MSS Advanced (3) - Preflop II

Introduction

In this article

• The purpose of making 3-bets in mid stack strategy
  
• Isolation raises and bluff 3-bets
  
• When you can 4-bet for value
  

This article introduces you to the basics of 3-betting in advanced mid stack strategy. When you 3-bet, your main goal is to exploit your opponents' leaks and at the same time have a well-balanced repertoire of value bets and bluff 3-bets, which is difficult to exploit.

General tips and comprehensive analyses of example hands will shed light on various aspects of value bets as well as bluff 3-bets. Moreover, you will get an insight into the topic of 4-bets in mid stack strategy.

3-bets in MSS

As mentioned earlier, one major goal of 3-betting is exploiting the leaks of your opponents. The fold-3-bet stat is particularly important in this context. You need to include this stat in your considerations in an appropriate way and be able to tell in which situations you can profitably play 3-bet/call and when you can profitably play 3-bet/fold.

If you make 3-bets in the right situations, you can significantly increase your non-SD winnings.

Let's come to the main topic of this article: value 3-bets, which are at the very core of 3-bet strategy.

The following chart tells you with which hands you can 3-bet for value against a certain open-raising range. Of course these are not rigid rules set in stone, but rather well-grounded assumptions about 3-bet play in general. The chart does not take into consideration any specific reads or the table flow.

Download 3-betting chart

Every time you opt for a value 3-bet, you should keep in mind that you usually cannot fold to a 4-bet when playing MSS. Of course the situation is different with a bluff 3-bet, as you will see in a little bit.

We will now look at some examples of value 3-bets. You will occasionally run into stronger hands in these scenarios, but you would also have to call a shove after making a 3-bet. Although there is a possibility that you are dominated, your equity against your opponent's range is still sufficient for this play to be profitable.

Let's analyse our first spot. A player who you consider to be a semi-regular open-raises, you don't have any further reads on him.

$2/$4 No Limit Hold'em (8-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
UTG2 = ($147.10)
MP1 = ($422.45) (24 / 14 / 3B: 4 / 4B: 6% / Fto3B: 53% ) 612H
MP2 = ($330.55)
MP3 = ($527.30)
CO (Hero) = ($198.00)
BU = ($414.80)
SB = ($431.00)
BB = ($400.00)

Preflop: Hero is CO with
UTG2 folds, MP1 raises to $8.00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $24.40, 3 folds, MP1 raises to $48.00, Hero raises to $198.00

The impression you have of Villain is based on a number of orbits, which you have played with him during the course of several sessions. You have collected 612 hands that he has played and he is a very loose player compared to full ring standards. Derived from this small sample size, his stats are 24/14. You also know that he raises 19% of hands when he is in MP. However, he only folds 53% to 3-bets, which on the one hand is bad for your potential bluffing range, but on the other hand excellent for your value 3-bets.

In this hand, you are on the cut-off with AKs and wonder what might be the most profitable line against Villain. With such a strong hand, there is basically only one possible option against this type of opponent: Your game plan includes aggressive preflop play and that is why you should 3-bet for value with your AKs in this spot. Especially against this opponent type, this play will be extremely profitable.

At the same time it means that you can no longer fold to a potential 4-bet, since AKs has enough equity against the 4-betting range, even if it is very tight.

A cold call with AKs is conceivable, but wouldn't be a good choice here. A cold call would be more profitable against opponents who have an extremely high fold-3-bet stat: You won't get any value from weaker hands because Villain will fold them, and you will be strongly dominated by his value shoving range (e.g. QQ+, AK).

A special case of preflop 3-bets are 3-bets in reaction to isolation raises made by regs against weaker players. The following example will illustrate a typical situation. A fish posts the dead blind in MP3 and a regular raises him. As the blind poster has a range of 100% here, the regular's range becomes extremely wide. This is because the situation is basically a double blind steal from the button or an isolation raise, respectively. This makes the spot very interesting.

$2/$4 No Limit Hold'em (8-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
UTG2 = ($192.20)
MP1 = ($443.90)
MP2 = ($441.30)
MP3 = ($400.00)
CO = ($400.00)
BU = ($271.05) (13 / 10 / 3B: 4 / 4B: 13% / Fto3B: 68% ) 36k
SB (Hero) = ($196.00)
BB = ($80.00)

Preflop: Hero is SB with
MP3 posts dead blind, 3 folds, MP3 checks, 1 fold, BU raises to $16.00, Hero?

In this case, you would naturally not consider a fold or a cold call, since it is not easy to play TT out of position in a multi-way pot and both opponents in the hand have a very wide range.

That is why a value 3-bet is certainly the best and most profitable option. Your TT have excellent equity against these wide ranges and the playability also increases with the 3-bet. Of course the button might wake up with a strong hand, but you would still be far ahead against his entire isolation range.

On top of that, he folds to 3-bets in 68% of cases anyway. This already makes the move per se profitable. If one of your opponents shoves, you have an easy call. All in all, this is a clear 3-bet for value situation.

After these two examples of value 3-betting, we will now put our focus on bluff 3-bets.

As a mid stack, there are several things to consider if you are thinking about bluff 3-betting. Depending on the stack size, you have to check if it is still possible for you to fold after you 3-bet. With a stack that has already shrunk, you can no longer 3-bet and then fold, because your pot odds would be too good and you would also have sufficient equity against a range that dominates you.

This particularly affects pocket pairs. You usually have enough equity with a pocket pair, so that you would also have to call a shove. That's why you should generally only 3-bet for value with a pocket pair.

On the other hand, some hand ranges are particularly suitable for bluff 3-bets. Let's take a look at the following two little tables. The first one lists suitable bluff 3-betting ranges and the second one lists the required fold equities:

Suitable bluff 3-betting ranges:

The next table shows you how much fold equity you need to make a 3-bet. It is given for various raise sizes.
Example: If you 3-bet to 8.5bb after a 3.5bb open-raise, you need 63% fold equity. In the blinds you would need 61% or 60% fold equity due to the dead money.

These tables with the open-raising ranges already show you: Your bluffing range does not depend on your opponents' open-raising ranges. The reason for this is that you are always dominated against the 4-betting range and your hand doesn't have enough equity for 3-bet/call.

The bluffing range includes a very high number of Ax hands. This is due to the card removal effect. If you have an ace, it is less likely that your opponents have one as well. Also, you have relatively good playability if you get a call.

Ax and Kx are good blockers, because they make it less likely that your opponent has hands such as AA, KK, AK and AQ. Suited hands are of course more suitable in the event that Villain calls, since you might still get to flop flush draws.

The next situation represents a good example of a hand, in which you can use blockers to bluff 3-bet.

$1/$2 No Limit Hold'em (8-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
UTG2 = ($42.00)
MP1 = ($210.15)
MP2 = ($205.15)
MP3 = ($131.65) (17 / 12 / 3B: 3 / 4B: 10% / Fto3B: 68% ) 38k
CO = ($33.05)
BU = ($40.00)
SB = ($239.90)
BB (Hero) = ($87.35)

Preflop: Hero is BB with
3 folds, MP3 raises to $4.00, 3 folds, Hero raises to $10.70, MP3 raises to $86.00, Hero?

MP3 raises and you have A8o in the BB. As he has a relatively high fold 3-bet stat, you decide to make a bluff 3-bet. You have an A blocker, which makes it less likely that he has a monster. It is clear what your game plan is: You fold to any further preflop action. In this case your opponent shoves and you find an easy fold.

What is always important when making a bluff bet: Don't let your opponent level you into the hand, but already think about your next steps before entering the pot and stick to your plan.

3-bets from the blinds also pose a special case. Your opponents will often steal your blinds with a relatively weak range. You can exploit this and 3-bet more lightly. There are also several aspects to pay attention to in this situation. Every somewhat good opponent will know that you are also 3-betting lightly; he will therefore tend to put you on a rather weak range and play back lightly. Especially when in position, he will call with a wide range with the intention to win the hand postflop.

This is one of the reasons why you should make somewhat bigger 3-bets when you are out of position, since this will make his call less profitable. That's why it is easier to 3-bet with a wider range when in position, since your opponents out of position are more likely to play straightforward and won't just call with marginal hands so often. Here is a typical example from a blind battle:

$25/$50 No Limit Hold'em (8-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
UTG2 = ($5,075.00)
MP1 = ($5,247.00)
MP2 = ($1,375.00)
MP3 = ($6,019.00)
CO = ($1,075.00)
BU = ($2,000.00) (No stats)
SB = ($1,747.00)
BB (Hero) = ($2,119.00)

Preflop: Hero is BB with
5 folds, BU raises to $100.00, 1 fold, Hero raises to $400.00, BU raises to $2,000.00 All-In, Hero calls $1,600.00.

Flop: ($4025) (2 players)

Your opponent minraises from the button. Hero 3-bets to four times of Villain's bet, because you should not 3-bet too loosely when out of position. If you made the 3-bet with a value hand, you also have to call the shove.

Reacting to 3-bets

In the next example, you get a 3-bet from Villain after you open-raise. How do you react to that?

$5/$10 No Limit Hold'em (7-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
MP1 = ($811.25)
MP2 = ($547.00)
MP3 (Hero) = ($427.15)
CO = ($308.20) (30 / 8 / 3B: 6 / ) 714h
BU = ($906.00)
SB = ($1,356.75)
BB = ($1,306.55)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with
2 folds, Hero raises to $26.75, CO raises to $70.00,  3 folds , Hero ?

You make a standard open-raise from MP3 with AJo. A rather passive opponent 3-bets you. The question now is what you want to do with your hand. You don't have enough equity against Villain's value range of 6% to profitably play 4-bet/shove.

AJo is simply not strong enough against his range here. As this specific opponent is not very likely to have a bluff range and you are only facing his value range, the decision is easy: You find an easy fold in this hand, since you can't assume that he will go broke with hands such as ATs or KQs.

In general, you should play with a relatively tight value range against 3-bets, especially as a mid stack. You don't have much of a choice due to the stack size and have to play a tight, straightforward game.

4-bet strategy

As just mentioned: In contrast to playing with a big stack, you don't have many options available after a 3-bet if you play with a mid stack. Your 4-bet strategy is basically restricted to going broke with value hands, since bluff 4-bets are not possible. Your game plan against 3-bets therefore only concerns your value range. All other moves would not be profitable.

When can you 4-bet for value? The following examples will shed light on this question.

$2/$4 No Limit Hold'em (7-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
MP1 = ($424.50) (23 / 7 / 3B: 0 / ) 185h
MP2 (Hero) = ($200.00)
MP3 = ($161.00)
CO = ($72.00)
BU = ($475.70)
SB = ($460.45)
BB = ($400.00)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with
MP1 raises to $12.00, Hero raises to $28.75, 5 folds, MP1 raises to $68.99, Hero raises to $200.00, MP1 calls $84.00.

This is an absolutely typical standard spot, which is almost self-evident. Your KK are much too strong to fold after a 3-bet, even if you are 50BB deep. If you don't happen to have a "monster exclusive" read on your opponent, telling you that he only goes broke preflop with AA, you won't be able to avoid going all-in.

$1/$2 No Limit Hold'em (7-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
MP1 = ($85.00) (42 / 4 ) 24h
MP2 = ($210.00)
MP3 = ($200.00)
CO = ($200.00) (16 / 14 / Fto3B: 67 )
BU (Hero) = ($98.00)
SB = ($226.35)
BB = ($200.00)

Preflop: Hero is BU with
MP1 posts Dead Blind, MP1 checks, 2 folds, CO raises to $6, Hero raises to $20, 2 folds, MP1 raises to $55, CO folds, Hero raises to $98, MP1 calls $30.

In this hand, you 3-bet an isolating regular for value. The fish who posted the dead BB decides to play post/4-bet. You should shove with QQ here, especially since you are competing with the fish for less than 50bb.

Conclusion

In this article you learned how you can balance your 3-bets and 4-bets when playing MSS advanced, and how to make these moves as profitable as possible. As always, keep in mind that a general strategy can never be the answer to everything.

Your personal preferences as well as reads, table dynamics and your general feel for the game can also play an important role. It is not always good to neglect your own personal playing style.

LINKS
PDF: Download the 3-betting chart Related articles: MSS Advanced (1) - The Basics MSS Advanced (2) - Preflop I Discussion forum: Discuss this article in the forum Videos: MSS Advanced - The video series