Poker Basics - Fold to 3Bet

We continue our look at HUD stats that can teach all of us something with the measure of how a player responds to aggression.

You can learn from HUD stats, even if you don't use tracking software and even if you are playing live. 

Fold to 3Bet % is precisely what the name suggests. It is a measure of how often an opener folds when they have been 3Bet. So if a player opens 20% of hands and has a Fold to 3Bet % of 50%, they likely are continuing against 3Bets with the top 10% of hands. 

When a player has a low Fold to 3Bet % you can exploit them by value betting them more, because they will continue too often in big pots. When it is too high you can exploit them by taking down pots uncontested. 

The signs of a balanced strategy

A good balanced strategy will see a Fold to 3Bet % of about 55%. What this really is telling the opposition is that you are opening with a good balance of strong and weak hands, good enough that you can continue with more than half of them when 3Bet. 

When a player has a Fold to 3Bet of 30% or lower it means they are calling 3Bets with bad hands. The strategy here is to raise them mostly for value. When a player has a Fold to 3Bet of 65% or more then they are giving up too easily preflop, you can essentially print money against them by taking down more than your fair share of uncontested pots. 

VPIP and PFR play a big role in understanding a player's Fold to 3Bet %. If, for example, a player has tight stats like 17/16 and then they fold 70% of the time when they are 3Bet, you can safely put them on only the absolute strongest hands post flop. Likewise, if a player is 38/18 and they only fold 30% of the time, you can put them on a wide range post flop. Then you might have a player who opens tight (17/16) and as a result rarely folds to 3Bets (30%), essentially meaning they continue with around the top 12% of hands.

Even if you don't play with a HUD or play live, this is a useful thing to watch out for. When a player open raises a hand they signal strength. Whether they give up easily or never give up when 3Bet, either way it tells you about the kind of range you will be up against in 3Bet pots where the Stack to Pot Ratio is low. 

If you do play on a site that uses a HUD and you are interested in using one, we recommend PokerTracker 4 which you can try for free right here.  

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