Three-betting is a powerful move in poker, one that can force a fold or instantly build the pot. It’s not always easy to pull the trigger, but learning how and when to three-bet will dramatically improve your win rate.

Inexperienced players tend not to three-bet often enough, and do so only with their very strongest hands. This isn’t a bad place to start. But you’ll be missing out on a lot of value if you only ever three-bet with aces and kings – not to mention, you’ll become very predictable.

So, are you three-betting enough? Here’s how to find out.

What is a typical three-bet percentage?

All variable considered and across all positions, a typical three-bet percentage is usually between 6% and 11%.

There are certain situations that are much better for three-betting than others. Such as when you are in position against a particular type of opponent. We’ll cover those factors in more details shortly.

But for now, let’s look at a breakdown of hands. If you’re three-betting the top 6% of hands, that only includes premiums. So pocket aces, kings, queens, maybe jacks, along with ace-king and ace-queen hands.

If you’re only three-betting those hands, you’re not doing it enough. That would be a very tight range. At the very least, you’re going to need to add in a few strong bluff hands to balance the range, hands that flop well and/or have blockers, such as JTs and A5s.

By the time you’ve added in a few bluffs to balance your three-betting range, you’re probably looking at closer to 7-9% of hands. You’ll rarely ever three-bet bluff from early position, other than the blinds. And you’ll include more hands when in position against weak opponents.

Main factors to consider when three-betting

Given that 6-11% is a rough average, there will be times when you’re three-betting much wider than this, depending on the situation. There are several factors to consider when deciding when and how often to three-bet. They include:

Your position and open-raisers position

First, you’ll want to three-bet more often when in position, such as on the button or in the cutoff. There are less players left to act behind you who can flat call or wake up with a monster and four-bet.

You’ll have position over the original raiser when they call your three-bet, which will give you more opportunities to win the pot by other means. Whether by value betting when you hit or bluffing when you miss.

You should also consider the position of the original raiser, as this will help you to determine their opening range. If you’re facing an early position raiser, it’s more likely they themselves have a monster. A late position raiser, on the other hand, could have a wide range of hands.

Generally you’ll want to stick to value hands against early position raiser. All while including more bluffs and medium strength hands against late position raisers.

Stack sizes

Stack sizes matter for several reasons when you’re three betting. First, you never want to commit to the pot by three-betting if you’re not willing to call for the rest of your stack. Generally, if you put one-third of your stack or more in the middle preflop, you should be willing to go all the way.

When stacks are deep, you won’t have this problem, as you can afford to raise-fold. When they are at a medium depth, you’ll have to think carefully before three-betting if it commits you.

On the other hand, when you or your opponents have a short stack, you can usually loosen up and three-bet lighter, applying maximum pressure with less risk.

Adapting to opponents

It’s possible to construct a kind of general three-betting range based on position and stack sizes, but this won’t be the way to win the most chips. To make the most of three-betting, you’ll need to adapt your approach to each opponent and to the table dynamics as a whole.

For example, if an opponent is very tight and only raises with very strong hands, they won’t make a great target for three-betting light. When they do raise, tight players often have premium hands that they should be calling, if not four-betting with.

On the other hand, opponents who are very loose could be raising lots of mediocre and even trashy hands that will have a very hard time calling a three-bet.

The ideal opponent for three-bet bluffing against is a loose player who folds when they are met with resistance. The ideal opponent for three-betting for value against is a loose player who calls too often against three-bets.

Overall then:

• Tighten up your three-bet range when you are out of position, when a three-bet would commit you to the pot, or when opponents are only raising strong hands
• Loosen up your three-bet range when you are in position, with either deep or very shallow stacks, facing loose raisers. Bluff more when they fold too often and use a merged value range if they call with trash