Firing The Third Barrel

Firing The Third Barrel · Professional Texas Hold’em Tips and Strategy from Noted Poker Authority…

An article on when to fire a third barrel bluff when playing texas hold’em in a ring game….

I’m not sure about that one. There aren’t too many coherent hands that you are repping on both streets. What did you bet pot on the flop and turn with that has a king in it? Ksx, I guess, but there’s got to be a lot of other hands in there. With that drawy board on the flop, a missed draw has to be a big part of your range. I can’t see most players laying down QJ to you here. He’ll maybe fold 8sxs though.

Plausible hands that I would play exactly this way:

AA, KK, QQ, 99, 88, 44, KQ, K9, Q9, Q8, JT. 98, I think that’s a big enough range to make picking off a 3 barrel generally unprofitable.

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I can’t see most players laying down QJ to you here. He’ll maybe fold 8sxs though.
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I think a little too much is being made of QJ and QT. I’m not sure how often the villain peels with overs and the gutter if he doesn’t have the spade draw to go with it. If he is the kind of player that peels instead of raises with that hand, I agree you may have a difficult time pushing him off it. But, I think that is a small portion of his range compared to the 1 pair hands he could peel with. Really, there are so many pairs, draws and pair + draw hands that just aren’t looking that good on the river any more. And, in the words of stoxtrader, it would be tragic to check it back and watch the pot get pushed to As3s or JsTs.

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Plausible hands that I would play exactly this way:

AA, KK, QQ, 99, 88, 44, KQ, K9, Q9, Q8, JT. 98, I think that’s a big enough range to make picking off a 3 barrel generally unprofitable.
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This is one of those hands that depends so much on the limit. I find at the lower limits like NL25 and NL50 that the board is so drawy that the villain will put you on a draw and draw only. I see some extremely light look up because guys just hate to get bluffed. In that sense, I would argue that this board isn’t so great for a 3 barrel in that sort of game. I would consider going for 3 streets of value with a lot of hands, including some more Q’s like QJ, AQ, QT because of that. In that sort of game, you are never getting bluffed on the river so it’s pretty safe to fire again. A little bit higher up the limits, I agree with Nathan that a player will be less likely to look you up because you can fire 3 streets with all those hands.

Another thing to consider is if you play a small site with a lot of regulars, getting caught 3 barreling is very profitable. You will get so much more action on your river value bets over the next few sessions. It’ll bring a tear to your eye.

I find that the 3 barrels that have been most successful for me have been on board that aren’t particularly drawy and that I’m actually repping a pretty small range. It’s usually against a tightish player who won’t go broke in with a 1 pair hand for the most part. For example, if the board comes A65r and I’ve raised from EP, I’ll occasionally fire 3 barrels and let the button caller try to find a call with his ATs. I’m less likely to try that if the board comes Ax8c7c regardless of my holdings. Those super drawy boards just leave so much more room for doubt. I don’t fire a whole lot of 3 barrel bluffs, so all small sample warnings apply.

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