What Is a 3-Bet in Poker? (And How Big to Make One)
Level 6 · Lesson 5 of 63 min read
Why is a 3-bet the second raise?
Because the count starts with a bet nobody chose to make. The big blind is a live bet, posted before the cards are dealt. The round already holds one bet before anyone acts. Raising over it makes two. Raising over that makes three — a 3-bet.
Pot4,500
Bet2,000
Nothing about the move itself is special. The minimum and the maximum are the same as for any other raise, and the name only records where in the round it landed.
Quick check
You re-raise the button's opening raise, and the button raises you back. What is the button's raise called?
Is a 3-bet the same thing after the flop?
The word is; the count isn't. Every street runs its own count. After the flop nobody is forced to put chips in, so counting starts with the first player who bets. The raise over that bet is the second, and the re-raise is the third. Preflop is the odd street, because the big blind is sitting there before anyone decides anything.
One hand can hold both. You 3-bet before the flop and the flop checks through. A bet, a raise and a re-raise on the turn then produce a second 3-bet, with no relation to the first.
What is a 3-bet trying to do?
Two things, and the best spots do both. It builds the pot while you are ahead. An opening raise covers far more than strong starting hands, so a pair of kings beats most of what opens. Get the chips in before the board changes that. It also makes the opener pay for a flop they were expecting to see cheaply.
Pot12,500Calling leaves the opener in charge, holding a hand you beat. Raising takes that away. They fold, or they call and reach the flop as the player who has to answer you. If they raise again, you have learned something about their hand before the flop.
How big should a 3-bet be?
Bigger than the minimum, and bigger still when you act first after the flop. Common practice is about three times the open:
Open 3,000 → 3-bet about 9,000
Add to that from the blinds, where the opener has position on you for every street that follows. The bigger the raise, the fewer players choose to see a flop with you.
Pot8,500That is the size to avoid. It sets a price the opener can pay with anything they opened. That hands them the flop you wanted them to pay for, in a bigger pot, with their weakest hands still in it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 3-bet pot?
A pot that had a 3-bet in it before the flop. The flop arrives with far more chips in the middle and far fewer behind them. That leaves room for one or two bets rather than three before someone is all-in.
Is a raise over a limp a 3-bet?
No. A limp is a call of the big blind, not a raise, so the count does not move. A raise over a limp is still the second bet of the round, and the 3-bet is the re-raise that answers it.
Keep learning
Poker bet sizing covers how much to bet once the flop is out. Any unfamiliar word here is defined in the poker terms glossary.