What is a 3-bet in Poker

A 3-bet is the preflop re-raise: raising after someone has already raised. The name comes from counting the bets: the big blind is the first "bet" (1-bet), the first raise is the second (2-bet) and your re-raise is the third (3-bet). If your opponent raises again over your 3-bet, that's a 4-bet.

A 3-bet does two distinct things, and it pays to keep them clear:

• Value 3-bet: you do it with strong hands (AA, KK, QQ, AK) because you want more money in the pot while you're ahead.
• Bluff (or "light") 3-bet: you do it with non-premium hands to make the opponent fold their open. Here you don't win by having the best hand, but by pressure.

An example: the cutoff opens to 3 BB and you, on the button, re-raise to 9 BB with A-5 suited. You don't expect to have the best hand, but the cutoff's wide open folds often, and when it calls, your A-5 suited still has postflop playability. A good 3-bet range mixes both: value hands and chosen bluffs, so the opponent can't tell which one you have.

When to 3-bet as a bluff depends a lot on the opponent: against a calling station who never folds, the bluff loses its point and you're better off doing it for value only.

You can see the recommended 3-bet range for each position in the range analyzer, or understand it in depth in the range guide.