For those playing 10nl and lower, we're not 3betting enough. Each month for the last 4, I've 3bet lighter and lighter, picking up on reads and table conditions that will make it profitable. I started 3betting more thanks to guides from Renton, IlikeAces and Sauce123, available in the Beginner's Digest and SS NLHE forum Digest. It's really helped improve my game to open up my 3betting range. Here's my guide to 3betting principles for noobies and beginner's.
Why 3bets work: position, opponent inexperience and a narrow calling range
We most often 3bet from LP, drive out players behind us, and keep that positional advantage all the way through the hand. Villan HAS to have a narrow range if he calls a 3bet. Villains at 10nl where I play fold way too much, call way too much and 4bet way too little when they're 3bet. They almost always make a big preflop mistake when you 3bet them. Postflop, their narrow range and lack of position works against them.
Villain's 3bet calling range
What would you call a 3bet with? Me, I'd consider calling with AQ+, AJs+ and 99 - QQ. Maybe KQs, but not often. Of course, this is read dependent, but it provides a pretty accurate picture of what we might face. There are some important points to notice about your microstakes opponents that make them ripe for 3betting:
1. They nearly always 4bet AA and KK and 4bet AK about half the time. This makes cbetting with something like JJ great on Axx and Kxx flops.
2. They overplay Ax massively, allowing for profitable 3bets with AQ and AJ, even AT in some spots. You'll get called with lots of Axs crap that will be dominated. And a lot of AK will 4 bet. Obviously, when you have AK, 3bets are a must.
3. They fold too often, and don't raise enough. Both increase our 3betting value.
4. They see the objective size of the pot - it's HUGE ZOMG!! - and get week-tight postflop. Since many, many players are weak-tight already, they often call a 3bet and just surrender the pot, afraid of 30bb raise. They fail to realize the size of the raise depends only on the pot. Once we've decided we'd like to bet or raise, the amount is pretty standard. Villains let big bets awe them too much.
5. They rarely adjust when we start 3betting light. They have little or no experience dealing with 3bets. So they spew and spew and give us better and better reads which makes us start 3betting lighter and lighter. What is the best defenses against agro 3bettors? Tighten up when they're still left to act preflop, 3bet them FIRST as often as possible, and look for spots to 4bet them thinner than you would normally. Just one timely 4bet can REALLY shut down a 3bettor at the micros. So I can adjust to 3betting, but I can't count on two fingers the number of times I've seen a microstakes opponent make a GOOD adjustment to my 3betting.
3bets and board texture
Take the following base range as "good" 3bet flat call: TT - QQ, AQ+, AJs+. The interesting thing is that a couple great hands (i.e. AA and KK and, to some extent, AK) are NOT in the typical calling range, but they are in Hero's 3betting range. That leaves villain at a disadvantage EVEN WHEN HE CONNECTS WITH THE FLOP. Also note that the pp's are small part of the range, so almost 2/3's of the time (or more!) we're facing unpaired high cards. So we're counting on the board to scare villain almost 90% of the time.
Examples
Board: 732 - Almost no microstakes villain can call a cbet here, and most of them just check when acting first.
Board: Axx - Kicker battle. When Hero reps AK, his bets are MUCH more believable than the guy who called to get here. I bet every Axx flop regardless of my cards when checked to, and I cbet liberally, here. I've even been known to raise with "air," but that's very read dependent.
Board: Kxx - Oddly, there are almost no K's in villain's calling range, unless he's REALLY loose and would call with lots of KT+ and Kxs hands. If that's the case, we love this guy. If not, we're probably ahead here. Bet like a man. Raise him off of QQ and JJ "feeler bets."
Board: JT7 - Ouch!! This board sucks for us unless we have JJ. If villain is frisky here, he's probably either got QQ for an overpair/backdoor straight or a set. We probably continue with QQ+, but AJ+ we'll probably have to fold. Also, be wary when villain check raises, as he often will with a set. Sometimes, when this board drills villain's range and misses our hand completely, a check behind is best.
Board: 3 flush - I generally ignore the flush possibilities. The 3bet calling range is long on Big Card power and short on Flush Draw combos. But the board also shuts down the action, so checking behind is okay. If I've got the A or K high flush draw, I'm firing away. Be wary of A high flush when doing that with the KHFD, however! Most players give up way too easy when the board 3-flushes, so cbetting wins make up for times we end up betting into a made flush.
Board: AQx - Cbet here a lot, especially with JJ and TT which serve as "blocking" cards that prevent villain from completing a straight draw and cut down on the outs he's counting. Your ace is often good, but you need to note which players call too much with Ax to know if medium aces like AJ might be good here. Also, when villain has KQ or AK, he's still not going to feel great about continuing with the hand, worried he's dominated.
The last two boards show how slight variations in board make a HUGE different when we're playing 3bet pots. Boards with A's and K's give Hero the advantage while J's and T's give the caller an advantage. Q's are a slight advantage to Hero, depending on the other flop cards.
Finally, be VERY wary playing TPTK and 2 pair hands in 3bet pots with lots of broadways hitting the flop. Example: you hold AK and 3bet, get a caller, and the flop comes AKT with two in a suit. You've got to bet, here, obviously, but AQ, AJ, QQ and JJ all have 4 outs to a straight, QQ and JJ have 2 additional outs to a set. TT has you drawing thin already. Yes, the majority of the time, you're way ahead. But there's less maneuvering room up here, especially if villain isn't a deep stack.
Hero's 3bet Range
It may seem odd to you that no discussion of Hero's 3betting range happened until the end. But it helps to know why a 3bet is powerful before we look at what hands to try it with. At 10nl, I'm 3betting:
ALWAYS with JJ+ and AK
OFTEN with 99+, AQ+, AJs+ and KQs
SOMETIMES with AJ+, A9s+ and KQ
I need a read to activate my "sometimes" hands, and usually position, too. I activate my "often" range almost every time I think I can isolate a player I think is weak that I have a decent read on, almost regardless of whether he's weak loose, weak tight, passive or aggressive. Also, "always" doesn't really mean "always" for JJ, which I might call with in raised multiway pots, etc.
This post is long enough, so just go from here and use these ideas to expand your 3betting range. Villain's range is narrow and fixed, so you learn very quickly how to cbet, value bet and lay it down postflop.
Good luck at the tables!!
