I know there are many coaches who recommend smaller open-raises like 2-2.5bb’s depending on position. So, to discourage 3bets, make it between 3-4bb’s when open-raising in every position. When you make it larger, they’re less sure of the strength of their hand and will often just call with these hands instead. If they are value 3betting with hands like TT, JJ and AQ, it’s easier to pull the trigger versus 2-2.5bb open-raises. Players don’t like 3betting vs larger sizes regardless of whether their 3bet is for value or as a bluff.īluffing versus larger 3-4bb 3bets puts more chips at risk if they size the 3bet large enough to hit your pain threshold. Choose tables that are closer to the fishy extreme. A nightmare table would be all LAG’s and Maniacs along with you. And make sure you keep the 3bettors to your right so you have post-flop position against them.Ī dream table would be all loose-passive Fish and just you. Playing at a table with just 1 or 2 LAG’s at most will reduce the 3bets you face drastically. They also love to 3bet, so the more of these players at your table the more likely it is you’ll face a 3bet after every open-raise. LAG’s and Maniacs love to open-raise, so they’re going to take away your chance to open-raise frequently. The more of these you have at your table, the more difficult your session will be. Most 3bets come from loose-aggress (LAG) players and Maniacs. When it comes to table selection, the 2 things you’re looking for are the types of players at the table and their position against you. Table selection is purposely choosing the table that you play on, in order to have the best chances of leaving the table with profits. So if you only do one thing, #1 is easiest and most effective for minimizing 3bets and improving your profitability when open-raising. And, they’re in order of effectiveness and profitability as well. They are in order of simplicity from #1 to #5. I came up with 5 methods for facing less 3bets. But, you can do things that make it less likely you’ll face a 3bet after open-raising. You’re right, you can’t control your opponent’s actions. I can hear some of you right now, “I can’t control whether or not my opponents 3bet me. Methods for Facing Less 3bets after Open-raising Listen to this podcast episode called “Choose to Face Less 3bets” So, if you’re losing money when facing 3bets, I’m going to help you plug this leak now. This is great! You’re doing better than if you had folded vs every 3bet. 3bet defense is definitely a leak of yours.īut, if your win rate is -100bb/100 hands, then your 3bet defense decisions cost you only 1bb every time you face a 3bet. So, your 3bet defense choices are costing you an additional 3bb’s. If you had just folded versus every one of these 3bets, you would’ve lost only 3bb’s each time. This means every time you face a 3bet, you’re losing 6bb’s. Let’s say your “RFI and Face a 3bet” win rate is terrible at -600bb/100 hands. So, this is the win rate you compare your “facing a 3bet” win rates against. Therefore, your total win rate would be -300bb/100 hands. If you normally open-raise 3bb’s and fold versus every 3bet, you would lose 3bb’s every time this happens. Why does a win rate worse than -300bb/100 hands signify a leak? If any of these 4 filters gave you a win rate worse than -300bb/100 hands, then you have a leak to fix. Raise First In and 4bet versus the 3bet.Make sure you have a sample of at least 10,000 hands to filter through. Run each of the 4 filters below in PokerTracker 4 and record your resulting win rates along with the number of hands. Look to see if you have a leak when facing 3bets after open-raising.

Yes, there are things you can do to avoid 3bets! Most of us lose money when facing a 3bet, so if you can avoid that, you’ll add more money to your bottom line. This is going to save you money and make poker a little easier for you. However, there are also steps you can take to avoid 3bets from your opponents. The option you choose to take depends on the 3bet range of your opponent, their tendencies in 3bet pots and the preflop hand you are holding. Your 3bet defense options are to either fold, call or re-raise 4bet (if the 3bet was not an all-in shove). Methods for Facing Less 3bets after Open-raisingģbet defense is a strategy that you must employ after open-raising or raising over limpers preflop and somebody re-raises you with a 3bet.

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