If we have to play the hand out of position against the opener when 3-betting from the blinds, we should make our 3-bet even bigger. If the 3-bet is smaller than that, we are giving our opponents too good of a price on making a call. Well, the absolute minimum size of a 3-bet should be 2.5x the raise you are facing, but 3x is a norm in most games. Mainly you want to 3-bet your strong hands, but adding in some bluffs for balance is also recommended. In many cases, there will already be a raise in play by the time action is on us, so we will want to 3-bet when entering the pot most of the time. Since the topic of this guide is just bet sizing in poker, we can now move on and talk about how we want to size our re-raises before the flop.

You will also need to learn which hands to open from which position at the table but make sure to keep your raise size unchanged not to advertise the strength of your hand. In cash games, our default raise size will be 3x the big blind, with an extra big blind added for every limper in front of us. For example, if two players have limped, we should raise it to 4-4.5x the big blind. If there are limpers before us, we should increase our raise by one big blind for every player limped into the pot. In poker tournaments, raising for just 2x the big blind or 2.5x the big blind will be enough, provided no player has limped in front of us. This is where bet sizing in poker comes into play for the first time, as we need to decide how much we are going to raise. While many weak players choose to limp in, you should always be opening the pot with a raise. This allows you the option of your opponents folding and you picking up some chips without needing to make a hand. As a general rule of thumb in poker, you want to be the aggressor whenever possible.

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