3-Betting in NLHE, An Introduction

Since my online cash experience prior was not terribly profitable, even when I’d play TAG, I realized I needed to evaluate my play and really push outside of my own comfort zone to make myself a profitable player. While I am more of a natural nit than a gambler, I realized that I am successful for the most part when I establish an image and I play off it. Since online play usually involves gambling with new players, I found that I can drive action and build pots by 3-betting preflop.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, 3-betting is a preflop reraise, generally from later position or the blinds. This is a strong tournament play, but it also has its place in cash games. If timed properly, 3-betting can be used to bet for value, as a semibluff, or as a flat out bluff. Here are several benefits to 3-betting:

1. Isolation. By making a reraise in later position, you chase away drawing hands and stronger players (who can play post-flop). Often times, you will end up heads up against a scared open raiser. Most standard players are not calling a raise and a reraise. Not only are they worried about your holdings, but they have to worry about the initial raiser as well. These players are squeezed out of the pot. Since it’s easier to read and outplay 1 player, this is advantageous to skilled post flop players.

2. Value. If you have a big hand, you want to play a big pot, so you’re going to reraise preflop. However, if opponents realize that you only reraise when you have AA/KK/QQ/AKs, you’re not going to get called very much when you make these plays. You have to vary your play to maximize value long term. That means reraising with a wider range of hands… maybe even absolute junk once or twice every other session.

3. Table Image. Aggression wins pots, so being on the attack when you think (or know) you’re ahead builds up your potential and actual profit. I’m capable of raising preflop with any 2 cards, depending on my position and opponents. However, if I know that a player to my left is capable of reraising me more often than not, I am less likely to push the action. I have found recently that my willingness to 3-bet has tamed some aggressive opponents and has also allowed me to earn some cheap flops with value hands.

4. Overall equity. Many times, a 3-bet will take the blinds + the initial raise (total take of 3-5 total BB’s without seeing a flop), which is a nice win. However, you want to play big pots with your big hands. You want a player to go all in with a Q-4 against your AA. By choosing your spots and playing with discipline, you can add to your overall win rate. Sure, you might get reraised again (a 4-bet) and will have to fold, but long term, I believe that the play is a profitable one for building pot equity. Your end goal is to win all the money. You win all the money by playing big pots. Since many novice players are looser and more aggressive pre-flop than post-flop, you can take advantage of this tendency to build pots, then outplay them. Finally, as I have mentioned, when you have your monster hands, you’re more likely to get action because your opponents have more trouble putting you on a big one.

This is an outline and guide about why 3-betting can be a good play. I obviously don’t condone making it a usual play, but it should be a move in your poker toolbox. In just a few sessions, I have found that it works best if you are capable of changing gears to keep your opponents guessing. This is a risky play in micro and low games because your opponents are more erratic and also cannot get away from hands. You put yourself at risk to win or lose some big pots, but that’s the name of the game… If you time the move properly and mix up your hand ranges, you can confuse these lesser opponents and really drive a lot of value. My advice for new players is to play your game and quickly identify 3-bet candidates, then deploy this technique at the correct juncture. This tool is not always the best play, but if you master it, it can be profitable at these low stakes. I am still learning when and who to 3-bet, so as I figure it out, I’ll share it with all of you.

Next: Ideal 3-bet Circumstances

"Bob" Makes a Tough Laydown on a Dangerous Board, 2/11/09 Game

As we all know, a huge part of winning poker is trusting your reads, then making the right plays based on those reads. Getting away from big made hands when you think (or know) that you’re beat will save you huge in the long run. “Bob” and I played for a rather large side pot on Wednesday. While my move pushed him out of a decent-sized pot with the best hand, I think he analyzed the hand correctly and made a good laydown given his read of the situation. While the video below might read as a successful bluff by EMG, I think it is a great example of a winning play by a good player. I’d like to think I could make that laydown (and I have in the past), but I’ve also lost plenty of huge pots by failing to go with my gut...



Preflop: EMG middle position. His hand range for limping is rather wide. Given the tighter action at the table, he could have a medium pair, suited connectors, big cards, etc. In this case, he has AQ, which is an interesting play. Since he had been playing tight, limp-calling a moderate raise disguises the strength of his hand. In addition, in multi-way pots, a player can get away cheap on a flop that misses. Or, in the case of a raise and a big reraise, EMG can just throw his hand away rather than play a huge pot in middle position with AQ. Dooley has an okay hand with KJ offsuit. It is playable, but in position, he’s fine to pop it up to $2.50. Given his tighter image, he has a chance to scoop a quick $1.25 without a fight.

Fat Tony comes over the top for all of his chips on the short stack with AJ. I’m fine with this play. He is very likely to have the best hand right now. He is hoping for 2 live cards or a race against only 1 of the 2 remaining players. In this case, he is a 3:1 dog to EMG, but is a 3:1 favorite to Bob. EMG smooth calls a pretty large reraise after a limp. Bob should be suspicious about this play, but calling with 3.5:1 pot odds with big cards is an okay play here. The main pot is about $24.50, and EMG and Bob will play on the side.

The Flop: This is a scary flop for any hand that doesn’t hold a club. Even though Bob has an up-and-down straight draw, he could easily be beaten by a made flush/straight flush, the J of clubs is freerolling against him, and QJ has a made straight. EMG checks, so Bob wants to isolate for the main pot. His $10 bet is a little small, but he’s probing for information. He’s asking EMG, “Do you have a made hand or a big flush draw?”. EMG flat calls the raise, which probably says, “Yes, I have a big flush draw or a J.” The side pot is now $20, with the total pot around $44.50.

The Turn: Good news! You hit your straight with the Q. If EMG has a lone J, you are now crushing him with the nut straight. The Q is also not a club, meaning your opponent has not made a flush if he had the Ac or Kc. If I’m Bob, I feel pretty good about my situation. In a somewhat surprising move, EMG goes all in! You immediately have to replay the hand in your head. He limp-calls preflop, check-calls a decent bet on the flop, then pushes all in on the turn on that board? The likely hand range here: the made nut flush, AJ with a lone club, A-x with the Ac, a small made flush (like the 4c-5c), or KJ with a club. In real life, Bob thought about this for a long time before folding. It was an agonizing decision, and if he saw my cards, he would have instacalled. However, from his perspective, I played this very oddly, and he was completely caught off guard by the play.

The River: With Bob throwing away the best hand (correctly, as I noted), Fat Tony has the made straight, and it holds up for a decent pot. EMG scoops the side pot for a small net gain.

Analysis: Going through the hand from Bob’s perspective after the EMG all in, I have to eliminate the made flush. If EMG had the nut flush, he’d likely check-raise the turn to get all the chips in the middle. If he had a smaller flush, he’d probably fire on the flop and push the turn to protect his hand against a big club draw. If I’m in his shoes, I probably put him on a set of 8's, maybe KJ with the Kc, or maybe a hand like A-10 or A-Q with the Qc. Getting 3:1 on my money, I am getting the right price. I'm almost certainly beating most hands he could have bet that way with. Folding is not the right play there mathematically unless I am definitive that he has a made flush. It is a ballsy play by EMG, and I let him off the hook. Regardless, I (Bob) definitely put it in my memory bank for the future.

From my perspective (as EMG), I read physical weakness in Bob when he called Fat Tony’s all in behind me pre-flop. Even so, I checked a scary board on the flop, hoping to get a free draw at my flush. I expected a bet from Bob, but I read definite uncertainty in the way he bet that $10 on the flop. I flat called with pot odds to hit my flush and with an idea that I could push all in on the turn and probably take the side pot. I probably should have went with my read and reraised there (representing a made flush) and taken it down. I played a little scared, and it could have cost me dearly. The Q was actually a bad card for me because it made my opponent's hand and strengthened my own. My read was that Bob had J-10 with no clubs. I determined that I was about 80% likely to take the side pot right there with a shove, and I and might even be ahead of Fat Tony for the main pot. If I’m wrong, I still think I have the biggest club out there, so I have up to 9 outs on a redraw on the river.

Overall, that is a scary, scary board. It takes heart to fire out there to begin with, and it takes a ton of heart and discipline to make a fold like that. Hats off to Bob for playing well. Even though it turns out he didn’t make a correct decision based on the results, he made a read and trusted it. That is the important thing to take away here. Edit: In reading comments from others, Bob likely didn't make the best play. With 3:1 pot odds, he pretty much has to call.

Overplaying QQ: Another Case Study

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of QQ. Not only is it hot girl-on-girl action, it is a hugely powerful hand that can win you a big pot in NLHE. At the same time, it is beatable, and I have lost a lot of money with the hand. By sheer coincidence, Hulk busted early in a SNG tournament just yesterday by overplaying the hand. If played properly and in the right situations, QQ can do a lot for you. However, this situation last night is a clear case of overplaying the hand. It cost "Orange" his entire stack and may have caused him to tilt away more cash later.



Preflop: As you can see in the graphic above, Orange raised to $3 UTG. Not a typical play by some standards, but in our 25/50 cent game, raised go from $2 preflop to $5 or even $6 depending on the number of players in the pot. By raising, Orange is trying to limit the chances of marginal hands calling (and beating him). He would prefer to play this hand heads up. The loose-aggressive Pinata calls, and the tight-aggressive (but also tricky) EMG raises to $10.25. With action folded back around, you have 2 options because you're almost certainly not folding. You have significant set equity at the very least. You could also reraise if you put your opponent on a move. The fact that EMG reraised here should set off warning signals for Orange. While EMG will call preflop with a wide range of hands, why would he reraise preflop with 2 players already in the pot and field behind him and 5 players left to act? The hand range is small. AA, KK, QQ, maybe JJ, and maybe AK suited. QQ is unlikely, so you have to put him on AA or KK here. In this case, Orange smooth calls, a play that I agree with. There's no need to pot commit yourself with QQ against 1 tighter-aggressive opponent with a loose-aggressive player behind. Pinata also calls, but he's not getting reraised and can see a flop with a pot of $31.50 for $7.25 more, plus plenty of implied odds with some bigger stacks out there.

The Flop: Obviously, the flop missed you, but you have a big pair. The likelihood is that the flop missed EMG, but Pinata has to be watched. He could have flopped a straight draw, a set, or even 2 pair. In my opinion, you have to bet to see where you're at. Going for 1/3 to 1/2 of the pot or so is the best way to go. If you have the best hand and your opponent has AK or JJ/10's, you build the pot with a huge edge. You also get to read physical tells when your opponents think it through, and if you get reraised big, you can fold. Even if you get flat called by 1 or both opponents, you have 2 outs for a set, so there are implied odds. In this case, Orange tries to buy the pot with a $25 bet. I don't see this as a good EV play. You're likely only getting called by hands that are beating you, and if someone has a draw or a smallish pair, they're probably not calling. You're also pot committed with only $19.75 behind. Given the action, a huge overbet into 2 opponents, including a reraiser.

The Result: Here, Pinata folds (he was probably check-folding anyway), and EMG goes all in over the top. In this case, you have to know you're beat. In a tournament, you have to call here with the size of the pot. In a cash game, you can just fold and reload. No need to throw good money after bad. Orange calls with his QQ and EMG has KK. EMG rakes in a giant pot, Orange has to reload anyway.

Analysis: Most of what needs to be said here has already been said. Orange played way too first level and overbet his hand without a clear value proposition. When I am playing my best (and I definitely wasn't last night), I try to put my opponent on a hand range based on history, the betting action, and physical tells, then I try to plan out the hand in my head. There is also no shame in giving up a big pair or a made hand if you really think you're beat. As Mike Caro says, "Poker players get paid to make the right decisions. Money you don't lose needlessly is money won." No hand is unbeatable, especially on that kind of flop. Poker is about people more than anything else, and you have to get to that second level (what does my opponent have?) in order to make money consistently. Orange is normally better than that, but we all have blowups. I've been there, and I know that he will remember how he felt when he saw those Cowboys, and he'll learn and improve.

Officially Not My Week...

Okay, so in the last week, I have taken the beat described in the last post to get knocked out on the bubble. Here are some other beats I have taken:

I am in the BB with Q-10 and check my option. The flop comes Q-10-2. I check-call a pot-sized bet. The turn is a 7. I bet out and get raised all in. I call. My opponent has 7-2. The river is a 7 for a boat.

I am in the BB with 6-8. I check my option. The flop comes 5-7-9, so I have a made straight. I check, someone bets 3x the size of the pot, so I go all in, hoping for 2 pair. Even better, the player has the A-5 of clubs for 1 pair and a backdoor flush. Runner-runner flush, and I lose my stack.

I raise with 7's and get called by 2 players. The flop comes out 7-5-4 rainbow. Someone bets out. I call, the other player folds. The turn is an A. The player bets out, I go all in, he calls. The guy has K-6 suited for an up and down straight draw and rivers a 3 for a straight.

I am in late position against a new player. I have Q's. The new player raises to $.40. I flat call to see a flop. The flop comes K-10-3, rainbow. The new player just shoves. I think about it, and I decide he's full of it. I call. He has A-Q for an inside draw. He rivers a J for Broadway.

Note: The new player turns out to be a human ATM. For him, any pair on a board warrants an all in. He is also lucky, outcatching JJ with A-5, etc. I have a pretty good read on him.

I pick up 10's in second position. The turbo-donk pushes all in UTG. I call with 10's. The button calls with AK. The turbo donk has Q-9 of diamonds. The flop comes 10-5-2, 2 diamonds. The turn is a blank, and the river is a 3d. Turbo donk takes my stack and doubles through AK. I scream in anger.


Don't know what more I can do. I'm getting my money in really good, and my luck is just terrible right now. I'm trying to stay vigilant and keep playing my game. It's just hard to remain positive and focused when these hits keep coming.

Texas Crint Hosts a Game, 1/25

Played a lunch money-esque game at Texas Crint’s house last night from 6 PM – 8:45 PM (give or take). In attendance during my session were Texas Crint, MH62, Julio, Pinata, and Big John. It was a 6-handed game, so starting hand values went up, obviously. I was decently card dead for a lot of the time, and I didn’t play well. I made a theoretically bad laydown to Pinata, who pushed all in on a board of J-7-2 after raising preflop, and I had Turkey Nerd (7-4). It was a $17 raise into a $10 pot, and I tanked for a while, then folded, putting him on A-7/K-7, meaning I had 3 outs at best. He showed the bluff with 10-5. Not sure if I should have made that play, but I likely had outs if I had. Later, Texas Crint caught a 3 outer on my J-10 with J-2, and I paid him off on the river (read it like a busted flush draw, which was realistic given the way the hand was played). I later made a stupid all in call of $14 against Pinata, who had flopped a boat. After that, I was decently scared and totally card-dead. Not at all a good combination. I technically could have quit, but I wanted to grind through it. I didn't take unnecessary risks, which I am happy about... I saw 1 pocket pair and zero double suited hands in 12 Omahahands. I think I saw only 2 suited hands total in my Omaha time, which is quite odd. I played them tight and really didn’t invest much in these weak starting hands, which was good.

Overall, I was stuck $50, which is not terrible, but I missed a few bets and should have called Pinata's all in early and not called that last $14 later. Given my cards, I estimate that I should have been stuck about $20, but I played well below my best for the last hour, and that led to the poor result. Chalk up $30 in losses to bad play and $20 in losses to variance.

Hand Histories (I need a straw from all that sucking out...)

As I mentioned before, I was a bit of a suckout king last night. I hit 3-outers in 3 large hands against better A's, plus my lovely 5-2 rivered straight. See below for some of the highlights. Critique and discussion is welcome!

• Early in the session, I picked up AsJc in the BB. Pinata raised it up in early position to $3, and there were 2 callers. I thought about reraising, but I opted to flat call, with the plan of possibly betting or check-raising the flop depending on “texture”. The flop came out A-J-7, rainbow, so I had top 2 pair. I checked, hoping that someone (namely Pinata) had AK, AQ, A-10, or A-7, so I could get it all in as a favorite. My main worry was 77 because it was less likely he spiked the case J or the case A. He bet $12 (pot bet), making the pot about $24, and I had about $35 behind me. I thought for a second, thinking about flat-calling. If I flat-called, I’d have $20-25 behind me, and the pot would be $36, meaning that if a “scare” card came on the turn, I wouldn’t have enough to push him off it. I thought about pushing, and he told me I’d get called. I decided he had AK or AQ and pushed. He had AK. Blanks on the turn/river, and I raked a nice $75-80 pot.
  
  
• We saw quads last night, though not the easily concealed kind. Essentially, Dooley had raised in early position on every street with a board of A-9-x. The turn and river were both 9’s. The pot was around $25, and he bet $10. Pinata reraised all in for about $18 more. Dooley went into the tank and said out loud, “I think you have the 9 for quads…” For some reason, he ended up flipping a coin (literally) to decide whether to call with his A (aces full of 9’s). He called, and Pinata dragged a nice pot.
  
  
• About 25 mins later, I got AJ again in middle position. MH6-2, an aggressive player, raised to $3. Wanting to isolate and maybe take down a $4 pot, I reraised to $11. It folded back around to him, and he stared me down. The longer he stared me down, the better I felt that I had the best hand. He is capable of making that raise with suited connectors, KQ, KJ, etc. He is also capable of having a big pair, but I didn’t get that sense. I felt like he was really trying to read me and decide if pushing ($14.75 more) would win the pot or if he was ahead. He did push, and I thought heavily about calling. The pot was $22.75 + his $14.75 for a total of $37.50. I had about 3:1 to call. If I had a better A, I was 3:1 to win. If he had an underpair, I was about 48% to win. If he had a bigger A, I was 1:3 to lose. Given those possibilities, I decided to call. He had AQ, and I caught a J on the river to stack him. Sucky suckout, and I hate doing it to people, but I’ll take the money.
  
  
• Around 10:15, I got Q-3 of hearts on the button. It was limped around, so I called the 50 cents more with 5 people in the pot. The flop was 4-3-3, 2 diamonds. It was checked around to me, so I checked trying to trap. The turn was a 5 of spades, putting a 3 card straight and 2 flush draws on the board. I felt like maybe I could have the best hand, but I definitely feared a diamond draw or a made straight with 6-7. The pot was only $2.50, but it was raised in early position, and MH6-2 reraised to $6. I put him on a 4-7 or a flush draw, so I flat called. The original raiser folded, making the pot $16.50. The river was a blank. MH bet $10, and I called, hoping my set was good. He had the 6-7 for a nice $36.50 pot.
  
  
• I caught on Pinata again for a $35 pot with A-9. Caught 2 pair on the flop and check-called, then bet the turn, and rivered a full house and value bet it at $13. He called with AJ (I think), and I showed the boat.
  
  
• My favorite hand that I played last night was when I had 5-2 of diamonds in mid/late position. There was an UTG raise to $2 (a “mini-raise”), and MH6-2 called. There was one other late position caller, making the starting pot about $8.75. The flop came out K-4-3, with 1 diamond, giving me the up and down straight draw and a backdoor flush draw. The original raiser led out for $6. MH6-2 folded (turned out to be 8’s), and I opted to flat call heads up and in position. The turn was the 8 of diamonds, pissing off MH, but I added a flush draw to my straight. For some reason, the bet was pretty tiny ($8). I felt like he had a big K or maybe a garbage 2 pair, and he was value betting me. I didn’t put him on a flush draw because he led out in early position. I felt if I hit any of my 15 outs (9 diamonds, 3 6’s + 3 A’s), I would get paid. I flat called the $8, making the pot $36. The river was a black A, so no flush, but the nut straight (and very nicely concealed). He bet out $12, and I sat and thought about how much I could raise and get paid. I decided on an $18 reraise ($30 total). If he had a set or a big 2 pair, he’d maybe reraise, and I could get all my money in. If he had a smaller 2 pair or maybe KQ, I would get a call. He had K-4 (2 pair) and called. I dragged a $96 pot.
  
  
• Sick value check from Pinata against MH6-2. There was a 3-5 on the board, and MH made a comment when calling a $20 bet that he was looking to catch his draw. There were no flushes on the board. A 2 came on the river. MH checked, and Pinata immediately checked behind with 2-pair, stating that MH’s 4-6 was good with a straight. Awesome read.

Live Cash Session, 1/14/09

Played last night at the “Lunch Money Game”. Some of the usual crowd was there: Fat Tony (the host), Guido, Pinata, MH6-2. We were missing Captain Insane-O (AKA Shrek), Texas Crint, Big John, and the Blind Master River King from the usual crew. I went into the game deciding to be more aggressive and to raise in position and attack the raisers, specifically the more aggressive players like MH, Pinata, and Guido. I played about 50% of my hands and really didn’t lay down any solid starting hands without a raise and a reraise in front of me. Overall, I think I played well, though I didn’t have many premium hands. The best pocket pair I saw all night was 8’s, but it was on a misdeal. I didn’t have AK or AQ, either. I suppose the poker gods repaid my “bad luck” in that regard with some lucky catches. I turned that luck into a $74 profit.

Overall, I think I played well. I don’t think I missed any big betting opportunities, and I used my image of somewhat tight, but tricky to steal some pots. People tend to give me credit for a hand when I bet or check-raise, so I try to mix that stuff up. However, I also vary my play from hand to hand based on how I think people are perceiving me. So, if I think people think I’m playing too fast, and I pick up a big hand, I’ll raise hoping to get reraised or called. Likewise, if I think people consider me very tight, I’ll raise preflop and continuation bet with 4-2. I like to think that I am capable of making moves at any time based on the situation, but I want to get more aggressive in my cash game because I sometimes get too little action on my big hands. If I play a little more aggressive, I think I can win more over the long term while not putting my money in the middle when I know I’m flat beat. I have to trust my reads and not be scared to lose $10 here and there. Last night was Phase I of my plan to play better and more aggressively in 2009, and the results are solid, albeit thanks to some luck. Some hand histories will follow.

I am definitely looking forward to EMHD 2 on Saturday. I think last night was a nice session for me, and I think that I can use my tournament strategy knowledge + basic reading ability and turn it into some cash (and points towards the prize).