When players limp sometimes and raise sometimes, it means that they are reserving the raise for their stronger hands. Does he limp here sometimes? If the answer is yes, then it’s time to tap the brakes. But before you act, there’s a final litmus test the situation has to pass. If one of these three conditions applies, there’s a good chance that this raise is one that is 3-bettable.

These raises typically come in one of three flavors. This is a raise made with at least 25 percent of all hands. In fact, when confronted with a loose or steal raise in the blinds, I probably 3-bet at least 20 percent of the time.įirst, let me clarify what I mean by a loose or steal raise.

I make this play far more frequently than most live $2-$5 and $5-$10 players do. I believe that 3-betting preflop from the blinds is a critical tactic to defeat loose raisers and blind steal attempts.