Ok i have much wider but linear 3 bet range (assuming this is 6max) but again my usual game is 50nl Rush... So have you made your adjustments because its 600nl or is this the same for lower stakes?
I mean my 3bet range vs UTG 6max is something like
JJ+ AJs+ AQo+
This will also include KQ if villain is loose
You can probably get away with this at 50NL, but in tougher games you will get eaten alive if you 3bet such a depolarised range vs UTG opens.
Re the bit I have emboldened. It is actually the other way round. If you are 3betting an extended value range at 50NL then it is you that is making the adjustment from optimal theoretical play. It may be a very good exploitative adjustment of course, but it is still an adjustment. As games get tougher you cannot make such big deviations from theoretical play - the standard of opponents you face is stronger and these opponents are playing closer to optimal poker... and so you must do as well.
It is still all guesswork regarding fine details though of course. No-one is certain what the perfect GTO range is for, say, 3betting an UTG open from the BB. For example, should AK and QQ be part of our value 3bet range? Or should we flat them? It is going to be close either way and no-one can prove beyond doubt what is correct in these close spots. Same thing with constructing our 3bet bluffing range - should we use suited connectors, suited Aces, small pocket pairs... or a combination of these?
Edited to say: I have overstated things when I said 3betting your linear range will get you 'eaten alive'. It is not quite that extreme. The range you give is still not terribly wide, only 4.5% of hands. And if you are 3bet/folding AQ, AJs, JJ (and perhaps QQ) then you still have a 'nuts/bluff' construction to your range. The problem is that these are not the best hands to choose to bluff with! Yes I realise that they are not really bluffs as such, since there is a value element to them when UTG calls (that's why we term it a linear range) - but you are are essentially 'wasting' these hands by 3bet/folding them. These hands play much better as flats, which allows you to put other hands into your 3bet/folding range (as much more pure bluffs - 87s, A5s type stuff) that are NOT strong enough to flat with, which basically allows you to play more hands preflop. You can think of it in two ways:
a) Whilst it may be +EV to 3bet AQ/JJ (as much as anything because of the times opponent folds), it is
more +EV to flat them.
b) 3betting AQ/JJ etc has an
opportunity cost - you are no longer able to play hands like A5s or 87s, hands which are not strong enough to flat with but could be used to profitably bluff with. This means you get to play less hands preflop, and thus your winrate goes down.
Again, just to repeat... your linear 3betting strategy may well be a skillful adjustment to exploit the regs at 50NL. But you must be certain in your mind that this is what it is - an adjustment.
These few paragraphs have not only changed the way i view poker but given me a whole new outlook on life....
Author