I've been working alot with some students and myself lately on this, and being of the former school of WCGRider's goons, I want to discuss with people in SSFR the light 3bet.

When is it okay to light 3bet, what kinds of hands do you guys 3bet light with, and why? Is it really true that 3betting a junk hand is the same as 3betting a hand with reverse implied odds? (KQo vs 72o)

Just wanted to generate some discussion on one of the more interesting aspects of the full ring grinders game.

Also, I want to hear some reasoning on 3betting hands like 56s, 910s, and A4s? Do you guys always use an excuse to 3bet these hands, is it for value, what types of opponents, etc?

I don't 3bet light. Such a big leak. Too much fancy play syndrome

no.


3betting light is like walking a tight rope. You have to balance it out with many options.

You 3bet light for a few reasons:

win money
open up your range pre
take advantage of PoF leaks (hopefully in position)

as with any part of your game over using this or applying it to the incorrect player type will lose you money.

it is true that many 10%+3betters are breakeven or even losers.

a nice 5-6% stat is good imo.

My rules for 3betting:

who:more vs weak regs or passive foldy fish
less vs good regs and stations or aggrofish

when: way more IP than OOP.

what: I way prefer to 3bet say A9o vs AJs. I am not a big fan of 3betting scs (I know that some are). However if you have a good read on a villains range or PoF tendencies you can 3bet any hand. Just dont repeat too many times in a short period of time.

I used to 3bet A TON, but when I played round with the numbers I suddenly realized I wasn't making money, in fact I was losing alot.

And then I looked at "why"?

Well the first reason was because I was running like 30/30, and people doesn't like to fold aginst maniacs. REMEMBER your image before 3betting. VERY IMPORTANT!!

But the second most important reason was basiclly because people didn't fold their "trash" hands often enough, both preflop and on the flop. People does not want to be pushed around, and happilly called with 88 or JTs OOP. And then u're thinking "they'll just play fit-or-fold post flop, just fire a cbet = profit, but when I checked "cbet succes in 3bet pot" I realized it was below 40%!

Point is, 3betting light is very marginal and shouldn't be done aginst players that you are a little unsure about. Remember, if CO opens to 3 and u 3bet to 12$, you're risking 12$ to win 4.5$.

Edit: Now my 3bet % is a mere 6%, but heavily weighened towards the BTN where it's almost 10%.

I don't 3 bet just to 3 bet.

Either I have a hand thats good and worth 3-betting, or I'm punishing a player who is raising way to much.

I normally don't get involved in 3 betting tight players with weak or marginal holdings. If I want to make plays at them, I find other ways.

Problem that most people get into 3betting light is c-betting the wrong flops, 3betting too much OOP, and the worst is dbl barrelling air on the turn.

you have to sometimes or else your super easy to play against because you always have AA/KK when you bet the flop and turn in a 3bet pot

need to find the regs that call the first barrel with 88-JJ but often fold to the second bet

im not saying you should double barrel all the time in 3bet pots.... but it is something that needs to be done sometimes

This is true. Just trying make the point that it is generally a leak once they call the flop.

Nice post by imfromsweden, especially the part about opponents not folding their trash enough. I note opponents reactions to 3 bets (and their cards if there's a showdown) and then exploit them accordingly.
I think the most important factor in 3 betting is your opponent, not your cards. If they're never folding, then don't 3 bet them with rags or something you want to see a flop with (small pairs, suited connectors etc). If you 3bet them and miss, you just wasted a bet to see a flop you could have seen cheaper and chances are you'll get paid either way if you hit. Also keep in mind that if they call every 3 bet that this presents a great opportunity to get more value out of your big hands. If you know they're calling and you have a monster then you can make an even larger 3 bet than you would against a less fishy opponent.
The OPs original question was about what types of hands do you 3 bet light with but I think the question should be what type of opponent should you 3 bet light.

If you standard bet on the flop is around 1/2 PS, then anything over 33% success is +EV.

If you are looking to get your stack in with a 100BB game, this isn't bad. Pot on the flop is 25bb, which means a 13bb bet. That makes the pot about 51bb on the turn with 75bb left. No need to over bet on any street to make a reasonable sized bet on the river with the rest of your stack.

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[x] number three is so false it hurts

Seriously I wanted to mark this thread...good reads

I only 3-bet QQ+/AK and 56s because it looks pretty.

But not T8s? It's the stone cold nuts man!!!!

spot on.

I don't 3bet light for the sake of balancing my range.

I 3bet for value with my good hands against those who call too many 3bets.

I dont 3bet ep raisers light. I don't 3bet light against strong TAGs who don't fold. I don't 3bet LAGs who don't fold either.

I only 3bet light against players who are stealing or raising too much, as long as i believe they will fold.

I think the biggest thing that opened my eyes when it came to 3betting light is:

-You can 3bet a TON IP
-Holy crap, Im allowed to c/f after I 3bet

im sorry but most of this thread is really wrong

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

you should share!!! we come here to learn not to be told we're wrong.

It took me almost a year to learn that 2+2 is all about leveling other regs when you post so that no one learns crap. Carry on......

pretty much.

3betting light is way more dynamic and opponent-dependent than people in this thread are making it out to be.

This a level? If it is does that mean it's really not?

More love for this. I try to resteal from the blinds with what I think is the top half of the stealer's range. However, if I think I have a reasonable calling hand, I'd rather call. If I get 4bet over my A9o, I've lost my bluff. If I get 4bet over my AJs, I've lost the chance to see the flop for relatively cheap.

you should 3b all of your raising hands all the time regardless of position and opponent

see a raise before u

hit pot

profit



it is undefeatable

i 3bet light a lot and 3 bet for value a lot. I don't mix the two. If you can't identify which one you are doing you should refrain from doing it.

and 3-betting light is very profitable vs many many players who are auto betting their button or SB and also have f23b of some ridiculous percentage and play horrible when spr is low.

he doesn't want to help(hopefully nobody does), he just wants to remind everyone hes better than they are.