button in SafariHow To Play Three-Bet Pots Out Of Position 100bb Deep
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Playing three-bet pots out of position is not a scenario that poker players want to find themselves in regularly, especially when both players are deep-stacked. Such a hand occurred between Yu Zhang and Hannes Jeschka at the 2026 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro festival.
Early into the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Golden Decade event, with blinds of 1,000/2,000 and a 2,000 big blind ante, Zhang and Jeschka clashed in a pot where 83 big blinds were the effective stack. Both players are top-tier, but was their play in the hand in question GTO Wizard-approved? Lukas Robinson analyses both players' strategies.
Pre-flop Action
Yu Zhang opened to 4.5K from the cutoff from a 166,000 stack with J♦10♦. Hannes Jeschka three-bet from the small blind to 20,000 from a 228,000 stack with A♦10♣. Zhang made the call.
Post-Flop
Flop (44,000 Pot): K♠Q♠4♣
Action: Jeschka continuation-bet to 11,000. Zhang called.
Turn (66,000 Pot): J♥
Action: Jeschka bet 55,000. Zhang called.
River (176,000 Pot): 10♠
Action: Jeschka bet 35,000. Zhang called.
Jeschka showed his A♦10♣ for a straight, and Zhang mucked his hand.
Pre-flop Analysis
Yu Zhang opened to 4,500 from the cutoff with J♦10♦. GTO Approved ✔️
Opening JTs here from the cutoff is standard, with jack-six being the weakest-suited jack that opens from this position.
Hannes Jeschka three-bet from the small blind to 20,000 with A♦10♣. GTO Approved ✔️
The solver recommends a mixed strategy of calling and three-betting with ATo vs a cutoff open, with both options generating the same EV.
Zhang called the three-bet with J♦10♦. GTO Approved ✔️
JTs is a pure call in this spot vs the SB 3-bet.
Post-flop Analysis
Flop (44,000 Pot): K♠Q♠4♣
Jeschka continuation-bet to 11,000 with A♦10♣. GTO Approved ✔️
The solver recommends a high-frequency continuation-bet strategy on this board, as the small blind has the range, EV, and equity advantage.
Flop Range Comparison (SB vs CO):
Recommended Strategy and EV for ATo:
Due to this advantage, the solver primarily recommends a heavier betting strategy at 50% of the pot, allowing the small blind to drive more value on this flop. However, the 25% size that Jeschka used in the game is still recommended with many hands.
Zhang called the 11,000 bet with J♦10♦. GTO Approved ✔️
The cutoff mostly continues by calling in this spot, given the disadvantages relative to the small blind's range. JTs is a pure call vs this flop sizing.
Turn (66,000 Pot): J♥
Jeschka bet 55,000 with A♦10♣. GTO Approved ✔️
Recommended Strategy and EV for ATo:
Here, you can see that the solver mostly recommends betting all ATo combos on the turn, while generally preferring either the 30% sizing or the 63% geometric sizing. The 83% size Jeschka used in the game is not recommended very often, though betting this size with A♦10♣ does not lose much EV compared with the preferred sizings.
Because the solver does not frequently use the 83% sizing, I will nodelock Jeschka’s range to include more of this size.
Zhang called the 55,000 turn bet with J♦10♦. GTO Approved ✔️
Recommended Strategy and EV for JTs:
Above, you can see that the highest EV play with all JTs combos is to simply call this turn bet. However, the solver does mix in some very low-frequency turn jams as bluffs with J♦10♦ and J♠10♠.
River (176,000 Pot): 10♠
Jeschka bet 35,000 on the river with A♦10♣. GTO Disapproved ✖️
Recommended Strategy and EV for ATo:
Interestingly, the solver recommends checking almost the entire range on this specific river card. Let’s compare the ranges to understand why.
River Range Comparison (SB vs CO):
The small blind now has to check range, as this river gives the cutoff a significant EV and equity advantage. The cutoff also has a much higher percentage of the strongest hands overall.
I will therefore nodelock the small blind range to include more betting with the 20% size that Jeschka used in-game.
Small Blind River Nodelocked Range:
The 20% sizing is now being used with an overall betting frequency of 15%.
Zhang called the 35,000 river bet with J♦10♦. GTO Disapproved ✖️
Recommended Strategy and EV for JTs:
Calling the river with J♦10♦ vs this bet loses 1.38bb in EV. The solver actually prefers turning JTs into a bluff here, with both JTs combos generating the highest EV by jamming all-in.
If you’d like to review your own three-bet pot hands like this using a solver, why not try GTO Wizard for yourself?
