3-Bet Ranges by Position
Which hands to re-raise against an open, opener by opener. Ranges come from the same curated 6-max 100bb library that powers our range library and equity tools. New to the concept? Start with what is a 3-bet.
Your 3-bet range should widen as the opener's position gets later: 2.6% pure value vs a 13% UTG open (AA-QQ, AK), 4.8% vs a 28% cutoff open (add JJ, AQs, KQs plus suited blocker bluffs), and 8.3% vs a 45% button open (polarized: broad value plus suited aces and connectors). Size it ~3x the open in position, 3.5-4x out of position.
Vs a tight UTG range you 3-bet for pure value. Don't bluff 3-bet UTG opens unless they're known to fold a lot.
Click any hand to open its full strategy page. Unhighlighted hands aren't always folds — many are calls; see each hand's page for the position-by-position action.
The three ranges side by side
| Spot | Opener's range | 3-bet range | Construction |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs UTG open | ~13% of hands | 2.6% (34 combos) | Value only — Tightest 3-bet range — only premium hands. |
| vs CO open | ~28% of hands | 4.8% (64 combos) | Value + bluffs — Value + bluff 3-bet range vs CO open. |
| vs BTN open | ~45% of hands | 8.3% (110 combos) | Wide / polarized — Wider 3-bet vs BTN's wide open. |
Why the range widens against later positions
The logic is pure arithmetic over the opener's range. An UTG player opening ~13% of hands has a range dense with premiums — your re-raise needs to beat that, so only 2.6% of combos qualify, and bluffing into it torches money. A button opening ~45% is mostly hands that can't stand a re-raise: 3-betting 8.3% attacks all the folds while your value hands dominate their continues. Between them, the cutoff gets the intermediate 4.8% treatment. Same opponent action, three different correct responses — position over everything.
Value hands, bluff hands, and nothing in between
Against the cutoff and button, the ranges are deliberately polarized: the top (AA down through JJ-TT, AK, AQ, strong suited broadways) 3-bets for value, and the bluff slots go to suited wheel aces (A5s-A2s) and suited connectors — hands that block the opener's continuing range, flop well when called, and are too weak to call the open profitably anyway. The hands conspicuously missing are the pretty-but-dominated middle (AJo, KQo, QJs-type hands): they call or fold instead, because when a 3-bet with them gets action, they're usually crushed. A common guideline mix is 3-4 bluff combos per 5-6 value combos in position.
Sizing rules
- ✓ In position: about 3x the open (facing a 2.5bb open, 3-bet to ~7.5bb).
- ✓ Out of position: 3.5-4x the open — you need extra fold equity to compensate for playing the hand out of position.
- ✓ Against callers (squeeze): ~4x the open plus 1bb per caller; see the squeeze entry.
- ✓ Live low stakes: pools under-fold to 3-bets, so shift toward pure value and size up — the full adjustment list is in our live $1/$2 guide.
These are curated ranges calibrated against modern 6-max 100bb theory — the same library used across this site — not solver output. They're a starting point: tighten the bluff slots against players who never fold, and widen for value against players who call 3-bets with dominated hands. Percentages shown are exact combo counts from the library, so they update if the library does.
Build your own version
Disagree with a slot? Load any of these ranges into the range builder and edit it hand by hand, or run it against an opening range in the range equity calculator to see exactly how your 3-bet range performs against each opener. And if you track your play, your actual 3-bet frequency belongs in the 5-10% guideline band — the stats guide explains how to read it.
Common questions
What is a 3-bet range?
A 3-bet range is the set of hands you re-raise with when facing an open raise (the open is the second bet, so the re-raise is the third — hence 3-bet). Good 3-bet ranges are built per opener position: tight and value-heavy against early-position opens, wider and polarized (premiums plus suited blocker bluffs) against late-position opens.
How wide should my 3-bet range be?
It depends almost entirely on who opened. Our curated 6-max ranges 3-bet 2.6% of all combos against a tight UTG open (pure value: AA-QQ and AK), 4.8% against a cutoff open, and 8.3% against a wide button open. Overall 3-bet stats for winning 6-max players commonly land around 5-10% — a guideline band, since most 3-bet chances come against late-position opens.
What hands should I 3-bet as bluffs?
Suited wheel aces (A5s-A2s) are the classic choice: they block AA and AK, they make nut flushes and wheel straights when called, and they're too weak to call profitably — so 3-betting beats both folding and calling. Suited connectors (98s, 87s) and hands like K9s serve the same role against wider opens. Against tight UTG opens, skip bluff 3-bets entirely unless the opener demonstrably over-folds.
How big should a 3-bet be?
Standard sizing: about 3x the open when you're in position, 3.5-4x when out of position (you need more fold equity when you'll play the rest of the hand at a positional disadvantage). Against an open plus callers, squeeze bigger — roughly 4x the open plus one extra big blind per caller. Live low-stakes games call 3-bets so loosely that sizing up further with value is usually right.
Should I 3-bet or flat-call with QQ and AK?
Mostly 3-bet. QQ+ and AK appear in the value portion of our 3-bet range against every opener position — they're strong enough to want a bigger pot immediately and they hate letting the blinds in cheap. Flatting them occasionally has merit against very aggressive players behind you, but making flat the default with premiums is a common leak: it caps your aggression exactly where aggression pays most.
Keep working on preflop
New to poker? Take the free 15-minute crash course →