Poker 3 Bet Sizing

admin 3/28/2022

Nice advice on exact 4 bet sizing, was trying to work out the exact sizing. A lot of the time I will flat call my opponents 3 bet with Kings or Aces preflop to trap or induce, or if I think they will fold Jacks or 10's vs my 4 bet. Using this 2.2x sizing makes it nearly impossible for them to fold. Would you agree Nathan? Oct 12, 2019 For example, the 3-bet size changes depending on how much villian raises 1/2 2/3 3/4 will all change how much I need to raise to get that specefic%. For example, a $100 re-raise would give villian atleast 28% eq to call, but if villian had raised a little bit more, a $100 re-raise may have only gave him 25% eq to call, because villian used. Constructing the right range to 3-bet for value The goal when you 3-bet for value is to get more money in the pot with a hand that has an advantage over your opponent’s range. As a guideline, the weakest hand in your value 3betting range should have around 55% equity against your opponent’s continuing range.

May 29, 2014 Posted by PokerSnowie

PokerSnowie has learnt GTO using three different bet sizes: half pot, pot and twice the pot. It is not necessarily enough to cover all the spectrum of No Limit situations, but we can already learn a lot by studying in which situation PokerSnowie suggests to bet small (1/2 pot), bet big (pot) and over bet (2 pot)

Let’s contemplate some scenarios.

Hero opened under the gun at a 6-max table and is contemplating a continuation bet on the A94 flop.

In the first Scenario he is against the button. Villain’s calling range pre flop shouldn’t be wide. He is not closing the action, and can face a squeeze from the blinds or have to play in a multi-way pot. It is more profitable for him to 3bet and isolate hero with most of his range.

What ranges does PreflopAdvisor consider for the button versus an open from UTG?

Call	3bet
If UTG had opened pot	3.27%	7.04%
If UTG had opened for half pot	6.56%	8.68%

On the flop, blowing the pot out of position is risky. Hero is facing a strong range and villain can float him. Therefore he should not Cbet often. PokerSnowie suggests to Cbet with only 18% of his preflop range if hero opened pot and 28% if he had opened for ½ pot pre flop.

Since hero doesn’t bet often, his value range is very strong. It consists of sets, combos of two pairs and AK. Therefore hero should bet big and PokerSnowie advocates a pot size bet.

In the second scenario villain is seated in the big blind. In this situation villain would have a much wider range since he was closing the action and hence got a discount pre flop. Being out of position he couldn’t 3bet profitably as often as if he was on the button.

Let’s look at the ranges according to PreflopAdvisor:

Call	3bet
If UTG had opened pot	7.48%	5.67%
If UTG had opened for half pot	23.14%	5.07%

Now hero wants to Cbet very often with a very wide range:

He is facing a weaker range
Villain is out of position and cant float or raise hero’s Cbet profitably

On that flop PokerSnowie would bet almost all his range: 93% if hero had opened pot and 88% if he had opened for ½ pot pre flop.

Consequently hero should bet small. He doesn’t want to value cut himself when he goes for thin value and he wants to loose the minimum when he bluffs. And PokerSnowie agrees, advising to half bet pot.

We can state the general rule: the less often we bet, the bigger our bet size should be.

Let see some more examples and applications of that rule

Hero is in position but this is one of the worst flop textures for his range. He should not bet very often and when he does he should bet pot.

Hero is out of position and the board texture is well coordinated. But hero did 3bet pre flop, his range is strong and impacts reasonably that flop. Therefore he wants to bet often and for only half pot.

Hero’s value range is strong enough to be able to bluff with 66.

And to finish off, here are a couple of examples on the river

Hero had opened UTG, Cbet flop and turn. On the river he cannot value bet worst than the Q of clubs. Since he won’t bet a wide range, he should go for a big size and bet pot.

Same board, but very different action post flop. On the river, hero wants to get a street of value with all his flushes. There are a lot of combos and he should bet only half pot.

As mentioned, although PokerSnowie has some design limitations in the bet sizes it uses, its approach is still extremely useful to understand and learn to apply the principles of the right level of bet sizing and perhaps even more importantly, their frequency.

Sharp

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PokerSnowie's ultimate aim is to find the ultimate un-exploitable equilibrium for all No Limit Hold'em configurations. Join us on this fascinating journey, which is just starting, into the future of poker.

When it comes to choosing a size for your bet in No Limit Hold’em, it’s not always easy. You have to pay a lot of attention to the specific circumstances that you face. Such factors as board texture, stack depth, the action pre-flop and which person holds the range advantage are all things to consider. Let’s talk about three rules that you can use to help you pick the right size for your bet.

Bet small (a quarter to a third of the pot) on board textures that are static and dry

When you bet on the flop and the turn, you take your opponents’ equity away when they decide to fold. This means that you steal their opportunity to win the pot by making them fold with your own bet.

If you’re not as focused on taking away equity, you have a greater incentive to use smaller bet size. When boards are drier, the majority of the other hands at the table have negligible equity, if any, against the value betting range that you have identified.

One more reason to use a small bet size when boards are dry is that the calling range on a dry board tends to lack elasticity. Think about this way – in this situation, your opponent is likely to fold to a bet no matter how big the bet is. If you can get away with a small bluff and make opponents fold, why add to the risk by making the bluff larger?

Also, if you use a smaller bet size, you can take advantage against players that use the “fit or fold” style post-flop and end up folding too often. You can use this especially when playing live or in a weaker online game.

Bet large (half to three-quarters of the pot) on board textures that are dynamic and wet

If you think that someone could outdraw your value betting range, then it’s time to bet big. If you have a strong hand, betting large helps you grow the pot. You’ll pull out more value before the turn or the river, when your hand could just turn into a bluff-catcher. You’ll also build more fold equity, which makes your bluffs in the future more likely to work.

Consider the stack-to-pot ratio when deciding on your bet size

How big will the pot be on later streets? A lot of players bet too much at the flop and the turn, and so they end up with a small bet left for the river. At this point, bluffing won’t do much for them, because at that point a small bet does not generate meaningful fold equity. Going somewhat aggressively on the flop and then pulling back slightly at the turn allows for more leverage once you hit the river. That sort of approach will generate the sort of fold equity that you want, and will make your bluffs pay off more regularly. The bottom line is that you don’t want your stack to run dry at the wrong time, especially when you have a solid hand.

Poker 3 Bet Sizing

Inside PokerSnowie's brain

Bet small (a quarter to a third of the pot) on board textures that are static and dry

Bet large (half to three-quarters of the pot) on board textures that are dynamic and wet

Consider the stack-to-pot ratio when deciding on your bet size

Poker 3 Bet Sizing Calculator

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Poker 3 Bet Sizing Tool