Heads Up With James Mackey

James Mackey is a 23-year-old poker professional with lifetime tournament winnings that exceed $3 million. After spending two years at the University of Missouri, he dropped out of the pre-med program to pursue poker full time. In his short career as a professional, he’s won a World Series of Poker bracelet (in the 2007 $5,000 no-limit hold’em event), finished second in the WSOP $10,000 world championship mixed event in 2008, and won an event in the 2007 Poker Stars World Championship of Online Poker. Mackey’s online name is “Mig.com,” and he’s known for his ultra-aggressive play. He recently sat down with Card Player TV to discuss three-betting when short- and deep-stacked.

Kristy Arnett: What are you considering when three-betting someone?

James Mackey: I’d say the number-one thing I consider before I three-bet is the type of opponent I’m playing. How often is he opening? Also, how often is he four-betting? You don’t want to three-bet someone who is going to four-bet you very lightly. The second thing to consider is stack sizes. If you three-bet, are you going to commit yourself, or can you three-bet and then fold? Once you’ve considered your stack size, your hand begins to matter. If you are very deep, your hand really matters, because your opponent is more likely to call or four-bet. But if you have 35 big blinds or so and three-bet, you’re probably not going to get flat-called too often. Your opponent is going to either four-bet or fold. In that case, your hand doesn’t matter as much.

KA: What else goes into your considerations for the types of hands to three-bet against a player who is capable of four-betting light?

JM: It depends on the table flow and how he views me as a player. If he thinks I’m tight, I can three-bet loose, but if he thinks I’m aggressive, I’m going to three-bet only for value.

KA: Against a player who calls a lot of three-bets, what do you have to think about?

JM: Your hand [strength] matters, and your position matters a lot. If you are on the button, your hand will matter a lot less, because you’re going to be able to win more pots easily, but if you are reraising out of position and your opponent is prone to call a lot, your hand will matter more.

KA: How does your range or bet-sizing change when you are out of position?

JM: Generally, if I am deeper, I’m going to be three-betting a tighter range, just because I am going to be called more often. In regard to bet-sizing, whenever I’m out of position, I’ll make it bigger, to discourage people from flat-calling as much.

KA: What about raise sizes in and out of position?

JM: If I’m really deep and in position, I’ll generally make it 2.5 or 3 times an opponent’s raise. If I’m out of position, it will be about 3.5 or 4 times the raise. If I’m deeper, I’ll three-bet to a larger amount. If I’m shorter, where people are going to flat-call less often, I can get away with three-betting to smaller amounts.