WPT GTO Trainer Hands of the Week: 3-Betting from The Button
This week we’re highlighting a common spot in a cash game where you 3-bet preflop from the Button vs a Middle Position open raise.
You should have a fairly high c-bet frequency in this spot in general. As the preflop aggressor, you’ll have a range advantage on most boards and can apply pressure with a continuation bet. You should often size down c-bets to 25% of the pot on static flops, since larger sizing is not necessary on flops where the Villain is less likely to connect.
Larger c-bet sizing can be used on dynamic boards with a more polarized range that consists of bluffs with blockers and vulnerable but high equity value hands. For example, firing a bigger size with a gutshot is often the preferred line as this provides good semi-bluff balance to your stronger made hands.
When value betting strong hands, be sure to size your bets on the turn such that
you can easily get all the chips in on the river. Remember that missed draws are often good candidates to round out a pure bluffing range and provide overall balance to your aggressive lines. Consider bluffing with them some of the time when your draw fails to hit by the river.
You will often be put to tough decisions with marginal hands, with the correct decision often coming down to understanding the effects of blockers and the specific suits you hold. When you block value hands that your opponent can hold, you should be more willing to continue against their bets and raises. When you block potential bluffs they could have, you should be more willing to fold.
To see more examples and test your skills, you can play through five free solved hands from this scenario.
To access the free five hands, visit this page.
Regular play on the WPT GTO Trainer will help you adjust your decisions closer and closer to GTO strategy.
You don’t have to be the world’s best player to use GTO Strategy, and thanks to the WPT GTO Trainer, now you don’t have to buy expensive software or have expert level knowledge to study GTO.
Why use the WPT GTO Trainer?
The WPT GTO Trainer lets you play real solved hands against a perfect opponent in a wide variety of postflop scenarios for cash game and tournament play.
If your goal is to be a tough poker player then you should try the WPT GTO Trainer today.
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As you make decisions in a hand, you receive instant feedback on the specific EV loss (if any) and Played Percentage for every action you take as compared to GTO strategy.
The full selection of scenarios for the WPT GTO Trainer are only available to members of LearnWPT, however we’re giving PokerNews Readers free access to the Trainer on a regular basis with the WPT GTO Hands of The Week.
Use this series of articles to practice the strategies you learn on LearnWPT (or at the table) and test your progress by playing a five-hand sample each week.
