Going up against tight players can be made easier when employing the correct strategy
One effective way to balance your range and steal pots is the three-betting-light strategy for Texas Hold’em. The key to success with light three bets is the ability to identify the best situation in which this strategy can be profitable; otherwise, you can end up losing a fortune. Making a three-bet light just for the sake of it is not ideal; you need to know who you are trying to push out of the hand and what you are trying to accomplish at the end.
Before jumping to use this strategy, several basic dynamics are important to understand if you want to make three bets profitable. It is a challenge because, besides having enough experience playing poker, you also need to have a natural talent to feel the game. This is not something that can be taught, as it needs to be learned over time.
Making the decision of who you want to force to fold by using a light three-bet depends on the kind of players they are to make sure it’s worth it. For instance, it is not a good idea to three-bet when the two loosest players in the table open raise and call; most likely, you will lose. But it can be quite effective for tighter players’ you should be three-betting light against players who can open with decent hands but not playing with something good enough to call a three-bet.
Another basic aspect is to know what you are trying to tell your opponent by making a light three-bet. This means that the hand that you are representing there will define you in front of your opponents, so the hand should determine how much you should raise to send the right message.
