Three- and Four-Betting

Three-betting and, to a slightly less extent, four-betting have become increasingly important and prevalent in online cash games over the last few years. As the general standard of play has become better and more aggressive, the focus has continually moved on to the next iteration of aggression preflop. So at first the focus was on raising (rather than limping). Then it was on three-betting (at least partially to combat frequent raisers), and now it is on four-betting (which is done at least partially to combat frequent three-bettors).

Before we go any further, let's make sure that we are all on the same page, and understand exactly what a three-bet and four-bet are. A preflop three-bet is confusingly called a three-bet even though it is the second raise preflop. That is because the blind is considered the first bet. So, preflop, a typical three-bet hand goes like this: It's folded to the cutoff, who raises. The button folds and the small blind reraises. This is a three-bet. If either the big blind or the cutoff raises again, it would be called a four-bet, but if the big blind four-bets, it is termed a "cold" four-bet, because he hasn't acted yet. Any further action would be a five-bet, although when very deep, this is usually all in (in fact, a lot of four-bets are all in).

Three-betting is a very powerful tool, because it takes the initiative in a hand and forces your opponent to react to you, rather than the other way around. As with many moves in poker, if you're up against a very good opponent, three-betting can be unprofitable, but most players react badly to it, so this usually isn't a problem. The drawback with three-betting is that you invest a lot of chips to win the pot. However, you are very likely to win the hand. This compares directly with flat-calling, where you don't invest many chips, but are very unlikely to win the hand. When you three-bet, your opponent can react in several ways. First of all, he can fold, which is the simplest solution for both parties. Slightly more often than that, the player will call the three-bet. There are a number of reasons why a player may call a three-bet, but the biggest one is ego. In general, it is a very bad idea to cold-call three-bets. Unless you have a plan up your sleeve, and have a good idea of your opponent's three-betting frequencies (is he likely to be strong or weak?), calling without a very good hand (trapping) is just burning chips. You aren't going to flop anything good most of the time, and your implied odds when calling a three-bet aren't very good, since it's usually a sizable portion of the effective stacks.

Despite this, most players are loathe to fold to a three-bet. This is fine for the player three-betting, however, as he should be able to take down the now bigger pot on the flop with a continuation-bet. In fact, because you can take the pot down so often on the flop, against people who are going to play very straightforwardly toward your flop continuation-bet, it is more profitable for you to have them call your three-bet.

That concept explains all you need to know if you want to make calling three-bets profitable. As long as the three-bettor has a wide range, most of the time when he continuation-bets the flop, he won't have much of a hand. So, to make calling profitable, this means being very aggressive on the flop, and raising him when you flop any type of hand. This tactic obviously will lead to a higher variance than normal.

Another tactic to use against a light three-bettor, which is best used in conjunction with the one above, is to fight back with light four-bets. Most players will give a lot of credit to the first four-bet a player makes, as most players simply won't four-bet without A-K, at least.

Up to this point, we have been discussing three- and four-betting in the abstract, ignoring two very important factors: how much, and with what cards. There are differing views on the optimum amounts to make three- and four-bets. What I recommend is that you make your three-bets roughly pot-sized (remember to count your call in the pot!), and your four-bets significantly less than pot-sized, but more than the minimum. So, let's say that you make it 4.5 bb on the button with A-K after a limper. The next player makes it 15 bb. You should then make it around 36 or 37 bb. This is a good amount because it's large enough that your opponent is faced with a big decision, but does not commit you. This is important, because if you are going to be four-betting light, you do not want to commit your entire stack every time. Always remember that it's important to keep this amount the same whether you have a real hand or not, as you don't want to leak any information.

Both three- and four-betting are very profitable, but you need to have the right image to make them work. It's a good idea to keep a close eye on your frequencies at each table you are playing, because they are such aggressive techniques that players will react to them immediately. Most players will give very little credit to the second three- or four-bet in quick succession. In the long run, it does pay to open up both three- and four-betting frequencies, as not only are they immediately profitable, but they provide cover for the times you do have a real hand. You are much more likely to get paid off with A-A or K-K if you have been aggressively three- and four-betting recently.

Daragh Thomas has made a living from poker over the last three years. He also coaches other players and writes extensively on the boards.ie poker forum, under the name hectorjelly.