As we step into 2009, we are long past the golden age of poker. No longer can we sit there playing tighter than a virgin and still get the nuts paid off, and no longer are the fishes continually limp-calling and going broke. The average poker player now knows that aggressive play is generally more optimal, and, as a result, games on the whole are becoming more aggressive.
This applies especially to six-max online cash games. Rarely do we ever see unraised pots going to the flop, not being three-bet preflop or, in fact, seeing the flop at all. People are calling less and even big ATM fishes at the Vic have learnt how to three-bet.
In this mini series of articles, I will address some key aspects of preflop three-betting and four-betting and the dynamics that can develop between regulars. The articles will start off with the basics, but gradually move into more advanced plays, with the overall aim of giving you an idea of how to adapt to the poker games of 2009.
Three-Betting
A three-bet preflop is actually the second raise. So, say under-the-gun raises and you reraise, that is a three-bet. This is because the blinds are considered as a forced ‘first’ bet. When you open raise, that is the second bet, and when you reraise someone’s open, it is a three-bet.
Why Do We Three-Bet?
Simply put, three-betting is done for two main reasons:
- You have a big hand and you three-bet an opponent because you want to build the pot with what is almost certainly the best hand and to get further value.
- On the other end of the spectrum, you have a very weak hand but still three-bet an opponent. This is a three-bet bluff, but what you’re doing is trying to represent the same strong hands you would three-bet with. You do this because you feel that they are raising with a marginal hand, and you want to resteal their raise. You know that (providing a solid image) your opponent folds due to the fear of you having what you’re representing (a very strong preflop hand), and he needs a much stronger hand to continue with.
When I say “bluffs”, I mean any hand that you’re three-betting not purely for value. You do this mainly to attack the late position raisers. Say you are in the big blind and the villain opens in the cut-off; you figure that he is in late position, and is likely to open a wide range. You don’t want to let him continually steal your blinds, but you don’t have much of a hand to defend with. The thing is, you don’t need a hand at all – since he is just opening in late position and stealing the blinds, most of the time all it takes is a three-bet to pick up the pot.
The main point is, even if you do pick up a marginal hand, say A-4o or J-9o, you don’t really want to call. You might be doing fairly well against your opponent’s late opening range, but you will miss the flop close to 70 percent of the time, you are out of position, and will lose the three big blinds it cost you to see the flop. Your opponent has the initiative and will continuation bet and take it down close to 90 percent of the time; you can’t do much but check-fold. If this happens once every orbit, you will spew off half your stack in no time.
This is why a three-bet is an optimal play. He can fold right there, or if he decides to call, that’s still fine. By three-betting you have taken the initiative, and you can still represent a strong hand on a lot of flops. You can represent all the high cards, e.g. ace, king, queen, even jack, of which at least one of these high cards will flop a very high percentage of the time. You have turned the situation around. The flop will also miss him close to 70 percent of the time, and even when he does flop a pair it may not be strong enough to continue aggressively and all it takes is a continuation bet to take it down. This initiative of representing a strong hand preflop or representing a made hand on a high card flop is very effective.
Obviously, you can three-bet with any two cards, and when it’s done at the right time it will show profit in the long run. However, instead of three-betting with hands like 9-3 off-suit, I prefer to have some chance of making the best hand at showdown as my backup in case my bets are met with resistance. I mainly prefer two types of three-bet bluffing hands:
- Hands that give me strong showdown value. Hands like A-x, K-x, Q-x, etc. My high card can be good a fair amount of the time, and if I make top pair, I can be fairly confident I have the best hand. Being suited also adds a lot of value.
- Hands that give me some speculative post-flop value. Hands like 7-6s, J-To, etc. If I am called preflop, I have a chance to make a strong hand and stack my opponent, or at least a draw with very good equity to go with it. Most importantly, it will be very well disguised.
Here are some examples to show how three-bet ‘bluffing’ can be very effective:
In all these examples, the game is six-max $2/4 No Limit Hold’em, effective stacks are 100 big blinds and it folds to the cut-off, who is an aggressive regular. He opens to $14…
(Hand #1) It folds to you in the small blind. You have A-5 of diamonds, and you three-bet to $48. He calls. The pot is $100. Flop is K-9-4 rainbow with one diamond, you continuation bet $64 and he folds.
When you continuation bet a flop like this, you fold out a lot of hands that are better than yours. Most of the time, he will fold small pocket pairs 2-2 to 8-8. He will also fold any four that paired, and you put him in a very tough spot with a hand like 9-x or T-T. Obviously, he will fold hands worse than yours, but even if you get called, there are a lot of turns that are good for you. You can hit a diamond, deuce, or three to give you backdoor equity, or an ace which will make you the best hand most of the time.
(Hand #2) It folds to you in the small blind. You have 8-6 of hearts, and you three-bet to $48. He calls. Pot is $100. Flop is T-7-5 rainbow with one heart. You continuation bet $64, he calls. Pot is $228. Turn is king of hearts. You bet $126, and he folds.
When you continuation bet this flop, you are trying to fold out his small pocket pairs, his A-x, his K-Q/Q-J type hands. If you get called, you still have eight outs to win the hand, but there are also a ton of turns which give you even more equity, like any heart, six, or eight. Furthermore, an overcard like an ace or king can come on the turn, and you can represent it and semi-bluff again, as it hits your perceived range. Now you put your opponent in a very tough spot even if he has a ten, which is what you do on the king of hearts turn. This turn provides even more equity and is probably the best semi-bluff card for you.
(Hand #3) You are on the button with K-9 off-suit, and you three-bet to $45. He calls. Pot is $96. Flop is K-8-7 rainbow, he checks, you continuation bet $68, he calls. Pot is $232. Turn is a seven, he checks, you check. River is a five, he checks, you bet $144, he calls with T-T and you win.
You continuation bet this flop to try to get value from 8-x or something like 9-9. It’s hard for our opponent to fold these hands to one continuation bet. When the turn pairs the bottom card, a pot control line is optimal as you don’t see worse hands calling again, nor better hands folding. On the river, a half to two thirds of the pot value bet is fine as your opponent may find it hard to fold a hand like 9-9 or T-T when you’ve checked the turn in position.
As shown, three-bet bluffing can be so effective and powerful. You don’t expect to fold out your opponent’s strong hands, but the rest of the time, it puts your opponent in a lot of high pressure, tough spots even if they have a marginal/medium strength hand. When you both have air, you will pick up the pot more often than not. You can therefore win the pot in multiple ways.
A point to note is that when three-betting in position, it is generally better to raise smaller, as you have position and don’t mind inducing calls as you can outplay your villain. You can choose to pot control with a more marginal hand, build the pot with a disguised strong hand or put pressure on him whenever you want. You also want to give yourself a cheaper price on a three-bet bluff when it doesn’t work out. When you are out of position, I prefer to make the three-bets larger. You generally don’t want your opponent to float your three-bets in position too often and outplay you on certain board textures. Preflop three-bet sizing should be anywhere from three times the original raise to a pot-sized raise.
In the next article I will be discussing both polarised three-bet ranges and how to balance your three-bet ranges.
If you would to ask any questions about what I have written in this article, please feel free to post on my board on my profile page.