The Three Bet
The three bet is extremely fashionable these days. If you’re in an online game and you’re not ultra aggressive, you’ll be berated on a moment’s notice by the other “better” players. Re-raising a preflop raiser is pretty much a status-linked move these days: regardless at what table you sit, you’ll always find someone abusing the three bet. These guys represent an excellent source of money, because both extremes of three betting (too wide ranges and too tight ranges) are exploitable and needless to say, most of these three bettors do indeed represent one of the extremes. Very few people know how to use the three bet in an optimal manner, and those who do waste little time at your low limit online cash tables.
Let’s take a closer look at the three-bet though, in order to make it simpler to understand how you can exploit other people’s three betting mistakes and how you can avoid making your own.
There are two kinds of three bets: the value three bet and the light three bet. The value three bet is extremely easy to understand and it is fairly straightforward from every respect: you basically re-raise your opponent with the aim of getting more money into the pot. To make a value three bet, you are supposed to have a hand which you’re quite certain is the best at the table.
Which hands you decide to three bet for value is a decision that depends on whole host of factors: your table image, the reads you have on your opponents, the range you put your opponents on, who the dominant force at the table is, etc. You need to remember one thing about it though: you do need to have some goods in your pocket to do it.
Against a reasonable TAG player for instance, your value three betting range is fairly easy to delimit: J,J up to A,A and A,K. A LAG player though calls for a different approach, and so does a rookie who is hell bent on seeing the flop on every pocket hand he picks up.
Like many other things in poker, correct three betting is a delicate balancing act: you bet too narrow a range, and you’ll become predictable faster than you’d think. You need to find a balance between betting valuable hands and not restricting your three betting range too much.
The light three bet is a different issue. It is basically a bluff, a semi-bluff to be more accurate. You can employ the light three bet on any hand you wish to, if you consider that the circumstances are right and that your opponents may fold: never forget that the primary goal of a light three bet is to make your opponents fold and to win the pot without seeing a flop. Therefore, a successful three bet carries some quite unexpected benefits too. Most online poker rooms do not charge you rake if you win the pot without seeing the flop. It’s called the “ no flop no drop” policy, but if you’re signed up for a nice rakeback deal like the 27% Full Tilt rakeback, the rake won’t pose much of a threat to you anyway.
In the case of the light three bet, you need to be careful not to make your three betting range too wide. Opponents will catch on and they will call you down if they realize what you’re after. The best type of target for your light three bet is a guy who is a light preflop raiser (there are plenty such people online, although many of these guys will call your three bet with 7,2o without hesitation). The theory is that since these guys raise light, you can re-raise them light too.
At the end of the day, the success of your three bet comes down to the table image you create for yourself. If your table has you filed as a tight aggressive player, you won’t get paid on your value three bets, but you will be able to light three bet successfully.
