Facing a preflop raise
One player has raised the blinds. There can also be callers in front of you, but that is out of scope for this text. This is an introduction to…
Facing a preflop 3-bet
You raised, someone re-raised you, and the rest have folded.
Bet sizing
It is recommended to raise to 2.2 times the 3-bet in position and 2.7 times the 3-bet out of position. For more information, see Preflop bet sizing.
When to call
Hands that often want to call are:
- Low – medium pocket pairs
- Suited connectors
- Suited broadways and some suited aces
When to re-raise (4-bet)
Hands that are often 4-bet are very strong hands, like JJ-AA and AK. Some hands that usually aren’t strong enough to go all-in, but that have a blocking effect are 4-bet sometimes, like AQo and A5s.
Blockers
A blocker means you hold card(s) that reduce the likelihood of the opponent having a strong hand.
When you have for example AQ you reduce villains strongest combos (combinations that can be made with the hand type):
- AK: 16 → 12 combos
- AQ: 16 → 9 combos
- QQ: 6 → 3 combos
This means that the number of very strong hands that villain can have has been noticeably reduced.
BTN vs BB 3-bet, cash game, 100 bb stack
It is challenging to memorize all the different charts just by looking at them. It is also hard to know if you remember correctly. We strongly recommend practicing preflop ranges in the preflop exercise to help you commit them to memory and get feedback on mistakes.
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