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Your success in poker largely depends on how effectively you play 3-bet pots. Errors in these hands can significantly reduce your winrate, so it is important to improve your game in such situations. One of the key aspects is the protection against 3-bets, and this is what we will focus on. Fried "mynameiskarl" Melders, the experienced regulator of the NL500 Zoom on PokerStars, shares three actionable strategies that will allow you to play more confidently after the 3bet call.
In this article, we will look at:
- Checkraises with Dro-Hands
- Unobvious bluff on dry boards
- Check-raises to protect equity
All strategies are based on real hands played by Fried and will help you achieve better results in poker.
1. check-raise with draw to increase pressure
Consider the hand in which Fried opened with 
CO and received a 3-bet from BU. He made a call, and on the flop 
he had a two-way straight draw (OESD). Villain put $25 in the pot $78, after which Fried made a check-raise of 3.5x sized. On such a board, its velly check-raise range includes 55, QJs and AQ (with some frequency). However, to make his strategy less predictable, he balances the range with semi-bluffs, adding KTs, T9s, and 98s.
When your check-raise involves both strong hands and draw, it's harder for your opponent to determine what you're playing against. If the velly range is not balanced enough, your strategy becomes predictable, allowing the opponent to easily exploit you. Additionally, it is worth considering that frequent opponents can adapt to your game, so balancing ranges is especially important at higher high stakes.
What if the opponent decides to re-raise?
If he responds all-in, you will most likely have to fold dro-hands, but you will still have vellus combinations that can continue. This once again highlights the importance of balance.
2. Using a raise with small pocket pairs as a bluff
Sometimes a dry texture appears on the flop with no obvious draw. In such situations, it is useful to look for non-standard lines for bluff. In one of the hands, Fried opened with 
a CO and received a 3-bet from BU. Flop came
, and the opponent put 25% of the pot. Fried decided to make a check-raise of 4x sized. On such a board, its velu-raise range includes 55 and 77. However, there are practically no suitable semi-bluffs in his range (except 98s), so he needs to look for alternative hands for bluff. Pocket pair between A and 7 are good candidates, as they can increase in draw on the turn. Suited showdown valley connectors such as 65s, 76s and 87s can also be used.
If you raising too many bluff, the range becomes skewed in their direction. If he does not raising at all, on the contrary, he will be too focused on the value.
To avoid falling into the trap of one of these skews, you can use a random number generator (RNG) to determine the frequency of the bluff. For example, if you decide to check-raise 20% of the time, run the RNG from 1 to 100, and if you get a number from 1 to 20, raise it, otherwise play passively. Such checkraises may look unconventional from the point of view of old poker strategies, but modern solvers confirm their effectiveness.
3. Check-raises to protect equity
There are times when your hand is strong on the flop but vulnerable to possible overcards on the following streets. In such cases, it is useful to use raise to protect equity. Fried opens on CO, BU makes a 3-bet, and Fried collides with
. On the
flop, the villain puts c-bet $22 pot $78. The problem is that, despite the fact that the tens are now ahead, they are vulnerable to the exit of J, Q, K or A. If the opponent checks the turn, he will be able to sell his equity for free. In such a situation, Fried decides to make a 4x raise, forcing the opponent to make a difficult decision.
Result: the villain folds, and Fried takes the pot.
In this case, the raise allowed:
- Protect your hand from potential relocations.
- Knock out KQ-type hands that had about 27% equity.
- Prevent an opponent from selling their equity for free on the following streets.
This is another example where check-raise helps to control the situation in the distribution and increases the winrate.
4. Final recommendations
Each of these strategies aims to raise your efficiency in 3-bet sweat:
- Use check-raises with draw to complicate the game for the opponent.
- Look for custom bluff on dry boards.
- Use raises to protect equity to prevent an opponent from realizing their potential gain.
Follow these principles and your game in 3-bet cans will become much stronger!
