Calling Pre-flop? Strongly Consider 3-Betting Instead (NLTRN Theory)

[ChicagoRy]

Generally speaking, in every turbo level I've played players have called my 3-bet super light. To exploit this I've used a tighter/stronger range with 3-bets against most players.

In regular speed games I have noticed that I 3-bet a much larger % overall. I think you can attribute this to a longer structure (more time to get better reads on players, more time to exploit them with deeper stacks) and to the fact (imo) that players in regular speed games tend to be a lot tighter and weaker than turbo players.

Often times in low to mid level games it is very hard for a beginning player to make correct plays in 3-bet pots. They first of all have to get a decent read on their opponent's calling %, decide what hands are best to 3-bet, then figure out his postflop play in big pots. Add to this that they are OOP and this is a built up pot and you can see how a solid edge can disappear quickly.

I like to encourage newer players to work on building pots in position, as I feel that is the most important and easiest way to gain a big edge in these games.

Another thing I'd like to point out, is as a whole I've noticed a lot of players that have had very good results in higher buyin games call very light in 3-bet pots. I've had conversations about this with a few other forum members (and pretty solid players) and they agree. If a lot of good players are calling 3-bets too light, then a lot of worse players will probably be doing it, even to a bigger extent.

I think this factors in on the lack of 3-betting, maybe not as much as the structures (turbo vs regular) but I think it helps to explain why you notice players don't 3-bet very often.

I'll put some more thought into this in the next few days as the thread grows and probably post some more, I'm kind of cut short right now.

[jay_shark]

Happy birthday Chicago !

Here is an old thread that is somewhat related .

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...Number=7637184

Generally speaking , if your opponent's range is ~ the top 50% of hands , then your re-raising range should be ~ the top 25% of hands . If you believe your hands plays better post-flop than the average hand your opponent would have , then you should consider re-raising . I find the biggest weakness amongst heads up players is that they seldom re-raise . Against a player who raises or folds his button , then you should be more inclined to 3-bet as his range is fairly wide . This means that against a player who raises the majority of his hands on the button , then it's imperative that you re-raise more than 25% of the time .

You may also negate your positional disadvantage by giving him less than 2:1 odds on the call .

[daveT]

Mind if I ask for a stat?

What is your BBwon/hand out of the SB and BB?

[TNixon]

[ QUOTE ]
Three-betting gives you a strong chance to win immediately

[/ QUOTE ]
I have to agree with Chicago here, in that I don't believe this statement to be true, generally speaking. Certainly not on Full Tilt. It's a *very* rare opponent that will raise the button and then fold to anything less than an all-in 3bet, so when I do it, it's because my hand is likely to be ahead and I want them to put more money in with hands that are likely to be dominated, not because I think I have a chance to win preflop.

Lots of opponents will play almost any two cards preflop to normal-sized raises (3x-5x), in position or out, no matter what the preflop action is, but will fold the flop to a donk bet if they miss, which means that you can take a shot at the same chips for a lot less risk, and with a much higher chance of success, by flat calling preflop and donking a wide variety of flops.

I pop habitual limpers with a pretty wide range (probably wider than I really should), but I 3bet OOP pretty narrow, unless I see somebody folding to 3bets too often, which I think I've seen exactly *one* opponent do in the past 2-3 weeks, playing $30s, $50s, and $100s. I think my 3 bet range is somewhere around A9+, 55+, sometimes KQ and KJs, but *very* rarely anything weaker than that, unless my opponent is raising the button too often. (which, again, seems pretty rare. Habitual limpers seem to be FAR more common than habitual raisers)