How to 3-Bet Like a Pro | Upswing Poker Level-Up

Summary

In the Upswing Poker Level Up podcast, Mike Brady discusses three betting strategies with Gary Blackwood. They cover when to three bet, deciding hands for value, bluff candidates, sizing, and the impact of position and stack depth on three bet strategy. The conversation emphasizes the importance of a balanced three bet range and provides insights into specific hand ranges for different positions.

Takeaways

• 🃏 The importance of a well-thought-out three-bet strategy has increased due to its frequent use in modern poker play.
• ⚒️ Players should adapt their three-bet strategy based on their position and the position of their opponent's open raise.
• 📏 The size of the three-bet is crucial and should be adjusted based on the opponent's raise size and stack depth.
• 🔑 Including bluffs in the three-bet range is essential for balance and to avoid being exploitable by opponents.
• 👜 The value range for three-betting is narrower from early position but widens as the opening position becomes later.
• 📉 The impact of rake on win rates should be minimized by avoiding flat calls, which can be achieved by a three-bet or fold strategy.
• 🤔 The three-bet size should be larger out of position to discourage opponents from calling with a wide range of hands.
• 💡 Board coverage is important in the three-bet bluff range to ensure profitability on various flop textures.
• 🛑 Disastrous hands like pocket threes or suited gappers should be avoided in the three-bet range as they are poor bluff candidates.
• 🔄 The range of hands to three-bet from the small blind is significantly wider against a button raise compared to an early position raise.
• 💰 The advanced solver ranges from Upswing Poker Lab provide a valuable tool for players looking to refine their three-bet strategy.

Q & A

What is the main topic of discussion in the Upswing Poker Level Up podcast episode?

The main topic of discussion is three betting in poker, specifically how to approach three betting, also known as reraising before the flop.

Why is having a well-thought-out three bet strategy important according to Gary Blackwood?

Gary Blackwood emphasizes that a well-thought-out three bet strategy is important because three betting is now a common part of the game and opponents are likely to have solid three bet strategies themselves.

How does position affect the value three bet range according to the discussion?

Position significantly affects the value three bet range. For instance, when facing an early position open, the value range is narrower, but it widens when facing a late position open like the cutoff.

What is the general sizing strategy for three bets in and out of position?

The general sizing strategy is to go three times the opponent's raise size when in position and four times when out of position.

Why is it suggested to adjust the three bet size when facing smaller opens from opponents?

Adjusting the three bet size is suggested to counter opponents who open with smaller sizes to keep the pot small out of position. If only a standard three times the raise size is used, it allows them to exploit the player.

Why is it important to include bluffs in the three bet range?

Including bluffs in the three bet range is crucial for maintaining balance. Without bluffs, the range would be too narrow and exploitable, and the player would miss out on opportunities to win pots with a wider range.

What types of hands are considered good three bet bluffs according to Gary?

Hands like suited ace x, suited double broadway, and low suited connectors are considered good three bet bluffs, especially from certain positions like the big blind.

How does the stack depth affect the optimal three bet size?

Stack depth affects the optimal three bet size by requiring adjustments based on the depth of the stacks. Smaller stacks may require a smaller three bet size for more post-flop playability, while deeper stacks may allow for a slightly larger size.

What is the special consideration for three bet sizing from the big blind position?

From the big blind position, a more polarized range is used, which often includes a higher three bet size, such as 4.5 times the original raise, to reflect the polarized hand range and being out of position.

What is the recommended approach for playing from positions like the cutoff or middle position?

The recommended approach is to play a three bet or fold strategy from these positions to avoid the negative impacts of flatting, such as capped range and increased vulnerability to squeeze plays.

What is the Upswing Poker Lab and how can it help players improve their three bet strategy?

The Upswing Poker Lab is a training course that provides advanced solver ranges and over 85 lessons covering crucial strategy topics, play and explain videos, and access to a community for discussions, which can significantly help players refine their three bet strategy.

Outlines

00:00

🎲 Introduction to Three Betting Strategy

In this segment, Mike Brady introduces the topic of three betting in poker, also known as reraising before the flop. He is joined by Gary Blackwood, a Scottish cash game pro and coach, who discusses the importance of having a well-thought-out three bet strategy. Gary explains that three betting is more common now than in the past, and players are expected to have a solid strategy. They delve into when to three bet over an open raise, how to decide which hands to three bet for value, and the importance of including bluffs in the three bet range. The conversation also touches on the impact of position and opening size on three bet sizing.

05:00

📈 Value and Bluff in Three Betting Ranges

Mike and Gary continue their discussion on three betting, focusing on the value and bluff aspects of the strategy. Gary emphasizes the need for a balanced range that includes both value hands and bluffs to avoid being predictable. They discuss the types of hands that make good bluffs, such as suited ace-x hands and unsuited double broadway hands, and caution against including hands like pocket threes or ace-nine offsuit in the bluff range. The conversation also covers the importance of board coverage and the potential for exploitation if the opponent knows there are no bluffs in the three bet range.

10:00

🔍 Positional Impact on Three Bet Sizing

In this paragraph, Gary and Mike explore how position affects three bet sizing and ranges. They discuss the importance of adjusting the size based on whether the player is in position or out of position, with larger sizes used out of position to discourage opponents from continuing with a wide range. Gary also mentions the special case of the big blind position, where a more polarized range and a larger three bet size are used. The discussion extends to how stack depth influences three bet sizing, suggesting smaller sizes for shorter stacks and larger sizes for deeper stacks.

15:03

🚫 Avoiding Flats and Three Bet or Fold Strategy

The final paragraph of the script addresses the strategy of avoiding flats and adopting a three bet or fold approach from certain positions. Gary explains the benefits of this strategy, such as avoiding the squeeze play from players behind and reducing the impact of the rake on results. Mike adds that this approach simplifies post-flop play and allows players to take advantage of opponents who struggle against three bets. They also discuss situations where calling might be more appropriate, such as in tournaments with antes or when facing weak players. The episode concludes with a quiz on three betting hands from the cutoff position in a specific scenario.

Keywords

💡Three betting

Three betting, also known as reraising before the flop, is a poker strategy where a player raises after an initial raise has been made. It is a crucial aspect of modern poker gameplay, as it allows players to assert dominance and potentially narrow down their opponent's hand range. In the script, Mike and Gary discuss the importance of having a well-thought-out three-bet strategy and the factors that influence when and how to three bet.

💡Value three bet

A value three bet is when a player three bets with a hand that they believe is strong and likely to win at showdown if not challenged. This concept is integral to the video's theme as it helps players decide which hands are worth the additional investment. Gary explains that the value range for three betting varies by position and the position of the opponent's open.

💡Bluff three bet

A bluff three bet is when a player three bets with a weaker hand with the intention of making their opponent fold a better hand. This is important for maintaining balance in a player's range and for exploiting opponents who may not have a solid three-bet strategy. The script mentions that including bluffs is essential to avoid being predictable and to maximize equity.

💡Three bet sizing

Three bet sizing refers to the amount a player chooses to raise after an initial raise. It's a critical factor in poker strategy as it can influence the opponent's decision to call or fold. The script discusses how sizing should vary based on position, the size of the original raise, and stack depth.

💡Position

In poker, position refers to the order in which players act relative to the dealer button. It is a fundamental concept because it affects the information available to a player when making decisions. The script emphasizes how being in position or out of position significantly impacts three bet sizing and range.

💡Stack depth

Stack depth is the amount of chips a player has in relation to the size of the big blind. It affects betting strategy, including three bet sizing. The script explains that adjustments are made to three bet sizing based on whether the stacks are deep or shallow.

💡Board coverage

Board coverage refers to the range of community card combinations that a player's hand can beat. It's important for three betting because it ensures that a player has a hand that can win on various flops. The script mentions the need for board coverage to avoid being vulnerable on certain flop textures.

💡Polarized range

A polarized range in poker consists of only the strongest hands and the weakest hands, with few hands in between. This concept is discussed in the context of three betting from the big blind, where players may choose to have a polarized range to maximize their potential win while minimizing risk.

💡Squeeze

A squeeze is a three-bet made by a player in late position against an initial raiser and a flat caller. It's a strategy used to exploit the flat caller's weaker range. The script touches on the importance of avoiding flats in certain positions to prevent being squeezed.

💡Rake

The rake is the commission charged by a poker room from the pot. It's a factor that affects the profitability of certain plays, such as flatting. The script points out that excessive flatting can lead to a significant loss of winnings due to the cumulative effect of the rake.

💡Three bet or fold

A three bet or fold strategy is an approach where a player either three bets or folds in response to a raise, with no calling in between. This strategy is highlighted in the script as a modern and effective way to play poker, especially from certain positions, to avoid being exploited by opponents.

Highlights

Three betting is a crucial part of modern poker strategy due to its increased frequency in games.

Having a solid three bet strategy is important to counter opponents who also have well-thought-out strategies.

The value of three betting varies by position and the position of the opponent's open.

Three bet sizing should be dynamic, typically three times the raise size in position and four times out of position.

Smaller opening sizes may require larger three bet sizes to prevent exploitation.

Balance in the three bet range is essential to avoid being too predictable.

Bluffing hands in the three bet range should include suited aces, suited double broadways, and some suited connectors.

Hands to avoid in the three bet bluff range include pocket threes, king-ten offsuit, and suited gappers.

From the big blind, a wider range of hands can be three bet, including some suited hands and offsuit aces.

Three bet sizing from the big blind should be polarized, often 4.5 times the original raise.

Stack depth affects three bet sizing, with adjustments for deeper or shorter stacks.

In position versus out of position play requires different sizing and range considerations.

Three bet or fold strategy is recommended from positions like the cutoff and small blind to avoid being exploited.

Playing a three bet or fold strategy simplifies post-flop play and leverages opponents' weaknesses against three bets.

Example provided of hands to three bet from the cutoff against a hijack raise in a two-five cash game.

Advanced solver ranges from the Upswing Poker Lab offer detailed strategies for three betting.

Transcripts

(Mike) Welcome to Upswing Poker Level Up,

the show that helps you get better at poker fast.

My name is Mike Brady and I've got Scottish cash game pro and coach Gary

Blackwood on the line to talk about how to approach three betting,

AKA reraising before the flop.

(Gary) Thanks for having me, Mike.

Very happy to be here covering a very important topic.

Let's get straight into it.

(Mike) Yeah, so we're going to talk about when to three bet over an open raise,

how to decide which hands to three bet for value and reveal the hands that are

the best three bet bluff candidates.

We'll also get into the nitty gritty of three bet sizing and discuss critical

factors that should impact your three bet strategy.

Let's start with something simple but important.

Why is it important to have a well thought out three bet strategy?

(Gary) Well,

I think that's a great question to start with and there are two really important

reasons for us to have a solid three bet strategy.

The first one is that three betting used to happen a whole lot less than it does

now.

People used to play so many flats compared to how they play now and now many

great players play three bet or fold from so many different positions.

It's just so much more common and therefore a very important part of the game.

Secondly, given how common it is these days,

you can bet that your opponents will have a really solid three bet strategy

themselves. So it's really important that ours are up to scratch as well.

(Mike) Yeah, not every opponent, if you're playing low stakes live,

micro stakes online, maybe some of your opponents don't know what they're doing,

might have unreasonable three bet strategies,

should maybe listen to this podcast, but Gary is right.

Most players out there who are thinking players are going to have solid three

bet strategies these days.

The first step to building a three betting range is to consider which hands you

want to three bet for value. So Gary,

how do you decide which hands are good enough to three bet for value pre flop?

(Gary) Well,

it varies by position and also which position our opponent has opened from.

For example, if under the gun opens and we're under the gun plus one,

our value range is much narrower because our opponent has opened from under the

gun and therefore has a tighter range themselves. But if the cutoff opens,

we get to really widen that value range up.

A perfect example is that some pre-flop charts will have you folding ace queen

offsuit a little bit and folding ace eight suited pure, MP versus under the gun.

But when the cutoff opens,

we've got ace jack and ace ten offsuit in our range along with all the suited

ace X and some other hands in there as well.

(Mike) So you touched on there how position should impact your value three bet

threshold, but how does the open size impact it?

(Gary) So this is a really good question and it's really important that we don't

have just one three bet size.

Generally we want to go three times our opponent's raise size when we're in

position and four times when we're out of position. However,

people have gotten pretty smart these days.

They know that when they open from under the gun and MP,

they're going to play a pot out of position very often and therefore they use a

smaller opening size to counter this.

So if our opponent uses a standard 2.5x open size,

then just three betting to three times that raise size is fine.

But if somebody opens to 2.2x or even a min raise,

they're doing this to keep the pot small out of position.

So if we only three bet to three times that raise,

we're allowing them to exploit us. So versus those smaller opens,

I tend to size up slightly, go around 3.5 times to stop that happening.

In terms of the range,

unless it's a really big open or a really crazy player that's opening,

I think our range should stay the same whether it's a min open,

2.5 times or three times.

(Mike) Alright, now that we have the value range nailed down,

let's talk about balancing that value range with bluffs. First of all,

why is it important to include some bluffs in your three bet range?

(Gary) Well, I think the answer lies in the question. We need to be balanced.

If our range is just value only,

we're not three betting anywhere near wide enough and as a result we're costing

ourselves a lot of EV.

Say we three bet cutoff versus MP and the flop comes down king six deuce,

rainbow.

We just get to bet our entire range there and our opponent folds so much.

So if we've got value only,

we're missing out on all these spots where we easily just C bet and win the pot

because our range is wide enough. There are also things like board coverage.

So if we don't have the six five suited in our three bet range,

big blind versus MP for example,

when the flop comes down seven four three or six five deuce,

our range is really struggling. And lastly,

we just become really exploitable if our opponent knows that we don't have any

bluffs and are very, very value heavy.

It's really good for your image to show down nine high in a three bet pot

sometimes.

(Mike) What types of hands make the best three bet bluffs?

(Gary) Let's talk about the big blind blasts.

We three bet a different range from the big blind,

but all the other positions really favor high cards. Suited ace x,

suited double broadway, even versus late position.

We have some unsuited double broadway in our range,

all those mergey type hands which are kind of on the line between being a value

bet and a bluff.

We also throw in some low suited connectors at a smallish frequency and we

immediately have a very solid, pretty wide three bet range.

Hands that should not be in there are hands like pocket threes,

king ten offsuit,

ace nine offsuit and definitely no suited gappers like six four suited,

nine seven suited, jack eight suited.

These are disaster three bets and we should always be folding these hands pre

flop. Onto the big blind now, and this is where we see some really funky hands,

especially versus the small blind and versus the button.

We'll have all the hands that we've just mentioned,

but we've also got some queen eight suited,

jack seven suited hands versus the button and then versus the small blind,

we have such a crazy wide range including hands like king eight offsuit,

ace deuce offsuit, ten deuce suited and so on.

I just want to quickly say that big blind versus small blind we three bet so

many hands like this and it's so important that we find these three bets and

that's because we get to deny so much equity from better hands that have to

simply fold versus that three bet. If you look at king six offsuit for example,

say the small blind opens and we three bet the big blind with king six offsuit,

we fold out all the better king x, like king ten, king nine, king seven suited,

and so many hands like ace four, ace eight offsuit, all those better hands.

And if our opponent does peel our three bet,

we're playing a three bet pot in position,

which is actually a very profitable situation for us.

(Mike) All right, so we've covered value three bets generally.

We've covered bluff three bets generally and later on in this episode I want to

kind of do an example range where we talk about the specific hands we would

three bet in a specific positional matchup.

But before we get into that, I want to clarify one thing.

So you had talked a little bit about three bet sizing earlier going about three

times the original raise in position and four times the original raise out of

position,

but there's one position that's very special and actually requires a little bit

of an adjustment in three bet sizing.

Can you talk about what that position is and what size to use Gary?

(Gary) Yeah, absolutely.

We've just spoken about our big blind three bet strategy.

The big blind is the only position where we're really quite polarized.

So when we're out of position from the big blind versus the button,

we've got jack seven suited and queen eight suited.

We don't have those types of hands from the small blind and therefore we're a

little more polarized. And I like my sizing scheme to reflect this.

I generally go 4.5x just to allow my sizing to reflect the fact that I'm

polarized and I've got some hands in there that I don't have when I'm in the

small blind.

(Mike) Yeah, a little fun fact for people.

If you ever watch those super high roller tournaments with some of the best

players in the world battling with very deep stacks,

you'll see three bet sizes out of the big blind upwards of seven times,

eight times the original raise because they're just really trying to pump up the

pot with a very polarized range. Always interesting to see that, but yeah,

generally speaking, if you're playing 100 BB cash, like Gary said, 4.5x,

5x the original raise is going to do just fine.

So continuing our discussion on three bet sizing,

how does stack depth change the optimal size?

Are you adjusting your size when stacks get deeper or when stacks get shorter?

(Gary) It's really simple to adjust to different stack sizes because obviously

not everyone plays 100 big blinds deep all the time.

If you're playing against a shorter stack,

you want to just go a little smaller with your three bet size to allow for a

little more playability post flop. And on the flip side,

when you're playing a little deeper,

you just want to size up ever so slightly to account for those deeper stacks.

(Mike) Yeah, and if you want some related reading on that topic,

go ahead and Google stack to pot ratio.

You'll find an article on Upswing Poker that covers that concept quite in depth

and it's kind of the key concept behind why you want to increase your three bet

size when you're deeper. There's one other thing I want to add there too.

If you watch the Doug Polk versus Daniel Negreanu heads up challenge,

you may have noticed Doug was actually decreasing his three bet size when he was

out of position as stacks got deeper and he increased all of his raise

sizes when he was in position.

I think this is a heads up exclusive concept because the best six max players in

the world don't do that, but a lot of the best heads up players in the world do.

The very interesting and nerdy reason behind it. When stacks get deeper,

the value of position goes up.

So by making the three bet size smaller out of position,

your opponent is winning more of a smaller pot. Now again,

that's pretty esoteric stuff if you don't play heads up,

it's kind of totally irrelevant to you,

but it's something I just wanted to throw out there. Alright,

I want to flesh out in position versus out of position play a little bit more.

So Gary,

can you speak to in position versus out of position three bet sizing and ranges

a little bit more?

(Gary) So our range that three bets is quite similar to be honest whether we're

in position or out of position.

And the difference is that we use a larger three bet size out of position.

Think about just how wide your opponent could peel if you used a 3x three bet

size out of position,

they would just continue their whole range with such a great price and the fact

that they're in position. So we have to use that bigger size out of position.

But like I said,

the range that three bets is really quite similar and the fundamentals of a

tighter range versus an EP open and a wider range versus a later position open,

they still stay the same.

(Mike) Let's talk about some specific ranges.

Let's take the small blind for example. Gary,

can you talk about the type of range that you would three bet from the small

blind versus an early position raise and then compare that to the range you'd

three bet from the small blind versus a button raise?

(Gary) Yeah,

so I'm looking at the advanced solver ranges from the Upswing Poker Lab to

compare these two spots and say EP opens,

our range is really quite narrow here that when we three bet from the small

blind, we've got pocket eights and above,

all the suited broadways and some ace queen and ace five suited.

That's such a narrow range and if we compare that to small blind versus button

where we've got way more suited ace x, king jack offsuit, ten eight suited,

pocket fives, it's just so much wider and it's important that we understand why.

Under the gun's opening range is tight and our range has got to be tight as a

result, but when the button opens,

their range is really wide and our range can get much, much wider as a result.

The exact same logic applies to in position, the wider the opening range,

the wider our three betting range becomes.

We should also try and play a strategy that involves no flats in the cutoff or

in middle position. And there are two huge reasons for this. Firstly,

if we flat, we kind of cap ourselves to never having hands like aces, kings,

ace king and then the players behind can just make our lives a misery by

squeezing relentlessly and we just end up out of position with a weak range so

often and bleeding money on the flop. Secondly, the rake,

the rake is really high, higher than some of us might realize,

and if we're flatting too much then the rake starts to eat away at our win

rates. But if we three bet correctly,

it has much less of an impact on our results.

So let's be sure we're not flatting in the cutoff and MP or in the small blind

and we're playing a three bet or fold strategy from all of these positions.

(Mike) Yeah, playing a three bet or fold strategy from the small blind.

I think that's something that a lot of players have been doing for a long time,

but it's a little bit more of a modern approach to also play three bet or fold

from those other positions like the cutoff, like middle position,

early position if you're playing a nine handed game and Gary touched on the

reasons why you do that,

the rake really makes your calls suffer and there's the potential that you will

face a squeeze behind which puts you in a really, really tough spot. And lastly,

of course your range is really capped. When you call a raise from the cutoff,

it's pretty clear the types of hands you're going to have.

You're going to have pocket pairs,

you're going to have some double broadway hands, maybe like a jack ten suited,

maybe some offsuit aces like an ace jack, ace queen offsuit.

It's just kind of obvious for your opponent which boards are going to connect

with that range.

It's going to prevent them from paying you off when you hit a strong hand,

it's going to allow them to bluff you effectively.

It's just a situation you can avoid by playing three bet or fold. Now that said,

there are situations that make sense to call. Really obvious one,

in tournaments or in any situation where there's an ante,

it makes a lot more sense to start having a calling range because that price

that you're getting is so much better pre-flop. Additionally,

if you have some really weak players behind or maybe the player that raised is

very weak and in addition you have weak players behind,

you can start to consider mixing in some calls because in those situations you

want to take advantage of the player who raised if they're a bad player and

you're not really worried about the players behind squeezing you out of the pot

because well, they're not going to do it very often.

So there are some situations that you can keep your eye out for to start having

some calls, but generally speaking as a default strategy,

you're going to want to play that three bet or fold approach.

It's also going to be a lot easier for you to play post-flop because when you

three bet your range is going to be a lot stronger,

it's a more simplified approach. It really just makes a lot of sense.

One last note,

a lot of poker players really suck at playing against three bets and playing

three bet pots. They get scared, they get timid.

Sometimes certain guys get spewy.

You get to take advantage of that by three betting more often. Alright,

we've covered a lot of ground in this short episode,

but I want to wrap it up with a quick example and it's going to be a little bit

of a quiz too. So suppose you're in a two five cash game,

your opponent in the hijack raises to $15. You're in the cutoff,

one seat to his left.

What hands are you going to be three betting there if you're playing a three bet

or fold strategy that has no calls? Pause the podcast really quick,

consider what hands you'd three bet and then Gary will reveal the answer when

you unpause.

(Gary) So let's start with our pocket pairs. We've got eights, nines, tens,

jacks, queens, kings and aces. We've got all of our suited broadways, jack ten,

queen ten, et cetera. We've even got king queen offsuit, ace queen offsuit,

ace five and ace four suited as well as ace nine suited.

And then we've got ace jack offsuit and then sometimes rather infrequently we've

got seven six, six five and five four suited. Really important we find these,

but not too often because obviously we need that board coverage.

As mentioned earlier in the podcast, if the board comes down six five deuce,

you're just struggling on a board like that if you don't have these suited

connectors from time to time.

(Mike) Yeah, and Gary,

I believe you were reading right off the advanced solver ranges right there.

(Gary) That's right. A really fantastic tool that all the Upswing members have.

The advanced solver ranges are fantastic. I strongly recommend them.

(Mike) Yeah, so if you want to get access to the advanced solver ranges,

all you have to do is sign up for the Upswing Lab training course on

upswingpoker.com. You don't just get the ranges too.

You also get 85 plus lessons that each cover a crucial strategy topic,

hundreds of play and explain videos in which the coaches demonstrate a winning

strategy and access to a community where you can ask questions, get answers,

and participate in discussions that will help you improve your skills.

Keep in mind, you can cancel any time,

you're not locked into a contract or anything like that.

We hate contracts and would never impose them on our members. Anyway,

thanks very much for listening to the three betting episode of the Upswing Poker

Level Up Podcast. We'll see you next time. (Gary) Take care guys.

See you next time.