Three Betting Pre-flop
In this article:
- What is three betting?
- What are the advantages of making a three bet?
- Three betting light.
- What are the advantages of making a three bet?
- Three betting light.
What is three betting?
Three betting is another very basic concept that is very often overused and misused by players who don't fully understand how to properly make a three bet. Simply put, a three bet is a re-raise pre-flop after someone else has already made a raise. For example, in a 7 handed game with blinds of 2 and 4, the first three players after the big blind fold. The next player raises to $8 and the player on the dealer button re-raises to $24. The raise from the player on the dealer button is a three bet. Even though there was only one raise prior to the bet, it's called a three bet because the big blind is considered the first bet.
What are the advantages of making a three bet?
Three betting does a couple things that make it advantageous in the long run if used correctly. These days, many players will make a raise from late position with a wide range of hands if most other players have folded. That means that there is a good chance they're raising with a marginal hand. Simply calling the bet puts you at a disadvantage if you don't make a strong hand on the flop and puts you in a position where you'll most likely have to fold to a continuation bet from the original raiser. Three betting takes the initiative away from the raiser and in many cases will allow you to take a decent pot without even seeing the flop.
When a raiser is faced with a three bet, their alarms will go off and they'll fear a really strong hand like AA or KK. In most cases your opponents will be calling a three bet with strong hands like AK, AQ, KQ, depending on their range. Tight aggressive players who call the three bet with a strong hand will have to fold to a continuation bet on the flop if they miss, and even if they catch a piece of the flop, will still have a fear that you have a stronger hand. For these reasons you should stick to three betting with premium hands such as AA, KK, QQ or three betting light with a hand that has potential on the flop such as suited connectors. You should avoid three betting with mid range broadway hands such as KQ, KJ, QJ, and weaker aces like AJ because players calling your three bet will most likely have these hands dominated. That will put you in a bad place on the flop and can get you into trouble if you catch a piece of it. Premium hands will usually be good and lower suited connectors have a lot of potential to do damage against your opponents over-cards post flop.
When a raiser is faced with a three bet, their alarms will go off and they'll fear a really strong hand like AA or KK. In most cases your opponents will be calling a three bet with strong hands like AK, AQ, KQ, depending on their range. Tight aggressive players who call the three bet with a strong hand will have to fold to a continuation bet on the flop if they miss, and even if they catch a piece of the flop, will still have a fear that you have a stronger hand. For these reasons you should stick to three betting with premium hands such as AA, KK, QQ or three betting light with a hand that has potential on the flop such as suited connectors. You should avoid three betting with mid range broadway hands such as KQ, KJ, QJ, and weaker aces like AJ because players calling your three bet will most likely have these hands dominated. That will put you in a bad place on the flop and can get you into trouble if you catch a piece of it. Premium hands will usually be good and lower suited connectors have a lot of potential to do damage against your opponents over-cards post flop.
Three betting light:
Three betting light is exactly what it sounds like. It's three betting with a marginal hand that has some potential, such as connecters, suited cards, or near connectors such as 5,7 or 6,8. You'll want to be three betting light from either the button or cut off position against loose aggressive or tight aggressive players, since these are the type of players that will raise pre-flop with a wide range of hands, which gives you a higher fold equity, meaning you'll be able to take the pot more often right then and there. Keep in mind though that three betting light against super loose players can be a bad move in the long run because you're losing a lot of fold equity and this can end up costing you a lot of money.
If you're picking your spots right and three betting light against the right kinds of players, you should be winning a lot of hands pre-flop. If you're getting called too often, then you probably need to reevaluate the situation and determine whether it's a good idea to continue three betting or not. Even when you are doing it correctly, you are going to get called sometimes. In these cases, the caller is most likely calling with a strong hand such as AK, AQ, KQ. Even so, you should almost always make a continuation bet on the flop. Most players will fold to your continuation, so in the long run it's going to be a profitable move. If you miss the flop and get re-raised, you can fold your hand and take comfort in knowing that in the long run your strategy is going to pay off.
Just make sure not to get carried away three betting light. If you use your head and pick your spots, it can be a very valuable addition to your game.
If you're picking your spots right and three betting light against the right kinds of players, you should be winning a lot of hands pre-flop. If you're getting called too often, then you probably need to reevaluate the situation and determine whether it's a good idea to continue three betting or not. Even when you are doing it correctly, you are going to get called sometimes. In these cases, the caller is most likely calling with a strong hand such as AK, AQ, KQ. Even so, you should almost always make a continuation bet on the flop. Most players will fold to your continuation, so in the long run it's going to be a profitable move. If you miss the flop and get re-raised, you can fold your hand and take comfort in knowing that in the long run your strategy is going to pay off.
Just make sure not to get carried away three betting light. If you use your head and pick your spots, it can be a very valuable addition to your game.
