6 · REVIEW LIKE A SERIOUS PLAYER · LESSON 25 OF 29 · 7 min
Play a three-bet pot
A preflop re-raise creates a larger pot and narrower ranges than a single-raised pot. Effective stacks are also shorter relative to the pot, which can change how willing you are to play for all the chips. Begin with who made the re-raise and who has position.
A top pair in a large three-bet pot may have less room for several calls than the same pair in a small limped pot.
Start with the ranges that built the larger pot
A three-bet is a re-raise before the flop. The player who makes it usually starts with a narrower range than the first raiser, although position and opponent tendencies matter. When the first raiser calls, both players reach the flop with ranges shaped by that extra action. Do not read the board as if both players had merely called the big blind.
The pot is also larger relative to the stacks behind it. At a 1/2 table, imagine an open to 5, a re-raise to 15, and a call. Ignoring folded blinds for a moment, the two players have already put 30 chips in. If each started with 200, they have about 185 behind and far fewer pot-sized bets left than in a single-raised pot. With only 40 chips to start, a call of 15 would commit a much larger share of the stack.
On the flop, ask who has the strongest overpairs, top pairs, and draws. A top pair can be valuable, but it may face a range weighted toward high pairs and big aces. Your next bet size should reflect how much room remains to fold, call, or raise later. The trainer simplifies these ranges; use its estimate as a question to investigate, not a fixed answer for every three-bet pot.
In the JJ prepared spot, state the open size, re-raise size, effective stack, and two plausible hands for the three-bettor before choosing a response.
Do not apply single-raised-pot habits to a re-raised pot without checking the new pot-to-stack ratio.
MAKE THE CALL
You call a three-bet with 100 chips behind. Compared with a single-raised pot, what matters more on the flop?
Start with a prepared decision, then play the rest of the hand with practice chips. Turn on guidance to see the trainer's reasoning.