fourbet is one of the most powerful and underappreciated tools in modern preflop poker. Whether you play cash games or tournaments, understanding when and how to implement fourbets — re-raising after a three-bet preflop — can elevate your game significantly. This article examines the concept from both a theoretical and practical perspective, covering range construction, sizing, blocker effects, postflop plans, and critical adjustments by stack depth and format.
At its core, a fourbet serves two main purposes: value extraction and fold equity as a bluff. A straightforward value fourbet contains premium hands that are ahead of an opponent’s three-betting range and are likely to call or shove. Bluff fourbets, conversely, aim to fold out superior hands in your opponent’s range and give you the pot without seeing a flop. Most high-level players combine both approaches, polarizing their fourbet range with a mix of very strong hands and carefully chosen bluffs.
Range construction starts with a solid read on your opponent’s opening and three-betting frequencies. Against a tight opener who rarely three-bets, your fourbetting strategy should be weighted toward value when you do decide to take an aggressive line. Against looser, frequent three-bettors, you can expand your fourbet bluff frequency because they will three-bet with a wider range that you can profitably force folds from. A useful rule of thumb: the wider an opponent’s three-bet range, the more bluffs are candidate for your fourbet range.
Sizing is an art. Preflop sizes communicate information and affect pot odds, folding thresholds, and the SPR (stack-to-pot ratio), which dictates postflop playability. Typical fourbet sizing in no-limit hold’em tends to be to 2.2–2.6x the three-bet amount if stacks are deep, or a minimum fourbet shove when effective stacks are shallow. Against standard opens and three-bets, sizing a fourbet to around 2.5–3x the three-bet often provides good fold equity while keeping weaker calling hands in your opponent’s range when you want them. In high-stakes games, min-raising and tiny fourbets are less common because they concede too much equity and allow opponents to see flops too cheaply with marginal holdings.
Blocker effects are essential for determining which hands make the best fourbet bluffs. Hands that block premium holdings in your opponent’s likely calling range increase the profitability of bluffing. For example, holding an Ace or a King that reduces the number of combos of your opponent’s strongest hands (AK, AA, KK) makes hands like A5s or K9s attractive as bluff candidates. Suited aces often function well as fourbet bluffs because they combine blockers with postflop playability. The modern solver-driven approach emphasizes including hands that both block top-of-range hands and maintain some equity versus calling ranges.
Postflop planning cannot be neglected. When you fourbet, you must have a clear idea of how you will proceed on various flops. Polarized fourbet ranges (very strong and pure bluffs) often require a plan to continuation-bet across a wide spectrum of textures and then barrel selectively. Merged ranges (very strong hands plus marginal hands) require more careful navigation because your range contains more medium-strength hands that can be hard to play on certain runouts. If you tend to donk bet every flop, opponents will exploit you by floating and taking pots on later streets; conversely, giving up too easily surrenders fold equity and value.
Stack depth matters. In deep-stacked cash games, fourbets can lead to large pots and complex postflop decisions, so you should prefer hands with good multi-street potential and blockers. In shallow-stack scenarios, like many tournament stages or short-stack cash-play, fourbet-shoving as a polarized range becomes more profitable since you reduce marginal postflop play and maximize fold equity. Tournament ICM considerations further complicate fourbetting: near pay jumps, avoid marginal fourbets that risk tournament life without sufficient fold equity or equity realization.
Position also plays a crucial role. A fourbet from the button versus a cutoff three-bettor is qualitatively different from a fourbet from the blinds against a late-position three-bettor. In position, you gain postflop informational advantage and can more comfortably include more bluffs because your realization equity increases. Out of position, your fourbet range should lean stronger and include more hands with straightforward postflop plans, since playing large pots OOP is inherently more challenging.
Exploitative adjustments versus different player types make fourbet strategy dynamic. Versus nitty opponents who call threebets but rarely fold to fourbets, tighten your bluff frequency and emphasize value. Against loose-aggressive players who three-bet a wide range and fold to aggression, increase your fourbet bluffing frequency and widen your polar range. Versus postflop monsters who flat-call wide and barrel relentlessly, prefer simpler value-heavy fourbets that avoid complex lines postflop.
Practical drills to improve your fourbet game include: reviewing hands where you faced a three-bet and analyzing whether a fourbet or call was preferable; studying hand histories with a focus on blocker-based bluffs; running simulations in solvers to see equilibrium tendencies for different stack sizes; and practicing sizing patterns so your frequency and sizing don’t telegraph intentions. Use tracking software to monitor your overall fourbet frequency and success rate; typical aggregate frequencies differ by position and stakes but if you never fourbet you are likely missing profitable spots, and if you fourbet too often without balance you will be counterexploited.
Lastly, psychological factors and table image affect fourbet decisions. If you have been very active and shown bluffs recently, opponents may call fourbets more light, so tighten up. Conversely, if you have a tight image, occasional fourbet bluffs can be very profitable because you will get folds more often. Be mindful of dynamic adjustments: good opponents will adapt, so keep your ranges mixed and occasionally deviate to remain unpredictable.
In summary, mastering the fourbet requires a balanced mix of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Build ranges with a thought toward blockers and postflop plans, size to generate the right amount of fold equity while controlling SPR, and adjust to stack depths, positions, and player tendencies. With disciplined study and targeted practice, incorporating well-timed fourbets into your arsenal will yield significant long-term gains and help you seize the initiative in preflop confrontations.