Is an aggressive regular constantly using position to 3bet your open raises?
Pool research shows that many regulars surpass a GTO poker 3bet frequency from the BTN positions and earlier.
It's not surprising. In most poker games, the opening player often flat calls too much and rarely 4bets.
It’s too easy for the aggressor to play lots of profitable three-bet pots with position.
In this article, we’ll consider how we can fight back as the defender.
Classic HJ vs BTN 3bet Scenario
Let’s outline a typical scenario. We open raise in the HJ for 2.2bb and face an 8bb 3bet from the BTN.
The BTN is an aggressive regular who has been 3betting us in similar spots all session.
We know that we need to play back at least as aggressively as the theory suggests. Let's consider what that looks like.
- Calling frequency ~16.1%
- 4betting frequency ~21.7%
This scenario exposes an important heuristic:
Notice that we are 4betting more aggressively than we are calling.
Assuming we defend, we 4bet around 57% of the time and flat around 43% of the time.
For most poker players, the play is the opposite. They primarily defend by calling and occasionally 4bet. This result proves why 3betting aggressively with position is so profitable.
Theory says that the BTN is supposed to be 3betting around 9.1% of the time here. However, an aggressive regular can easily reach a 12% frequency (or higher) without being effectively punished for it.
The Key – 4bet Semi-Bluffing
The missing piece of the puzzle for many players is realising that a semi-bluff region is much more crucial in this spot than usual, especially against this particular opponent type.
It's all too easy to give Villain extra credit here. After all, they 3bet against our HJ or EP.
But this spot is where our opponent is getting out of line, rather than a spot where we should give them credit for a strong range.
Additionally, even as a theoretical default, we require a semi-bluff region that encompasses the following:
- KT-KQs
- AT-AJs
- A5s, A4s and AQo
Even 88-JJ can 4bet at a low frequency, with TT+/AK having the plan to call against a 5bet jam.
If we only implement the suited broadways and the AQo as 4bets, it will massively impact the poker bluff effectiveness of our aggressive opponent’s strategy.
Going Forward
This guide serves as a starting point. If our opponent overshoots GTO 3bet frequencies, we might incorporate additional semi-bluffs profitably.
Further, we’ll be most comfortable with our aggressive 4bets if we spend time working on postflop play in 4bet pots.
Naturally, we’ll sometimes get called, and we’ll want to be familiar with how to proceed postflop.
If we are unsure at first, we recommend c-betting our entire range for 25% pot.
- Barrel the turn for a similar sizing if we have some sort of draw or decent overcards.
- If we have top pair or an overpair, we should generally be willing to play for stacks.
Now that we've got the aggro players covered, how about getting to grips with advanced button stealing!
