3-Betting QQ on the Button Facing an Early Raise

I don’t 3bet QQ here for a few reasons:

1) An EP open raise in FR typically has a range that will be hard to get value from worse. When you 3bet an EP’s open, you rep a very big hand. It’s the preverbial “you are turning your strong hand into a bluff” thing. It is best at $2NL to only 3bet your all-in value range. In games where bluffs are needed (50NL+) you would 3bet the very top of your folding range. Rarely would you ever 3bet your “calling range” though.

2) The effective stack sizes suggest that we cannot get an overpair all in given a normal 3bet size. Number 2 goes with number one a bit, too. It’s gonna be awkward preflop, even in position.

3) Post flop play will be much easier in a normal raised pot. You can call 3 streets or make sure 3 streets are bet now and his range at showdown is wider.

4) You can get great odds to bink a set and have a bad player go way to far with TPTK or a KK and AA overpair (they so often do). Overset the flat caller while you are at it.

Postflop:

So we 3bet our QQ and we don’t want to get in our “overpair on dry board” all in on the turn with only a little more than a pot-sized bet remaining? Doesn’t make sense. I think we are missing a ton of value by not shoving into his gay bet. This gay bet will very often be a draw or AK looking for a good price, or it is also often the nuts (TTT). I am not worried about a set here though because of the pot size I created. In other words, he has a set here sometimes but not NEARLY often enough considering the odds we are getting. To be honest what I’m most worried about is AA and KK. But we are getting odds not to worry about that either.

So we are now in a spot to where getting it all in is easily by far the most profitable thing to do and we should be figuring out the best line to do so.

In a non-3bet pot, however, you can bet bet bet your QQ or call call call (vs aggro) as well and win lots of $$. Vs a NIT you can call/call/fold profitably. Now when a villain raises the river or looks to get stacks in earlier, you have an easy and profitable fold move to make. You don’t have to worry about him having a set. You just call or bet/fold and you have a great price for this line to be very profitable.

You should never be in a hurry to make the green line go up. Just play each and every spot as profitable as is possible for the long term.

Focus on applying these points to your FR game. Your long-term green-line AND red-line angles will improve.