Tips on Preflop 3-bets

[Mr Sandbag]

(My game of choice is $1/$2 NL live)

One part of my cash poker game that has always needed some work was preflop 3-betting. I never really got a good feel for when I should be 3-betting preflop aside from the obvious situation when I'm holding a premium hand. How often should I be preflop 3-betting light and when should I do it?

Should I be doing it when someone has raised and I intend to call from late position? Would it be more profitable to 3-bet and take control of the hand while in position rather than cold call with a less than premium hand?

Any tips on preflop 3-betting light in cash games would be appreciated.

 

[John A]

You can peek at my free ebook. There's a whole chapter on it.

 

[cotta777]

(My game of choice is $1/$2 NL live)

One part of my cash poker game that has always needed some work was preflop 3-betting. I never really got a good feel for when I should be 3-betting preflop aside from the obvious situation when I'm holding a premium hand. How often should I be preflop 3-betting light and when should I do it?

Should I be doing it when someone has raised and I intend to call from late position? Would it be more profitable to 3-bet and take control of the hand while in position rather than cold call with a less than premium hand?

Any tips on preflop 3-betting light in cash games would be appreciated.

its purely a case of watching the action, if you note that one player is opening quite alot to a standard 2.5 3x then you can obviously throw in the occasional 3-bet with the intention of barreling when in position if called with hands such as suited broadways/connecters etc, possibly unsuited broads, but in genural keep track of your 3-bets per hour and you can gain credit for them, thats the most important thing to have the right balance of 3-bets to avoid any suspicion good players will start calling most 3-bets / c-bets, and 3-betting more initial raises

when the stakes get higher its important to add another layer to your pre-flop game,
and start focusing on which players are re-stealing as it becomes standard and its within our best interest to put them to the test to maintain at around the top... we can possibly 4-bet a middle to late free-bet if the player is laggy and showing no sign of slowing down,
and also information we can get - so things like folded 3-bets and exposed 3-bets, in position 3-bets can be give less credit As these players are more skillful and will seldom 3-bet with the intent on gaining position in the flop.
at this point I will sometimes 4-bet or call to gain the button spot and use my position to force an error from one of the more agressive foes.

theirs no like right or wrong play, but as a general trait you find it usually goes the same way,
if the players are really observant you may be able to use it to your advantage also, its important to know when someone has clocked on to a strategy and then use a deceptive play such as only opening premiums from that spot for the rest of the session etc.

 

[ezevan1022]

This is completely villain dependent, of your 3 betting light you will want to target a competent villain who opens wide who will fold to further aggression. There will also be tons of opponents, not so much at 1-2, but where you can 3 bet a and like aj or aq for value because they will come a long with much worse.

 

[Katyushka4]

(My game of choice is $1/$2 NL live)

One part of my cash poker game that has always needed some work was preflop 3-betting. I never really got a good feel for when I should be 3-betting preflop aside from the obvious situation when I'm holding a premium hand. How often should I be preflop 3-betting light and when should I do it?

Should I be doing it when someone has raised and I intend to call from late position? Would it be more profitable to 3-bet and take control of the hand while in position rather than cold call with a less than premium hand?

Any tips on preflop 3-betting light in cash games would be appreciated.

You can not afford to play 3-bet with AK not only better, but also with Type 66 or J10s. In this case, you are looking to kill several birds with one stone: you can win the pot right on the flop, the enemy, the answer to your 3-bet, it will be much harder to read your hand, as a result, you will be able to win a big pot, for example, with a small set or a flush; you gain control of the raffle.

 

[Beanfacekilla]

3-betting just depends on a variety of factors.

Villains, table dynamics (is anyone steaming, etc.), your table image, etc.

For example, I 3-bet a nitty recreational player OOP the other day. I had A-Jo. He folded JJ face up. If the player is easy to push around, exploit that. My thinking behind this is even if we go to the flop, this particular villain will just shut down unless he smashes the flop.

In poker, we are always looking to exploit our opponents' weaknesses. The cards are not so important (sometimes anyways).

This is obviously just a little bit of advice. I play live $1/$2 also. Players are just absolutely awful at live poker rooms.

Just remember there is no "one size fits all" in poker advice. There are no absolutes like "never" and "always". Many different strategies and styles can win. Hand reading is essential, and cards are sometimes secondary. Aggression wins pots (sometimes).

That is all. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Beanfacekilla]

Oh one more thing...

$1/$2 tables often have a domino effect, one person flats and the entire table calls. If you have strong hands that you don't want to play multi-way, you should consider 3-betting to reduce # of villains.

Remember, position is very important. Any hand is tough to play into 3 villains OOP.

 

[Mr Sandbag]

I actually tried 3-betting light the other day against an opponent I had a decent read on, and it worked. He raised to $7 preflop, I 3-bet to $22 with 65s in late position. I got one caller (not the original raiser LOL), he checked, I bet and took down the pot on the flop.

Speaking very generally, I am starting to think that 3-betting with a speculative hand (like suited connectors) is more profitable than doing it with a hand like A10/AJ/KQ/KJ. The reason is that I've seen so many players at $1/$2 especially who will not push back at you with a premium hand like QQ/AK, so 3-betting with a hand like AJ could get you into some deep trouble postflop if you hit. Also, if you hit the flop with a hand like 65s, your opponent may view the flop as all rags and not believe for a second that you hit.

 

[TeUnit]

start trying to focus on how villians react to 3b in position and out of position

 

[Beanfacekilla]

I actually tried 3-betting light the other day against an opponent I had a decent read on, and it worked. He raised to $7 preflop, I 3-bet to $22 with 65s in late position. I got one caller (not the original raiser LOL), he checked, I bet and took down the pot on the flop.

Speaking very generally, I am starting to think that 3-betting with a speculative hand (like suited connectors) is more profitable than doing it with a hand like A10/AJ/KQ/KJ. The reason is that I've seen so many players at $1/$2 especially who will not push back at you with a premium hand like QQ/AK, so 3-betting with a hand like AJ could get you into some deep trouble postflop if you hit. Also, if you hit the flop with a hand like 65s, your opponent may view the flop as all rags and not believe for a second that you hit.

Excellent points. The A-J example was an isolated incident. It was only against that one guy. I can get away when I need to.

And yes, SC's are great. These fish on live $1/$2 tables always think everyone has AK or AQ.Stacking people with 5-6s is a hoot.

 

[heAdstroMan]

for live I'd 3b a very balanced range as everyone is going to be bad. depends if people call or fold a lot as to which hands you should 3b.

 

[Aces2w1n]

I use 3bet for value for my top heavy hands QQ+ and for information for my AQ, 10's Js Qs hands. People who tend to just call my 3bets trying to trap with their QQ+ hands run the risk of me catching up. Trick with Suited connectors is that they gain value as more people enter the pot. And they are great setup hands esp if you have 4 or 5 in the pot and theres a lot of money in the board and you end up winning showdown. People scratching their heads and going WTF how did you call?

Then next time they try and catch you out and then you have AA or a similar hand that's ontop of your 3betting range.


Man I love poker esp when plans go to work.

 

[AviCKter]

Now as a standard, I 3-bet pre-flop every single time when entering a hand, until off course someone else has done the honors and I just don't have a monster. Since, it conceals against any read.

As far as playing a cash game, it does have a lot of variables. And you always need to take those factors in, else you might lose your bankroll.

I would suggest you to find a good book and go through it and also try to disciple yourself a bit on your range and position since these are of the utmost importance.

 

[Tunas]

Instead of betting 3b, you could bet some lower money, to save for the future game.
I mean, if you are playing with an agressive player and 3bet pre flop, he calls, in the flop you got nothing, probably he will attack you and you wont have much choice, re-raise him or fold.
This way, if you fold, you will lose less chips!