Theory: three betting from late position (preflop)

[buakawgirl]

I'm trying to get some opinions on three betting in particular situations which often occur on the tables. In my pursuit to open my game up from late position I started three betting with alot more hands and was wondering if your three betting standards are mostly systematical or dynamical (as in depending on the flow of the game and nature of your opponent).

Let's say you are playing your normal 6 max game (whatever your preferred game is) and villain opens the betting from UTG or mid position and it's folded to you in the CO or button. You and villain never tangled before so emotions won't play part.

With what ranges do you repop him when villain runs:

15/10
22/19
50/12

Will there be a huge difference between repopping from the CO or button?

Are there any other numbers to consider when repopping?

If this post is fundamental flawed please do not refrain from pointing this out so that it can be corrected and (hopefully) bring forth some interesting discussions.

[melioris]

I will give my thoughts here, but I want to explain something first. I am not saying this applies to you, or anyone, I just think it needs to be said in discussions like this. 3-betting preflop is going to build larger pots earlier in the hand and make for bigger decisions earlier. If your not comfortable making big pot decisions in your post-flop game yet, I don't think opening up your game by thinking about 3-betting is prudent. What makes online poker profitable, even in today's environment, is that people focus on "more interesting" concepts of the game before their understanding of the fundamentals warrants it. Preflop discipline, positional play, flop play, pot odds, implied odds, CBing, floating, turn play, river play, and probably more basic stuff. These concepts are the foundation upon which you build your game. I know for myself I am always working on the foundation of my game, and a solid foundation is all I really need to beat 1/2 NL. From what I have seen, and others that know better around here correct me if I am wrong, if you have a solid foundation to your game you probably can play ABC and be a winning player at 2/4 and 3/6 as well. Like anything, it takes work and most people are lazy and want to run before they learn how to crawl and walk. I have many notes on winning players at 1/2 that only 3-bet with KK, AA, and AK. But because they practice good table selection, they still get looked up light by bad players.

Ok, as for 3-betting in general, my range is dependent upon the game, my position, and finally, hands. If I am playing a hand OOP I am much more likely to 3-bet preflop then not. And because I don't like to play hands out of position, that tendacy means I usually think "shit, I want to play this hand, but OOP and for a large pot, nah" and I fold. I guess I 3-bet with 99+, AQ+ and tricky hands, mid to small SC, A2s-A5s. I toss most broadway cards OOP, as I found that hands like KQ, when I flop a TP-like hand, usually end up costing me $ OOP in a large pot.

IP, it all depends. What are you trying to accomplish with your 3-bet? Are you building a large pot? Are you isolating a weak player? Are you attempting to "rile" the table up by 3-betting a lot? Any player that isn't a complete tool and opens from UTG I don't 3-bet without the goods. If the 22/19 player opens from mid position, I might be tempted to 3-bet him light every now and then just to fuck with him, but the other two I would be more tempted to flat call IP, not inflate the pot, and see if I can outplay them postflop.

If you are looking to open things up a bit, I recommend punishing limpers. If I am IP and it is a limped pot, I will be raising that thing with a huge range. Limpers should be punished. It has become almost a fad to limp/3-bet UTG or EP with AA or KK, so be wary of that, but in general, if you are looking to increase preflop aggression, tighten up OOP, punish limped pots IP, and almost always come in for a raise when you enter a pot.