SB Defense Theory Question Repost
 

Posted this in the Theory forum before xmas, but no replies..

In a game where all of you play well, how much equity do you want to 3bet a button raise from the SB, assuming that you dont coldcall much in this situation ?

In a game without blinds or rake in a situation where you are short on chips you would ofcourse go all-in when you are above 50% against your opponents range, but in a real game there is alot more to consider:

1. You will be out of position for the rest of the hand, which means he probably extracts more value when he is ahead, than you do when you are ahead.
2. The rake should have some effect. (I dont play time charge very often)
3. You still have a player behind who haven´t acted yet who may have a profitable hand, which probably would cost you.

4. You have a little overlay when the BB folds and you get a discount on your play, due to your blind.
5. When you have the lead, he may fold earlier in the hand, making your actual "equity" higher. Folding equity?.

I may have forgotten some factors, but this should be enough to get discussion started.

Re: SB Defense Theory Question Repost
 

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In a game where all of you play well, how much equity do you want to 3bet a button raise from the SB, assuming that you dont coldcall much in this situation ?

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Good post Trix. I don't think this question can be answered on its own though. When I'm deciding whether to 3-bet from the sb against a good player I'm basically thinking 1)What kind of equity do I have vs. his stealing range? 2) How often does he go to showdown? 3) How tricky/aggressive is this player?

What kind of equity I need depends on those factors. For instance, KTo is 50/50 against someone stealing 40% of the time on the button. If button goes to showdown ~33% of the time and is relatively straightforward I'll might 3-bet whereas if he goes to showdown ~37% of the time and is tricky I'll just muck it.

To answer your question though, in practice, I need something like 50%-56% equity to 3-bet depending on the player.

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