A strong 3-betting strategy is essential for maximizing value, applying pressure, and staying ahead of your opponents in cash games. By refining your approach and avoiding common mistakes, you can turn your three-bets into a powerful weapon that boosts your long-term profitability.
Pick The Right Hands
When you three-bet, you have to ask yourself if you have the right hand for the job.
What hands are good? Broadway combinations. Big cards make big pairs and big pairs often get the job done in heads-up pots, especially if you’re in position and can dictate pot size.
Suited-gappers are great as well. They don’t work great as cold calls, but they are good semi-bluffs. If you flop some equity, you can keep firing as a semi-bluff. If your opponent just calls you on a board with a flush draw, it is likely they would have raised with sets or two pairs to protect their hand. Since their range is capped, you can keep going after them.
Suited connectors and pocket pairs work as well, but they can also work as cold calls. They play well in multi-way pots. If the initial raiser is a little tighter, you can opt for a call with these hands more often.
Suited aces work great for your 3-betting strategy in multi-way pots, because you can value bet versus weaker flush draws. Flatting to keep those weaker flush draws in isn’t the worst play.
Pick The Right Player
You don’t want to three-bet a player who has some tricks up their sleeve.
The best player to target with your 3-betting strategy is someone who opens too much because they just love the action. They usually developed that habit because no one in their game three-bets them much. They’re likely inexperienced in three-bet pots. You want to go after them and exploit their weaknesses. They won’t be ready for most of the turn and river spots you can put them through.
Another fun player to go after is a nit who is opening in later position. Oftentimes, the nit knows they have to open up their game in late position, but they’re uncomfortable doing so. If you three-bet and start barreling versus them, they’re likely to fold even some of their better pairs. You will get a lot of folds by the end of the hand.
Pick The Right Pots in Your 3-Betting Strategy
Oftentimes, a loose player will open with anything he wants and then another loose player will call. My student will look down at A-Jo on the button and think to themselves, “wow, a squeeze three-bet would be a huge raise here. I don’t want to invest that much with this mediocre hand. I’ll just call and play it safe.”
Calling is actually a dangerous play in this situation. You are entering a multi-way pot with Broadway cards that could easily be dominated. You’re going to make a lot of mediocre pairs in a multi-way pot. If a multi-way pot gets large, the average winning hand is two pair, sets, flushes, or straights. Your most likely hand doesn’t beat any of those hands. This is about to get expensive.
However, if you squeeze, you have so much going for you. The initial raiser likely raised a bunch of junk just because he’s loose. The cold caller likely would have three-bet their premiums. It’s highly likely you still have the best hand. If they call you and miss the flop, they’ll fold a large percentage of the time just because the pot is starting to get large.
Pick The Right Sizing
If you are hundreds of big blinds deep, don’t three-bet small, especially when you’re in position.
Look at all the chips in the middle. Now, make your raise size two times that. Pressure people early and often. They’ll start backing down as long as your raise sizes aren’t pot sweeteners.
If you’re out of position, make your 3-betting strategy to raise as big as you want. You don’t want to play this hand out for multiple streets out of position.
If you’re in position, your reraises can be slightly smaller, but you still want to apply pressure.
Pick The Right Continuation Bet
Oftentimes, if you make a large pre-flop three-bet, it will look like someone trying to protect their aces. Your opponents still will call, because they think they can win a large pot if they crack your huge pair. However, if they miss the board, they’re willing to fold to a slightly smaller bet versus your great range.
What does this mean for you? You don’t have to go for half-pot or two-thirds sized bets all that often. Frequently, a 33% or 40% pot-sized bet will get the job done.
Pick The Right Cards (And People) To Barrel
If your opponent is a loose player who hates folding to flop continuation bets, then you’re going to have to be brave enough to keep firing. The flop bet has now become a pleasantry. The real work begins on the turn.
If your opponent hates folding to three-bets and hates folding on flops, they have a wide range headed into the turn. If the board came with a flush draw and they didn’t raise, it’s likely that they don’t have a set, two pair, or an overpair. Why? There’s a good chance they would have four-bet pre-flop with some of the overpairs. They also likely would raise to protect their hand on a dangerous flop with a set, two pair, or overpair. Their likely range is one weak pair, likely sharing one card on the flop.
What does this mean for you? Keep firing on turn overcards. Don’t be afraid to overbet if you’re deep. If you have a blocker, represent the flush when it comes in. Your opponent won’t have a flush the vast majority of the time.
Conclusion on 3-Betting Strategy
Mastering your 3-betting strategy requires careful hand selection, awareness of your opponents, and precise bet sizing. By making well-timed continuation bets and knowing when to fire a second barrel, you’ll keep your opponents guessing and force them into tough decisions. Stay disciplined, refine your approach, and your three-bets will become a key driver of your long-term success in cash games.
Just a note before I go…
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Want to read more from APT Head Pro Alex Fitzgerald? Try his article about the 10 Essential Poker Skills Every Poker Pro Has
