3-betting
Reraising before the flop: when you do it, with which hands, and how big.
3-betting is raising again after somebody has already raised before the flop. The big blind counts as the first bet, the open raise as the second, so your reraise is the third: hence the name. A good 3-bet immediately puts your opponent in front of an awkward question, while calling puts that question to you instead. Anyone who learns to 3-bet plays less passively and takes the initiative more often.
Why 3-betting is stronger than calling
Calling with a strong hand feels safe, but it leaves three advantages on the table. You do not build a pot while you are probably ahead. You give the blinds a cheap chance to come in, which means you more often have to play against several players. And you tell nobody anything, so after the flop you sit in a small pot with no plan. A 3-bet does the opposite: a bigger pot with the best hand, fewer opponents, and the initiative with you. The open raiser has to react instead of you.
The value hands: the core of your 3-bet
The foundation is simple: AA, KK, QQ and AK you want to 3-bet practically always, from any position. Against a late open raise, which is usually looser, that list grows with JJ, TT and AQ. The logic: you 3-bet hands that are ahead of the hands your opponent opens and continues with. The looser the opener, the wider your value range may be. If you are unsure which hands belong there, read what a range in poker is first: thinking in ranges instead of single hands suddenly makes this choice logical.
The bluff hands: A5s instead of anything
Only 3-betting with monsters works fine at the lowest stakes, until your opponents start paying attention. After that you need bluffs, and not just any. The classic choice is a hand like A5s: a suited ace with a low card. That hand blocks AA and AK in your opponent's range, still makes straights and flushes after the flop, and is at the same time too weak to call comfortably. Exactly those hands, just outside your calling range, are your best 3-bet bluffs. Suited connectors such as 76s can work too, but sparingly: those also play fine as a call.
How big do you make the 3-bet?
A rule of thumb that works nearly everywhere: with position about three times the open raise, out of position about four times. If somebody opens to 2.5 big blinds and you are on the button, you 3-bet to around 7.5. If you are in the blinds, make it nearer 10. Out of position you want to steer the pot and the price so that your opponent cannot come along cheaply with all sorts of things. 3-betting too small is the most common mistake: then you give away exactly the price you meant to charge.
How to build it into your game
Start small: 3-bet your value hands consistently and add one or two bluff hands per position. A fixed range per position stops you having to improvise at the table; how you build such a range you can read in preflop ranges by position. If you want to see what your 3-bet range looks like visually and where the gaps are, play with the free range visualiser. The goal is not to 3-bet more for its own sake, but to put the pressure on the other player at the right moments.
Two warnings for the road. If somebody raises again after your 3-bet, a 4-bet, give up your bluffs without regret and carry on only with the absolute top of your range. And adjust to the table: against a player who practically never folds, scrap your bluffs and 3-bet purely for value, wider than normal if need be. Against a timid player who only continues with monsters, do the opposite and bluff more often. That way the 3-bet does not become a trick you perform identically everywhere, but a tool you reset for every opponent.
frequently asked questions
3-bet questions.
Why is it called 3-betting and not simply raising? +
The big blind counts as the first bet, the open raise as the second. The first reraise before the flop is therefore literally the third bet: the 3-bet. If somebody raises again after that, you speak of a 4-bet, and so on.
How big do I make my 3-bet? +
With position on the open raiser, about three times their raise is a good starting point. Out of position, from the blinds for instance, you take nearer four times the open. That way your opponent pays a fair price for the advantage of position after the flop.
Should I 3-bet as a bluff too? +
In the long run yes. Anyone who only 3-bets with aces and kings is an open book to attentive opponents: they simply fold everything except monsters. Hands like A5s or KJs are logical bluffs, because they block an ace or a king and can still hit all sorts of things after the flop.
What do I do if my 3-bet gets called? +
Do not panic. The pot is bigger and the stacks are relatively smaller, so a single top pair is more often strong enough to carry on with. Look at the flop, at your position and at what the calling player realistically holds, and plan from there.
practise your 3-bets
From hesitating to pressing.
In Pokiq's practice situations you get exactly this kind of preflop choice, with an explanation of why 3-betting was or was not the best move.