[aislephive]

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Ex. You raise c/o to 14 button 3 bets you to 48. With a hand like 57s I'm way more likely to 4 bet to 138 than I am to call. People do not call you here. They either fold or shove.

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138 is a lot different than 100-120 if you're looking for either value or FE from your 4-bet. I'd still prefer a poooosh b/c even at 138, you're approaching a pot-sized raise and are dangerously close to committing yourself anyway.

What still puzzles me though is how raising from 48 -> 100/120 could ever be the correct play. You're basically BEGGING to get called. Using the argument "I 4-bet small to allow myself to correctly fold to a push" is stupid with a big range of hands. If you're not raising enough to generate proper FE with your bluffs, you shouldn't be 4-betting/folding to a 5-bet with those hands in the first place.

I mean...I could be wrong, but you have to think about it this way: Top players have been making a solid 6-8 PTBB/100 (live pros even more) for a long time at MSNL without employing this "new strategy." It's hard to believe that CTS, et al came along and reinvented the wheel this year because all the past NL pros were too stupid to use this monster technique over the last 30 years.

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4betting small DOES have fold equity. Are you telling me if you're villain and you 3bet a $14 raise to $48 with a suited connector, small pair, or some other weakish hand you're calling $70 more? If so, obviously you're terrible and 4betting small with a wide range against you would be terrible. However, most tags do not just call there, although I have seen it happen with some tags. The overwhelming majority of the time they either fold or shove. The pros to 4betting small is that it's a cheap bluff, and I can also induce people to stack off with weaker hands than they would to a bigger sized 4bet (as in pot sized or a shove). I would be much more inclined to shove a hand like AQ/AJ if somebody 4bet me to $120 at $400nl rather than $160, because in the former case they left themselves room to possibly fold to a shove.

CTS didn't really invent small 4betting, although he is definitely one of if not the most notable player who employs this increasingly common strategy. To suggest that you're "owning" these small 4bettors is hilarious though. What, you picked up a few big pairs and shoved and they folded? If your 3betting range is wider than AA-QQ/AK you'll find yourself in some very difficult spots when faced with light 4bets when you have hands not at the top of your range. If you 3bet tons, then you're going to be doing it with a lot of marginal and weak hands, and going to have to get into a mindgame with another good player trying to counteract his light 4betting. Good luck with that!