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3-Betting is a valuable weapon when you are holding a strong starting hand, but it can also be incredibly strong when you are holding suited connectors. There is a common misconception that some poker players have that you should only be re raising pre flop with strong hands. This notion is an old school approach to the game, but some players still believe it is true.

Think about what would happen if you had a strong hand each and every time that you 3-Bet pre flop. If you ever played with someone on multiple occasions it would be easy for them to realize that you have a solid hand the second that you 3-Bet. The players who pick up on this tendency would have a very easy time making a fold whenever you 3-Bet them. You shouldn’t want everyone to fold whenever you re raise with a strong hand, instead you should want them to get involved in the pot. When you start to 3-Bet your opponents you will be balancing your range.

Balancing Your Range

In online poker you are balancing your range when you begin to make the same move (be it folding, calling, or raising) when you are holding different types of hands. If you make an occasional 3-Bet with a suited connector type hand you will be offsetting the times where you 3-Bet with a big hand like pocket queens or pocket kings.

This doesn’t mean that you should stop 3-Betting with your strong hands, it simply means that you should start 3-Betting with weaker hands in addition to your strong hands. It will be good for your overall image at the table if you are able to actually get to a showdown with some type of busted draw after you had 3-Bet someone pre flop. Any knowledgeable player at your table should be able to pick up on the fact that you had actually 3-Bet pre flop with nothing more than a suited connector.

It is important to note that you can also 3-Bet with just random connectors or different types of suited hands as well, you don’t have to necessarily have a suited connector. Make sure, however, that you aren’t getting into a habit of 3-Betting with complete trash hands, something like J 6 off suit for example. Why is it good that other players find out that you were 3-Betting with a suited connector? Because then the next time that you 3-Bet they will have to consider the fact that you could be holding a relatively weak hand. This will benefit you because you will then be able to extract more value from your big hands. One of your goals as a poker player should be to play in a manner that has as little transparency as possible; 3-Betting with suited connectors will make your play more difficult to decipher than ever.

Post Flop

When you 3-Bet pre flop with a suited connector you should always be in position. If you 3-Bet in position you will be setting yourself up for an opportunity to take down the pot post flop, whether or not you actually connect with the board. There will be more times where you miss the flop than when you hit it, but this doesn’t even matter. Your re raise pre flop will give you the upper hand because of your perceived strength, only you know that you don’t actually have a strong hand. Continuation bets will work a large portion of the time when you 3-Bet pre flop and are able to extend your aggressive play onto the flop.