4 Bet Bluffs (5) - In Position
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4-Bet Bluffs (5) – In Position
by MiiWiin
In the final part of this series, you'll get the opportunity to learn how to use a 4-bet bluff in position. In position you generally have the advantage of being able to simply call a possible 3-bet. It goes without saying that this needs to be taken into consideration.
In order to keep things transparent, your opponents stats have been limited to the following six values and it is assumed you have a sufficient sample size.
VPIP / PFR / 3-bet / Fold to 3-bet / 4-bet / Fold to 4-bet
In position, you raise from early position, a blind 3-bets
PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero UTG ($100)
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
BU ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100) (20/16/8/65/12/40) [VPIP/PFR/3b/ft3b/4b/ft4b]
Preflop: Hero is UTG with K
, Q
Hero raises to $4.00, 4 folds, BB raises to $14.00, Hero...
Balancing in general:
In a spot like this there's very little opportunity for you to balance. A player from the blinds who you would normally have position over in the following rounds, shows enormous strength by countering your raise in early postition with a 3-bet. The player could just call with a lot of hands, there is little sense in him turning his hand into a bluff with a 3-bet/fold.
Balancing vs Villan:
Your opponent may not be easy to play, however, as already mentioned, you'll usually have position over him. There's no reason to give him a hard time here. He won't even discover this spot most of the time anyway.
Card removal / 4-bet option / raise size:
The K blocks a lot of his combinations, from a mathmatical perspective you can play 4-bet/fold. The raise size here should be around 2.5 times higher, so around $34-$35.
Alternative call 3-Bet?
Your hand isn't necessarily suitable for finding a call here. You may be in position, however Villain's 3-bet range is really narrow, even for a call. You'll be regularly dominated postflop.
Raise:
Neither a 4-bet bluff nor a 3-bet is appropriate here. It should be quite a light fold.
PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero UTG ($100)
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
BU ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100) (27/23/11/39/21/55) [VPIP/PFR/3b/ft3b/4b/ft4b]
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 9 , T
Hero raises to $4.00, 4 folds, BB raises to $14.00, Hero...
Balancing in general:
See example 1.
Balancing vs Villan:
This type of player tries to find tight decisions through extreme preflop aggression. His fold to 4-bet value is quite high, you can certainly generate fold equity here with a 4-bet. However, it's also true to say here that you will normally play against this opponent in position.
Card removal / 4-bet option / raise size:
Even without card removal effect, a 4-bet/fold is possible. As in example 1, the raise size will be $34-$35.
Alternative call 3-bet?
Here you need to assess your opponent's postflop skills. In position you can definitely play a suited connecter, even in a 3-betted pot. You only need indirect implied odds for that. You can also take the pot with a float on the turn or an aggressive draw play on the flop. You need to use your powers of assessment here.
Result:
The 4-bet bluff is more plausible here than in the first example. However, a call could be appealing too and is, at the very least, a alternative worth mentioning. The playability is quite good and moreover, you're not facing the danger of being dominated.
PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero UTG ($100)
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
BU ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100) (70/25/15/35/27/10) [VPIP/PFR/3b/ft3b/4b/ft4b]
Preflop: Hero is UTG with A , 6
Hero raises to $4.00, 4 folds, BB raises to $14.00, Hero...
Balancing in general:
See example 1.
Balancing vs Villan:
You can hardly balance against this opponent. It's not necessary to think about making audacious moves at this juncture. Luckily, you're usually in position when acting against such an opponent, which almost automatically means cash for you. This rarely occuring spot doesn't have to send a signal.
Card removal / 4-bet option / raise size:
Despite the card removal effect, a 4-bet fold here is marginal. This Villain won't regularly fold to your 4-bet. So you may find yourself in a 4-bet pot with ace high quite often, or get a push from weaker hands. 4-bet/fold here is marginal from a mathmatical point of view.
The raise size will be $34-$35, so you'll need about 33% equity.
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 33.168% | 32.294% | 1.748% | 65.958% | A 6 |
| Player 2 | 66.832% | 65.958% | 1.748% | 32.294% | 55+, AQs+, KQs, AQo+ |
Is the shove range here realistic? Sadly it's very hard to say against opponents like this. Put simply, your hand is too weak to profitably 4-bet/call. However, a 4-bet/fold can be a mistake in some circumstances.
Alternative call 3-bet?
The hand speaks against this, as it will be frequently dominated. However, if you're thinking of calling a 3-bet with this kind of hand, then do it against this opponent.
Result:
4-bet/fold is very risky and doesn't make much sense. The fold equity may be too low and if your opponent pushes you will have a really difficult decision. You can hardly be sure if your 4-bet is for value or if it counts as a bluff.
Calling the 3-bet wouldn't be the biggest mistake, however you should be aware that this will leave you in difficult spots postflop. As previously mentioned above, you need to look at the whole table. You've got position over this player and can wait for a much better opportunity to relieve him of his money. That's why you should find a fold here.
In position, you raise from late position, a blind 3-bets
PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($100)
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
Hero BU ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100) (18/14/7/75/8/60) [VPIP/PFR/3b/ft3b/4b/ft4b]
Preflop: Hero is BU with K
, T
3 folds, Hero raises to $4.00, 1 fold, BB raises to $13.00, Hero...
Balancing in general:
It goes without saying that this is a spot to balance. You raise on the button, a blind actively defends. You can't be tight here and give your hand up too often. After all, poker is about stealing the blinds, you should keep your foot on the gas.
Balancing vs Villan:
This opponent appears to be tight, however his values provide information. He could place a 3-bet but there'll be a headwind and he will have to pull out of the pot again quick smart. He folds a lot to 3-bets, which generally means that this opponent doesn't think a lot about his open raising range, or about going for light 4-bets (4-bet bluffs).
He'll look at his cards and will think your 4-bet is strong. Moreover, the probablility is quite high that he will give up his blind against your steal more lightly in the future, as he won't want to more than 3-bet bluff and will retreat under return fire.
Card removal / 4-bet option / raise size:
Your K takes care of card removal and mathmatically you can't hold off a push. The raise size should be between $32 and $33.
Alternative call 3-bet?
You don't want to play a 3-betted pot against your opponent with KTo, despite your good position. You can hardly hit a reasonable flop, a hand can be dominated a lot more. You should either bluff or give up.
Result:
A 4-bet bluff is perfect against an opponent like this and successfully combines a number of points. You regularly win the pot, can steal the blinds more lightly in the future, gain a looser image and therefore don't need to think about if you can profitably go all-in with hands like AK/QQ in the medium-term future.
He'll adapt to this by pushing more lightly for value, but not so lightly that you could have a profitable call, even to a lesser extent, with hands like Ax or Kx.
You should 4-bet very regularly here.
PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($100)
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
Hero BU ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100) (24/21/9/60/15/38) [VPIP/PFR/3b/ft3b/4b/ft4b]
Preflop: Hero is BU with 4 , 6
3 folds, Hero raises to $4.00, 1 fold, BB raises to $12.50, Hero...
Balancing in general:
See example 4.
Balancing vs Villan:
The values shift with this opponent. On one hand, this opponent will often try to use a re-steal, on the other, he doesn't seem to give up as often as the opponent in example 4.
However, he can still fold to 4-bets, you're less likely to expect a bluff shove.
Card removal / 4-bet option/ raise size:
For a raise size to approx. $31, a 4-bet/fold would be a logical options, even withouth the card removal effect.
Alternative call 3-bet?
64s has very appealing playability, however, in a 3-betted pot you need a postflop plan and have to ask yourself whether you can make a good move against Villain.
Result:
You can completely rule out calling the 3-bet, however it will be difficult to play +EV long-term with this. The option of choice should be fold or 4-bet bluff. Here, you need to stick to a resonable frequency, as discussed in part 2. The spot is suitable for this but you shouldn't over-do it. It would be advantageous to throw in a 4-bet bluff here at regular intervals, in order to stop your opponent from re-stealing regularly.
PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($100)
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
Hero BU ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100) (13/10/4/50/4/10) [VPIP/PFR/3b/ft3b/4b/ft4b]
Preflop: Hero is BU with Q , 9
3 folds, Hero raises to $4.00, 1 fold, BB raises to $11.00, Hero...
Balancing in general:
See example 4.
Balancing vs Villan:
This opponent is too tight for you to be able to use your 4-bet bluffs against him sensibly here. He 3-bets comparatively little and, when he does, he seems to rarely give up to a 4-bet. Conversely, this means that Villain rarely goes on the attack against you and so hardly any re-steals will falter. That's why there's no reason to react aggressively here.
Card removal / 4-bet option / raise size:
The queen may block some AQ and possible KQ combinations as well as QQ, however, it's not as valuable as an ace or a king. The bet size should be approx. $28, mathmatically speaking, a 4-bet/fold is also possible.
Alternative call 3-bet?
Despite the fact that your odds aren't too bad at all, you shouldn't venture a call against this opponent here. With the exception of when you have solid reads or stats about Villain and know how you can still regularly win the pot postflop.
Result:
Without clear reads you'll rarely find a call here, there's no reason for a 4-bet. It won't work often enough and doesn't fulfill any purpose where balancing is concerned either.
| » SUMMARY |
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To finish off we've looked at six examples in position. You should have taken a couple of approaches on board here. The rest is up to you. Neither opponent nor situation can be portrayed so succinctly as to enable you to make a near perfect decision every time. It is precisely the points that are only addressed briefly, such as image, gameflow and history, which are particularly important in spots such as these. If you have the feeling that it's simply time to make a stand, then do it. The 4-bet bluff is an important tool, which makes it negligable if the move your trying for in a certain hand really is +EV. If the result is that you can steal more often yourself, get fewer re-steals, can portray a looser image and get a higher payout for your strong hands because you aren't readable in your 4-betting range, then this is valuable too. If you've avoided 4-bet bluffs altogther up to now, then this was intended to be a first step towards recognising your profitability. |
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