Conquering FOBP — Building Pots and Performing Well
Hugh doesn’t like to 3-bet “bluff” with hands like 8♣️7♣️.
Let’s talk to him and get to the bottom of this.
Hugh, surely you’ve seen preflop charts, right?
“Yes”
But you don’t want to 3-bet 8♣️7♣️. Why not?
“Well… players don’t fold enough to my 3-bets, and then they call me down too much.”
Okay. So do you 3-bet wider for value with hands like A♣️J❤️?
“No”
Do you want to start doing that?
“Yeah, okay.”
Really?
“No 🙁”
Now, many of you reading this already execute a good pre-flop strategy that includes a wide enough 3-betting range, but that doesn’t mean Hugh’s problems don’t apply to you.
Let’s continue solving Hugh’s problems before we address yours.
Hugh… It sounds like you feel 3-bet pots don’t go well for you. What do you think goes wrong?
“When I 3-bet AK and the flop comes K96, I don’t get any action unless I’m beat.”
(Of course you don’t, I think to myself. You only 3-bet AK and QQ+.)
“And when I 3-bet A❤️K♠️ and the flop comes T❤️9♣️6♣️, they always take the pot away.”
Because you check with A❤️K♠️ there but bet Q❤️Q♦️?
“Yeah”
Yeah.
The reason Hugh isn’t 3-betting wider isn’t that his opponents call too often. That’s an excuse he allowed himself to believe.
Poker logic can be tricky that way.
The game is so complex, and the potential exploits so vast,
that even the smartest players can fool themselves.
So, why don’t you like to build big pots?
Sorry… I mean Hugh.
Why doesn’t Hugh want to 3-bet wider?
I see three pretty clear reasons:
1) He’s not playing well in 3-bet pots
2) He’s starting with a poorly constructed pre-flop range
And, most importantly…
3) He’s uncomfortable in big pots and scared to play them without huge hands.
Excuses
We’re excellent at coming up with excuses for implementing a strategy that makes us more emotionally comfortable.
Hugh’s logic was easy to tear down. Yours might be more believable.
But the same pattern is likely taking place somewhere in your game – a spot where you shy away from building huge pots with certain hands that are supposed to, leaving your ranges unbalanced and leading to those spots playing out worse than they should for you.
Generally speaking, the higher your skill level, the higher the skill level of your opponents. This means that your imbalances, while hopefully less obvious than Hugh’s, may be noticed and adjusted to by your adversaries.
Bloated Pots
One of the main reasons people struggle in big pots, other than their fear, is that they’ve got their barometer for what constitutes a “stacking off hand” set based on single-raised pots.
Once a pot is inflated preflop, yes – ranges are stronger. But you’re no longer looking for top two pair to put your stack in, because putting your stack in might be 2-3 mid-sized bets.
Another reason people struggle is that they don’t have as much experience playing 3-bet pots!
If you’re 3-betting nitty and calling 3-bets tight, you’re going to be more uncomfortable in 3-bet pots. It’s self-perpetuating.
If this is you, I want you to write down, stare at, and remember this silly-sounding but accurate statement:
Big pots are like small pots, only bigger.
Ranges narrow based on action. This is true in any pot.
Stack-to-Pot ratios may change, which may require more studying to get comfortable with, if you’re not used to playing with low SPRs on the flop.
A 50% pot river bet works the same way in a big pot as in a small pot.
What Should You Do About It?
My exact advice to you would depend on a number of things – primarily, is this coming up for you in a very specific situation (4-bet pots) or every time the pot gets big?
For now, let’s give Hugh some advice.
Step 1: Play appropriate stakes for your bankroll and level of emotional comfort
Obvious? Maybe.
But many people focus on the former and not the latter.
If your bankroll is large enough to handle swings at certain stakes, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready for them.
There’s a lot of hidden EV loss when moving up in stakes based on your execution deteriorating for reasons like we’ve discussed today.
Step 2: Study 3-bet pots
The more you study a spot, the more comfortable and confident you’re going to feel when it comes up.
If you’re thinking, “Well, duh – I should study the whole game,” I’m saying that you should pay special attention to areas where you’re underperforming due to your emotions.*
*If it’s a spot that comes up extremely rarely, you probably won’t see the ROI to make prioritizing it worthwhile.
Gaining more familiarity with strategy
in uncomfortable spots has a compounding effect.
In addition to having more knowledge about the spot, you’ll gain more comfort in it, allowing you to execute on that knowledge even better.
How should you study?
All the ways you normally do!
Training videos, a coach, hand reviews, solver work, peers.
There’s no one right way. Just dive in and get familiar!
Step 3: Start 3-betting appropriately
You have to do more than study. You need to get practice!
By 3-betting more hands, even before you feel “ready,” you will get more reps in, and you’ll have more 3-bet pot hands to review and study.
You may even want to 3-bet too wide to get more reps in and to really leverage your image as a nit before it goes away!
You could drop down in stakes to get this practice, too.
Exposure Therapy
Here’s a fun way to get comfortable with something you’re afraid of.
Let’s say your leak is that you don’t c-bet enough turns and rivers.
Drop down 1-3 stake levels, and literally c-bet every turn and every river.
This will get you comfortable with the action, and you’ll get to see how people respond. We often tell ourselves stories about how people will always call us down if they see us getting aggressive, or that people never fold certain rivers.
This is an excuse we’ve come up with to protect ourselves from doing something scary. By trying it out, we get to see!
Sure, the way people respond at lower stakes might not be exactly representative of what your usual opponents will do, but I expect it still may open your eyes.
Reflect
Did anything in this post remind you of yourself?
The best and most experienced players in the world deal with these types of emotional hurdles.
If you think you don’t, think again.
The first step to any of this is recognizing that you have an emotional leak.
Until next week!
