3 bet poker: a reraise before the flop, and what the pot costs

Before the flop, the big blind is already a live bet. Wikipedia's betting page says players may not check that round, because the blind has opened it.

An open raise is the next bet. A raise of that open is a re-raise. The poker.org glossary dates the nickname to limit Hold'em, where the first raise was called two bets and the next raise was three bets.

A 3 bet poker action is that re-raise, not the open and not a call. The same glossary says the word can apply on a later street when the sequence is bet, raise, then raise again. In ordinary cash-game talk the word means the preflop re-raise.

The three chips, named

This note sits in the poker topic. The street order itself is the order of the streets. Adults 18+ only.

Position is the order of speech. Wikipedia's Hold'em page says the button rotates, the small blind sits left of the button, and the big blind sits left of the small blind.

Preflop, the first voluntary decision belongs to the player left of the big blind. The button speaks later.

The small blind speaks after the button. The big blind still has an option if nobody has raised.

Acting last means you have seen the folds and the raises. Acting first means several players can still put money in behind you.

That is information, not a refund. A late seat can still lose the extra chips.

Heads-up is a different map

When two players remain, Wikipedia says the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop. After the flop, the button acts last.

A habit copied from a six-handed table will fire at the wrong time in that spot. One opponent at a time is a separate problem from a full table.

A bet that wants a fold can be the reason for the reraise. A mix of strong hands and bluffs is the theory label. Neither page we opened prints the frequency you should use tonight.

The pictures use a $1 big blind so the arithmetic stays visible. They are not a hand from a live table, and they are not a forecast.

Example 1 — folds. The small blind is $0.50 and the big blind is $1. An open to $3 makes the pot $4.50 before a call.

The button reraises to $9. The 3 bet poker chip in this picture is that $9, not the $3 open.

If everyone folds, the uncalled $6 comes back to the button, and the button wins the $4.50 already in the pot.

That $4.50 is the profit only if they fold. The glossary does not say they will.

Example 2 — a flop is dealt. Suppose callers build a $20 pot and a flop arrives. On this site the terms charge 5% of that pot, which is $1, so the winner is paid $19.

The $1 is a fee on a played pot. It is not a prize for having reraised.

Example 3 — the reraise loses. The same $9 can be called and lose. The glossary does not refund it.

A room's rake on a different site is not published here. Do not paste this site's 5% onto a card room that prints another number.

Leaving a cash seat is a different decision from busting a tournament. How many buy-ins to keep aside is the budget question, and a single pot does not answer it.

The reraise is a wager between players. A house-banked table game pays you from the house bank under a posted schedule. Those are different contracts.

How PvP compares: a reraise still needs opponents. Poker on this site is six-max no-limit Hold'em against those players. A hand that ends before the flop pays no fee, and uncalled chips are returned before the fee.

A pot that sees a flop pays 5%. Two $50 Coinflip stakes are a different product: a $100 pot, a $5 fee, and a $95 payout to the winner. Cash-out minimum is $20 in BTC, USDC, or ETH, and the terms also require wagering at least half of deposited dollars before a cash-out.

We did not time a cash-out. A settled hand can be checked on the fairness page.

That check matches this site's shuffle record. It does not audit another card room.

Wikipedia gives the no-limit minimum in a worked line. If someone bets $5, the next raise must be at least another $5. A raise of $2 is not a full raise unless it is all the chips that player has left.

If a player raises that $5 bet by $7, the total is $12. The next re-raise must be at least another $7, so at least $19 in total.

Table stakes override the minimum. If the last $2 is your whole stack, you may put that $2 in even when a full raise would be larger. You are all-in for less, not raising a full size.

Raise-to versus raise-by

The same page says "raise to $15" and "raise by $15" are different amounts. Public card rooms generally bind an unclear phrase to the raise-to reading.

Fixed-limit is a different scale. In the page's $3/$6 example, preflop raises are $3 each, and many rooms cap the number of raises at three or four, not counting the opening bet. No-limit does not use that cap.

A 3-bet in a capped limit game can be the last raise allowed. In no-limit it is only the third bet, and more raises can follow. Read the house rule before you assume the action is closed.

The glossary prints a definition. It does not print a chart of hands, a stack-depth table, or a profit figure.

Wikipedia prints the order of betting and the minimum-raise arithmetic. It does not print how often a button reraise should fold out the opener.

A call keeps the pot smaller than a reraise. The reraise puts more money in while more cards are still to come.

That is the trade. It is not, by itself, a reason the call is a mistake.

A tournament with no entry fee uses the same streets and a different stack life. Chips there are not the cash in front of you on a ring game.

Do not move a cash-game size into a tournament because the nickname matches. The blind is still bet one.

Use the list at the table you are sitting. A familiar nickname does not set the house rule.

• [ ] Confirm you are 18, or older if local law sets a higher age.
• [ ] Call the big blind bet one, the open bet two, and the reraise bet three.
• [ ] Name who still acts behind you before you raise.
• [ ] Raise at least the size of the previous raise, unless you are all-in for less.
• [ ] Say the total you are raising to, so the amount is not ambiguous.
• [ ] On this site, remember a preflop fold pays no fee.
• [ ] On this site, remember a flop pot is charged 5%.
• [ ] Do not treat a glossary line as a win rate.
• [ ] Set a dollar loss stop before the session.
• [ ] If the session becomes a chase, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
• [ ] Recompute a finished hand on this site from the table record.

A reraise can take a small pot or lose a larger one. The pages opened here do not owe you the first result.

Do not play if you are under 18, or under a higher age where you live. Do not play where the game is illegal. Do not stake rent, savings, or money with a due date.

Do not reraise to get even with the previous hand. The deck does not store a debt to your seat.

This page is an editorial note on public rules pages. It is not legal advice and it is not a coaching plan.

If the extra chips stop being a bounded spend, stop. Call 1-800-GAMBLER and open responsible gambling.

The terms list the fee and the blind range for this site. They do not list a target win for the reraise.