Issue 016: When Should You 3-bet Preflop?

This week’s newsletter contains:

As a subscriber to the newsletter, you’ll have access to our Preflop Flash Cards that test your knowledge of starting hand ranges! You can choose the position you want to study, work through a series of hands, and track your progress during the session.

So, if you’re trying to get more comfortable with which hands to play from each position, this is a great way to turn the concepts we discuss here into actual practice!

A good preflop 3-bet should always have a clear purpose: value, fold equity, or punishing a wide opening range. Value 3-bets are the simplest when you have a strong hand and expect worse hands to continue. But value is relative to the opener’s range. A hand like AQ can be a strong 3-bet against a loose Button open but much less attractive against a tight under-the-gun raise.

Bluff 3-bets work best against players who open too wide and are capable of folding. Hands like A5 suited can be good candidates because they block strong aces, retain useful equity when called, and can make strong draws. Position also matters: 3-betting in position gives you more flexibility after the flop, while out of position—especially from the Small Blind—you should be more disciplined.

Before 3-betting, ask what happens if you get called. Strong broadways and suited aces generally remain playable, while dominated offsuit hands and speculative hands can create difficult postflop spots. Opponent type matters too: against players who fold too much, bluff 3-bet more; against calling stations, bluff less and value 3-bet more.

The simplest framework is: strong hand + worse hands call = value 3-bet. Wide opening range + enough fold equity = bluff 3-bet. Don’t 3-bet just to be aggressive—3-bet because you have a reason.