Help in 3-bet pots in texas holdem?

Question

Ok, i raise pretty light preflop against most players in heads up games. If they are good, they will eventually adapt and start 3-betting light. Once i pick up on this, i can do 3 things.

1. Call their 3-bets light

2. 4-bet light

3. Tighten up raising range

I do all 3 things depending on the player. However, when i do choose option 1, i usually end up losing money. More often than not, i miss or flop middle pair or some ****. Sometimes i float, and sometimes i raise bluff and sometimes i just give up. I really try to balance my range, but it feels like im down alot in 3-bet pots. Sorry if im not specific enough.

Anyways help me out in 3-bet pots.

Answer 1

I found out the hard way when you are going to raise a pot preflop and some one does it before you do and its a small raise they usually have a suited connector or a small pair so if they put a small bet they are hopeing to see a cheap flop so now  when i have a good hand in these spots i always triple their bet they may fold but if they stay and try to catch they pay for it i no longer slow play my big hands i bet them i do not get out drawn now and i am raking in smaller pots but they add up in the long run.

Answer 2

This is a hard question to answer because it really depends on what your opponent feels you are raising with.  If they feel you are raising with any two cards and you're being overly aggressive they will figure out that you don't always have it and play back at you.  Try folding to their raise a few times and then when they raise you "light" as you put it...reraise and see what they do...you can represnt what hits the board, remember they miss the flop as many times as you do.

Answer 3

It sounds like you're betting with way too many starting hands.  More often than not you're going to miss the flop, so your hand won't improve.  If you play a lot of hands like 10-9, pocket 3s, etc. from early position and bet them and call raises and re-raises, you're throwing your money away.  

You want to see the flop as cheaply as possible unless you have AA, KK, or AK, and maybe QQ.  If you can limp with AQ, suited connectors, and smaller pairs, do it.  If you're facing a bet and a raise, you can get rid of most hands, and if you're facing a 3 bet, you can dump just about everything except the premium hands.  Position is the key.  The later you act, the more information you have based on what everyone else is doing.  If the pot is unraised to you in late position (SB and BB are early pos. since they act first on every other street) you can play a lot more hands than you can from early position of if there are raises in front of you since you know there is a good chance nobody else has a super strong starting hand.  If you're facing a 3 bet, you can pretty much guarantee that someone has AA, KK, AK, or at minimum QQ.  If you can't beat that, get away.

Even if everyone is raising and re-raising with garbage, the odds of you winning a lot of pots is slim.  If there are 4 people at a 9 person table playing garbage every hand and you play garbage along with them, you might break even long term, but you'll probably lose.  You'll beat the loose players about 20% of the time (4 loose players + you = 5, each winning 20% of the time) but when the tighter players are in a hand you're going to lose to them about 70% of the time, which means you're going to win less than 20% of the pots you play.  That means you have to win at least 6 or times what you're putting in each pot to come out ahead, and chances are you're not going to do that.  On a super loose table, tighten up, only play top starting hands and get away from hands where it looks like you're going to be beaten.  For example, on a board with 3 flush cards and there are 5 or 6 people in the pot all the way to the river, the odds are at least one of them has a flush.  If you don't have at least a K high flush, you won't win.  Unless you have top set or a straight, there is no way that you're going to have the pot odds to call here unless there is a monster pot.

Pot odds are a necessity in poker.  If you don't know how to calculate them, learn.

Answer 4

well, only since you asked lol

the reason why option number 1 may not be working out for you is simply a product of seeing flops with mediocre hands, and as a result you hit fewer really good flops...and while i actually think for a good postflop player it is the best defense against an opponent 3-betting light, it is very difficult because you flop tweener hands so often...i would say that if you are not comfortable with playing mediocre hands against a re-raise pre-flop, that you should stop doing that and focus more on options 2 and 3 which are also viable defenses for a wide 3-bet range, until you do gain more experience and can make better decisions when you flop hands like second pair

Answer 5

Do not raise light unless your opponent is playing very tight.  You must be playing deep money if 4 bets are being considered when playing.

Answer 6

Honestly man, trying to get solid advice for serious poker here is like trying to get blood from a stone.  There aren't many people that know what they're talking about.  I'm not a cash heads up expert, although I do play a lot of hu sng's.  The best advice I can give you is to read through this page thouroughly.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showth...

This link contains links to threads about all aspects of heads up no limit play including among a multitude of other things how to respond to a situation like you describe.  The people making these posts are far beyond my level and hopefully will be of great use to you in your progression as a player.  I would also encourage you to join the site and become an actively participating member.

Answer 7

It's all on expected value.  You have to understand the hands your opp will raise 3 BBs with.  Then gauge your hand to their range.  If yours has a positive ev, then play (call or raise). If they begin to loosen up, you may need to tighten up.

One strategy is if you get them to loosen up and be more aggressive, then use that against them.  Call em down or raise small to build the pot with your big hands and bet/raise big on river.

Also, need stack sizes of each to determine best/optimal play.

Last, middle pair is a good hand HUs.