Lesson overview
Defending Against 3-Bets
Choose fold, call, or 4-bet with the whole hand in mind
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Inside the full lesson
Is a hand good enough to open always good enough to defend?
In the full lesson, you work through this scenario with interactive examples.
You open to 2.5bb and face a reraise. Switch its size and position to see why the same suited hand can face a different decision.
What you’ll learn
- Build different defenses by position and size
- Distinguish calling equity from realizable equity
- Plan 4-bets and low-SPR postflop play
From the full lesson
Rebuild the range from the configuration
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
An early-position open facing a tight reraise is different from button versus blind. Identify both positions, the extra cost and effective stacks before choosing a defense. Calling needs a route to realizing equity: position, useful draws and strong top pairs help; dominated offsuit pairs and expensive calls out of position can struggle.
From the full lesson
Give every reraise a purpose
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
A value 4-bet wants enough worse hands to continue. A bluff 4-bet needs credible folds and a plan against a shove; an ace blocker alone cannot supply those folds. Once you call, use the flop betting range and price. A lower SPR reduces maneuvering room but never makes every top pair an automatic stack-off.
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