In fact, a lot of tighter players will fold 2nd pair hands to a cbet OOP, so I pretty much cbet these flops every single time.
The only downside to these flops is that if you hold a hand like KQ on the A83 flop and get called it’s not looking good for the rest of the hand. Nonetheless, it still remains +EV to cbet this close to 90% of the time.
Two high, one low.
- Great for cbetting.
- Cbet ~80% of the time.
These flops are also good for cbetting for the same reason as the A/K high dry flops. These flops hit your perceived range hard and make it difficult for your opponent to call a cbet with less than 2nd pair. Remember that a hand only improves to 1 pair or better on the flop 1/3 of the time, so your opponent will be giving up the pot more often than they peel.
You can try and argue that if your opponent calls your preflop raise, this flop hits their range as well. This is true for the very tight players, but there are so many lower pocket pairs, suited connectors and hands that just flat out miss this flop that it’s still profitable to cbet here a large % of the time.
Just as it is with spiders, your opponents are more afraid of you than you are of them.
One high, two low.
- Good for cbetting.
- Cbet ~60% of the time.
This is pretty much the last of the “good” flops to cbet. Same reasons as before really; this flop could have easily hit your range and if you have 2 overcards like AK or KQ it’s really not the end of the world if you get called.
On these flops you tend to get peeled/floated more often, which is why I like to have some decent equity in the hand with overcards to cbet this one. If I don’t have a decent draw or overcards, I generally avoid cbetting.
Low or wet flops.
- Poor for cbetting.
- Cbet ~25% of the time.
These flops hit your opponent’s preflop calling range hard. Therefore you can expect to see a lot of calls from speculative hands and/or check raises from strong draws if you attempt to cbet bluff.
There’s no need to worry about cbet bluffing low flops or any flops that are really co-ordinated too frequently. You may be better off taking a free card and keeping the pot size as low as possible by checking in position and just hoping for the best when checking out of position.
Play 3 Card Poker Free
If you do decide to cbet these flops, be prepared to fire a second barrel (and maybe even a third).
Broadway flops.
- Bad for cbetting.
- Cbet ~0% of the time.
If you’re thinking about cbet bluffing this flop the chances are that you are holding a lower pocket pair or undercards, where both of which have a very bleak outlook if you get called and therefore have very little equity in the hand.
I don’t believe that you are getting enough folds in this situation to cbet here to make it profitable, so I would definitely advise against it on these sorts of flops. I cbet bluff these flops close to 0% of the time.
When to cbet evaluation.
This isn’t the ultimate guide to cbet bluffing any and every flop imaginable in Texas Hold’em. Sorry. The cbetting percentages I’ve thrown out are really rough estimates as well.
However, these examples should give you an insight to the type of flops I like cbetting and the type of flops I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole after missing the flop. Almost every cbet situation is unique depending on the player(s) you are up against and the cards on the flop. Treat this as a rough foundation.
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