The Three Bet

If you’re playing a cash game on a full tit poker ring table you’re going to run into the opportunities where you need to three bet your opponent. There are a couple different reasons for three betting your opponent and we’re going to take a look at those in this guide. The first thing I want to comment on quickly is that when you’re three betting your opponent there are a lot of things to consider and it is never going to work out every time.

The two different reasons for three betting an opponent are simple and they are because you have a real hand or because you’re bluffing your opponent. If you have a premium hand then you’re obviously three betting for value because you want your opponent to come over the top. If you’re three betting as a bluff because you want to take the pot down then you’re going to need to most likely fold to a four-bet.

There are several important factors that you need to consider when you’re three betting as a bluff. You need to consider the opponent you’re playing against and whether or not you have any history against each other. If you have history against each other then you need to figure out what range your opponent would re-raise you with. If they are loose then they may have nothing whereas if they don’t play many hands they probably have a monster hand.

Not only do you need to consider the range your star poker opponent is on, but you also need to consider how your opponent is going to react when you three bet them. You need to try and think back to previous hands and determine whether your opponent has been three betted in the past and what they did. If they folded to a three bet in the past then you might get away with a three bet bluff. If your opponent is known to be very loose with calling big bets then you might not want to three bet on a bluff because there is a good chance they will come over the top.

Another factor you need to consider when you’re bluffing a three bet is how much your opponent has re-raised you. If your opponent has made a $20 pot $100 then you might need to think twice about popping the pot up again. If your opponent has only made a minimum re-raise then they might be just feeling you out although they could also have a monster. When you three bet your opponent online you will find that the result is your opponent folding in most cases. You will get caught sometimes when three betting and someone will eventually move all-in on you, but this is expected.

Now you have an idea of why you should three bet your opponents. If you don’t know things like this at the poker table then you’re not going to be as successful as you can be. Make sure when you’re three betting on a bluff that your opponent isn’t already pot committed. You should also try and ensure that you don’t commit yourself to a pot when you’re bluffing on a three bet because you don’t want to be forced into a call if you get re-raised again.