3 betting is when a player bets, that bet is
then raised by another player and then that bet
is re-raised. 4 betting is the fourth bet in a
single round of poker, usually pre-flop. The big
blind is considered the 1st bet, then a raise, a
re-raise, then another re-raise which is the
fourth bet.
Defining your 3-betting and 4-betting ranges
is one of the toughest things to do. The word
range is an indicator of how susceptible they
are to change. It is important that you maintain
consistency when playing poker, but it is even
more important that your consistency is
monitored and producing positive results. Even
the worst players can be consistent, but if it
means making a ridiculous raise every time they
get 84 it will do them no good. Consistency in
3-betting and 4-betting itself does not produce
good results, the ability to play within a set
of rules that has no boundaries does.
What does it mean to set rules with no
boundaries
This probably makes no sense to you. “Play
within a set of rules that has no boundaries,”
it sounds like an oxymoron. I could give you a
set of strict guidelines to follow for 3 and
4-betting, but what good would it do if you were
playing at the tightest table ever? Conversely,
what use would this range be if you opponents
were extremely loose? It would help you, but it
wouldn’t maximize your potential profits. Now to
confuse you even more I am going to go over
general 3 and 4-betting ranges and then follow
it up with how to adjust to your opponents.
3-betting ranges
The first rule to remember when deciding
whether to 3-bet (or 4-bet for that matter) is
your relative position in the hand. If the
player UTG opens and you are next to act, your
range for a 3-bet should be significantly
smaller than if you were on the button and the
player opening was directly to your right. If a
raise is made from early position you should
automatically give them credit for a strong
hand, unless you had previously seen otherwise.
Since they often have a strong hand your hand
should be of even greater strength. EP (early
position) raises can be 3-bet by QQ, KK, AA and
AK every single time. JJ and AQ are fine to
3-bet with as well, but you can flat call with
these hands as well. This should be the extent
of your 3-betting range from an EP raiser.
If you are in late position and the raise was
made from MP (middle position) or LP (late
position) you can widen your 3-betting range to
include 99, TT, and AJ. This is in addition to
including JJ and AQ every time as opposed to a
portion of the time when you are 3-betting an EP
raiser. Tossing in 88 or AT occasionally is fine
as well, you do not want to push it much
further, however.
Continue Your Poker
Education at The
Full Tilt Poker Academy and
Learn From the Best Poker Pros in the Game
Visit The Full Tilt Poker Academy
4-betting ranges
Your 4-betting range needs to be much
smaller, for obvious reasons. If a player made a
3-bet it is an extreme indicator of strength and
a sign that they may be willing to get all the
money in pre-flop. You do not want to 4-bet
fold, this is a completely ineffective strategy.
If a 3-bet is made and the action is on you
there should be extreme caution on your part.
Your range should include KK, and AA
exclusively, with QQ a small portion of the
time. Just think about it, if you are not 4-bet
folding which hands can you expect to get all in
profitably on the flop? KK, AA and the
occasional QQ would be about it. There is an
argument for 4-betting AK, but this requires you
to determine how much equity you might have,
meaning that the possibility should exist that
your opponent is bluffing. This, however, is not
applicable until you are playing higher stakes.
How to adjust 3-betting and 4-betting ranges
Sometimes the toughest concepts appear really
simple. You are probably thinking that adjusting
to loose or tight players would mean that you
simply widen or tighten your 3 and 4-betting
range. This is true, but you must make the
judgment on your own. Against a loose player you
can widen your range to A9 and medium pocket
pairs, but you don’t want to be 3 and 4-betting
with JT. You have to put on the brakes at some
point. It is easier to adjust to tight players
as you can just eliminate a few hands from your
range as opposed to adding numerous hands
against loose players. I would not get QQ all in
pre-flop (and I therefore would not 4-bet with
QQ) against a tight player, but I would be all
in every single time pre-flop against a loose
player with QQ.
