Light Three Betting In
Position
Three betting can be extremely
profitable. Their are many reasons why three
betting is a good idea, one is when your three
betting for value, when you have a great hand
and want to get most out of your opponents, or
when you want to get the most value from your
worst by executing a bluff play. This is all
known as a light three-bet.
When you light three bet,
you're really making a semi-bluff bluff play to
take the pot, or build it to outplay your
opponents on later streets. Use this play when
you know your opponent is raising fairly light,
and then three bet light which will usually
result in him folding her hand and you taking
down the pot. While playing poker you will often
see many free bets take place, especially liked
three bets, many of these plays are being sized
incorrectly, and the players are not getting the
most out of them.
You often see players make
their re-raise is to signify the strength of
their own hand, this makes it fairly easy to
read. The typical play you see from them is
betting a large amount when they have a hand
that is not so strong, because they're wanting
you to fold. These are the same players you see
betting smaller when making value bets.
Playing like this is very
predictable, and experienced players at your
table are going to pick up on it quickly. You
should not be sizing your bets based on the
strength of your hands, there are other factors
that you want to consider. Most important of
these factors is going to be your position in
the hand. Position is absolutely the most
important, as well as the absolute most
overlooked piece of poker. Adding things do not
change, your physician will dictate everything
that you do in the hand size but regret how you
play after.
When you're playing in late
position during a hand, your three bets can be
much smaller. They can be smaller because your
last one to act in the hands, and will be the
last one to act during the hands as it plays
out. Using your position, you can punish less
experienced players who are playing poorly out
of position, despite not having a premium hand.
When you do find yourself in
late position in the hand and want to make a
reraise, you want to make it about three times
or 3 1/2 times the size of the original raise.
This is a large enough raise that your opponents
at the table to not have to make an automatic
call, it also does not require them to put in a
huge amount of chips.
You're playing no limit hold
em, and a six player table, and everyone starts
with right around $200. You find yourself on the
button and get dealt AQs, the players fold
around to the opponent in the cut off position,
who raises it to six dollars. You re - pop your
opponent to $18, who makes a call, and the flop
comes JT3, rainbow. Your opponent quickly checks
and you fire out of bet of $24 forcing your
opponent to fold. Here being in position you are
able to gain enough information about how he was
playing with him acting before you, to know that
any bet would take down the pot on the flop. The
advantage you have by being in position makes it
so that you do not have to do as much raising as
you would when you're out of position
Using the light three bet in
position gives you a lot of options on how to
play the hand after the flop, both if you hit
and if you don't. Always works are hardest to
get a good read on your opponent to know where
you stand in the hand.
