A 4-bet in poker is when a player re-raises another player’s 3-bet before the flop. Although 3-bets are more common than 4-bets, both strategies can be effective in certain situations. This article will discuss what a 4-bet is, when to make one, recommended sizing, and how to play post-flop if your opponent calls it. This article focuses on pre-flop situations only.
If you have a premium hand and your opponent 3-bets, 4-betting is a great way to get a lot of money into the pot. This also reduces the chances of your opponent folding a good hand. However, you must be careful when 4-betting, as too much frequency will result in your opponents making more 3-bets.
In most cases, you should only 4-bet with suited and connected hands that are strong enough to bluff against a player who will be calling your 3-bets. However, you should occasionally make a 4-bet with a weaker hand such as JTs or AKs. This can be used to frighten your opponents and draw them in, which will allow you to value-bet more often with the stronger hands.
The most important factor in deciding whether to 4-bet is the fold to 3-bet percentage of your opponent. Knowing this statistic will give you a better idea of how many bluffs to include in your range. A GTO strategy will usually include a mix of 2 or 3 value combos for every 1 bluff combo, but an exploitative range will include more bluffs and cover a wider array of top-heavy holdings.
Another important consideration is your opponent’s stack size. If you are playing a high stakes game, it is likely that you will be able to 4-bet most of your opponent’s stack, which will give you more opportunities to make a flush. On the other hand, if you are playing a small stakes game, it is more likely that you will only be able to 4-bet a fraction of your opponent’s stack.
When it comes to making a 4-bet, you will want to use a large raise. This will increase your chances of winning the pot and eliminating an opponent. However, a large raise can also scare your opponents away and give them less incentive to call or shove.
You can also tinker with your 4-bet sizing to see what works best for you. For example, if you’re playing in an online $2/$5 cash game and you have pocket rockets in the SB and your opponent opens with UTG and HJ, then the CO 3-bets, you can decide to make a bigger 4-bet to try and push them out of the pot. However, if you’re in a more loose game and your opponent has a big stack, you may want to raise a smaller amount in order to preserve your own stack. However, the size of your 4-bet should always be at least twice the size of their initial raise. If you don’t, you could end up losing your entire stack to the opponent.
