What is a Three Bet in Poker?

A three bet is a poker term that refers to a raise and re-raise sequence. Players make this type of move when they are last to act and have a strong enough hand to take advantage of the opponent’s position. This is an important concept that all poker players need to understand and apply at the tables. In this article we’ll discuss the basics of what is a three bet, when to do it, and how to maximize your equity by properly sizing your re-raises.

In poker, a three bet is a poker raise followed by a re-raise that occurs before the flop. This is one of the most important poker moves to master in order to improve your game and become a better player. The reason for this is that you can use the three-bet to control the size of a pot, increase your chances of hitting a good flop, and gain one or more streets of value. It is also a very effective way to combat early position players who try to steal the blinds and can be used in a variety of ways.

The first step in understanding what is a three bet is to learn about the different sizing options that you have for your re-raises. One of the biggest mistakes that players make is sizing their re-raises on the strength of their own hand. This is a mistake because a skilled opponent will pick up on this and exploit you by calling your weak hands and raising their strong ones. You should instead be sizing your re-raises based on your opponent’s call range and the position that you are in.

To determine your opponents call range you can either look at their overall history at the table or watch them play in live tournaments. The best option is to do both of these things in order to get a clear picture of how they play. This will help you decide what kind of hand to 3-bet and what kind of bluffs to make.

You should be aiming to 3-bet your opponent’s top value hands and their weakest value hands. This will give you a decent chance of making a strong flop and will devalue the opponent’s weak hands. You should avoid 3 betting your strongest value hands because they can easily fold and you will be giving them a lot of equity.

If you are in position and facing a player who likes to call your preflop open raises you should be sizing your 3-bets around 2-3x the original open raise. This will be big enough to discourage them from calling and still allow you to punish them when they have a strong hand. When you are out of position and re-raising an opponent who calls your open you should be sizing your 3-bets closer to 4x the original raise. This will give you the best odds of putting them on a fold and getting them to call your bluffs.