What Is 3-Betting In Poker?

One of the most essential things you need to know about poker is how to bet. The skill of 3-betting in poker is definitely crucial to that understanding.

If you’re just learning your poker A,B,Cs or you’re well used to the felt, it’s important that you know what 3-betting is all about.

Not only can you use it, you can pinpoint when your opponent might use it and what it means for the game.

Whether you’re playing in person or online in a poker room like bet365 (bonus code here for new players), you’ll see it really frequently. We’re guessing it’ll crop up in almost every poker session you play, in fact. Whether you know the name of the term or not.

3-betting in poker happens pre-flop

Pre-flop, in other words before the community cards are dealt, is when you can expect to see 3-betting in poker. It’s when someone re-raises after another player makes a pre-flop raise. In other words, it’s the third bet pre-flop. 3-bet. Get it?

Of course, this applies to games like Omaha, Hold’em and Six Plus where there’s a blind, which is counted as the first of the bets in this 3-bet continuum.

This is designed to maximise value

Maximising value in poker is another way of saying this makes the pot bigger, therefore more lucrative if you end up winning it. It’s seen as an aggressive tactic for sure, and definitely encourages players to fold if their hands are so-so. This also helps increase your chance of winning the pot.

Having said that, the danger is that when you’re 3-betting in poker and you’re beaten, it also increases your losses and sets you up to have egg on your face. As with many moves in poker, it’s a delicate balance as to how you should approach it.

Use the 3-bet bluff sparingly

The 3-bet bluff can be a really great way of over-representing your hand. It exudes confidence. Having said that, a bluff only works when you scare off other players, right? If other players seem like they have something fairly decent, you certainly don’t want them to respond to your 3-bet with a call or, god forbid, another raise.

So this 3-bet bluff is probably best done if you think they other players aren’t packing and if you’re in late position, so you can see how the chips are falling (literally).

Strong, polarised and merged

There are three different ranges when it comes to 3-betting in poker. Strong (pocket aces, pocket kings, really excellent cards). Then there’s polarised (when you bet with really good hands for the most part and the odd weak hand). Next up, we’ve got merged (the top 5% of hands).

If you’re playing it safe, then you’re probably only really going to be comfortable 3-betting with a strong range. But there’s certainly something to be said for trying out polarised ranges, when you get increasingly comfortable with 3-betting in poker. When we say weaker hands, we don’t mean trash that you’re just bluffing with. That’s a different conversation entirely. But like an educated punt, something like suited connectors so there’s a chance you do hit on the flop.

Meanwhile, merged ranges are usually what experienced players tend to go for when they’re 3-betting.