Have you ever found yourself in a spot where you 3-bet (re-raise) before the flop, only to not be sure what to do when the flop comes down?
This is quite common, as most players quickly remember what hands they are supposed to 3-bet preflop, but don’t immediately know what to do with them on further betting streets.
Playing the flop as the 3-bettor can be simplified to a degree, and the top 10 tips for postflop play in 3-bet pots from Jonathan Little you will find here are guaranteed to help you do just that.
Keep reading to learn how to play postflop as the 3-bettor and never find yourself in a spot where you have no idea what to do again.
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#1 – C-Bet More on Dry Boards
When it comes to firing a continuation bet (c-bet) on the flop, the main thing you should be considering is the board texture.
On boards that heavily favor the 3-bettor’s range, you should c-bet with every single hand in your range, as you are more likely to have the best hand than your opponents.
This includes all uncoordinated, high card, and paired boards, as such boards simply don’t connect with many of the hands your opponent may have called a 3-bet with.
For example, if the flop comes A♠9♦3♣ or 7♠7♦2♣, you can go ahead and fire out a c-bet, as your opponent simply hasn’t connected with the board often enough.
Regardless of the board, the 3-bettor can always have strong starting hands like AA, KK, or QQ, while the caller typically doesn’t have many or any of these hands.
For this reason, a small continuation bet on a dry and uncoordinated board typically takes down the pot more often than not and sets you up for success.
#2 – Don’t Worry About Overcards
The one thing that often holds players back from c-betting the flop after 3-betting is an overcard appearing on the board.
For example, players holding JJ or TT will often freeze up when an Ace or a King hit the board, which often ends up costing them the pot they could have won.
Just because an overcard is dealt on the flop, does not mean your opponent has a pair. In fact, you are always the one who is more likely to have paired up on the overcard, especially an Ace.
On a board like A♠9♦4♣, you will have all the AA, 99, AK, AQ combos as the 3-bettor, making your range significantly stronger.
If you happen to skip the c-bet, you are missing out on an opportunity to fold out hands that have some equity but won’t realistically call your bet often.
Whenever you are betting a big portion of your range, you should keep your c-bet small and bet about one third of the pot as a default sizing.
#3 – Be More Aggressive in Position
If you study GTO poker, you will quickly realize that optimal strategy dictates you should be more aggressive postflop after 3-betting if you are in position than if you are out of position.
Being OOP means you have to check some of your range on the flops, while being IP allows you to c-bet a lot more loosely.
For example, given a board of J83, you are meant to c-bet your entire range if you had 3-bet before the flop from HJ against a LJ raise, but you should only c-bet roughly 60% of your range on the same board after 3-betting from the BB against a BTN open.
The fact you have position in one example and don’t have it in the other is quite critical, as being in position allows you to c-bet almost indiscriminately, while being out of position forces you to select the hands you keep betting quite carefully.
There is a lot of methodology as to which hands you should be c-betting in these situations, and this is explained in the later tips.
#4 – Size Bets Based on Board Texture
When it comes to sizing up your c-bets after 3-betting preflop, the board texture should be your main concern and the thing that dictates how large you bet.
As a general rule of thumb, betting smaller on static boards and larger on dynamic boards is recommended, with very few exceptions.
A static board is one where on which the current effective nuts is likely to remain the effective nuts on the turn and river, such as J♥10♥9♠, or 10♠5♥5♦. On boards like this, a bet of just 33% is often the optimal play chosen by the solvers.
On the other hand, a dynamic board is a board on which the effective nuts will change with a lot of different cards, such as J♥10♥4♣. Any 7, 8, 9, Q, K, A, or heart changes this dynamic board quite significantly.
On dynamic boards, you can bet a lot bigger, such as 60% of the pot, as there are many more hands in your opponent’s range that can continue on this board even for a larger size while still being behind your range.
#5 – Check Strong Hands Sometimes
Checking some strong hands on the flop after 3-betting is an important part of optimal strategy, especially out of position.
We already said that you should only be c-betting about 60% of your 3-betting range when OOP, so now it’s time to think about what hands you want to check.
Imagine you 3-bet from the BB and the CO calls, taking you to the flop of Jh8d7c. Since you may want to check some hands that have missed this board completely, such as A♦Q♦, you will also need to check some very strong hands.
Hands like JJ and T9, which are definitely a part of your 3-betting range, fall into this category. These hands are extremely strong and will almost always remain good until the river, which means you don’t need to protect them too much.
On the other hand, your opponent may assume you are giving up quite a lot after you check the river, and they may take a stab with a wide range of poker hands.
What’s even more, by checking these hands on the flop, you create an illusion that your hand is not that strong, which can help you win a lot more money on later streets.
Keep in mind that hands like AJ or KJ should never be checked on a board like this. While they are quite strong on the flop, they are also very vulnerable, and there are many cards that can either improve your opponent to beat you or completely kill your action on the turn.
#6 – Be Aware of Stack Depths
It is also incredibly important to be aware of stack sizes after you 3-bet preflop. Stack size will especially play an important role when you have medium strength hands and weak draws.
For example, imagine flopping a 6-high flush draw or an open-ended straight draw in a spot where your opponent can reasonably go all-in against your c-bet without overbetting.
With weak draws like this, you will have to fold or make a mathematical mistake by calling, neither of which is a good scenario.
Instead, you can check the flop and allow your opponent to check behind and let you realize your equity, or check-raise all-in yourself and give yourself a shot to win the hand without showdown.
If you flop a medium strength hand like top pair with a weak kicker, or second pair, the reasoning would be the same. C-betting can put you into a very tough spot, while checking can allow your opponents to make mistakes and put money into the pot when they have the second best hand.
#7 – Be Careful in Multiway Pots
A situation that comes up a lot in live poker is that you 3-bet before the flop and get called in more than one spot.
If two or more players call your preflop 3-bet, you should be a lot more willing to give up on the flop if you don’t connect with the board.
Even on boards like K62 that typically allow the 3-bettor to c-bet 100% of the time heads up, you should be doing a lot of checking when the pot goes multiway.
Multiway pots simply make it a lot more likely that someone connected with the board or has a hand they are willing to continue with, which means you should not be c-betting without any real equity.
#8 – Keep Barreling Favorable Turns & Rivers
As a general rule, you should keep barreling turns and rivers when favorable cards for your range come after you c-bet the flop.
Favorable cards for you are cards that either don’t change the nuts at all, or big overcards to the board, which turn the hands that missed the flop in your range into top pair or better.
For example, on a board of 55453, firing all three barrels can be a very good play, both with your strong hands like AA, KK, and QQ, and a large number of bluffs.
Since your opponent can’t have the big full houses, and is very unlikely to have quads, you can get away with firing big barrels and forcing your opponent to fold nearly everything in their range.
While you may get called off by a curious full house here and there, most players are reluctant to call big bets with marginal hands, and are more comfortable with folding and moving on to the next hand.
#9 – Be Prepared to Give Up
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you should be willing to give up on betting when turns and rivers bring cards that are especially unfavorable for your range.
Cards that significantly improve your opponent’s hand range and don’t help your range at all are not cards you want to be putting money into the pot on.
For example, imagine 3-betting before the flop and getting called in one spot, only to see a flop of 8h7h3d. You c-bet, and your opponent calls the flop bet.
On the turn, you should be very willing to check-fold on any 8, 7, 6, 5, and some other cards, as these cards improve many hands in your opponent’s range and don’t help your range at all.
This doesn’t mean you should fold a hand like AA or KK, but you should fold a hand like AJ most of the time, as it’s simply very hard for you to win out of position against the range of hands your opponent now has.
#10 – Bluff Catch Rivers
Bluff catching on the river is an essential play you will need to have in your strategy, especially as you start facing tougher opponents.
While river bluff catching can be a bit uncomfortable, it is necessary to call adequately on the river so as to prevent your opponents from running over you.
In the same hand we used in the previous example, where you 3-bet preflop and get called to see the flop of 8♥7♥3♦, you bet, and your opponent calls.
The turn brings the 8♦, you check, and they bet into you. This time around, you have a hand worth a call, so you continue to the river.
The river is a 2♠, which doesn’t help any of the drawing hands in your opponent’s range. You check, and they go all-in for about 70% of the pot.
In a scenario like this, the solver calls hands like AQ, AK, and all better made hands, as there are simply too many bluffs in your opponent’s range.
The CO called the flop with a large number of flush and straight draws that bricked out the turn and river, and would likely be checking a hand like 7x on the river.
For all these reasons, it is important that you bluff catch often enough on the river. That said, keep in mind who your opponent is as well, and make sure not to bluff catch too often against players who play too tight and never go for the big bluff on the river.
