At a glance
- On the HUD
- 4B
- Formula
4-bets / times they opened, faced a 3-bet and could raise- Typical range
5–15%
- Where it shows
- Badge: the opener after an open and in a 3-bet pot, and the 4-bettor. Panel on your turn: when you 3-bet.
- Read hint
- Above: Frequent 4-bets: widen 5-bet shoves. Below: Rare 4-bets: fold marginal 3-bets to them.
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
A 4-bet is the re-raise of a 3-bet. The cutoff opens to 2.5 bb, the button 3-bets to 8 bb, and the cutoff makes it 20 bb: that’s a 4-bet. 4B measures how often the opener chooses that answer instead of folding or calling.
The HUD keeps it strictly as the opener’s stat. If a player who hadn’t put any chips in re-raises an open and a 3-bet, that’s a cold 4-bet, a separate and usually stronger signal. The 3-bettor’s re-raise of a 4-bet is a 5-bet.
A 4-bet range has two parts. The value part is the top of the deck: AA, KK, QQ and AK, a bit wider against light 3-bettors. The bluff part, when there is one, uses hands that block those, such as suited wheel aces. Multiply by how wide they open to see how big the range is: a player who opens 20% and 4-bets 10% of the time is 4-betting about 2% of all hands (0.20 × 0.10), roughly 27 combos. QQ+ and AKs are 22 combos, so that range is close to pure value.
How it’s calculated
The spot is the one fold to 3-bet uses: the player opened (made the first full raise, an iso-raise over limpers included) and their next preflop action faced a 3-bet. 4B charges a chance only when they had more chips than the call, and scores a raise as a 4-bet.
- All-in raises count. In short-stacked games, many 4-bets are shoves, which pushes 4B up for players who sit with fewer chips.
- If the 3-bet covers their stack, so they can only call or fold, there’s no chance.
- A 4-bet from a player who had no chips in (or only a posted blind) is a cold 4-bet, not a 4-bet.
Formula: 4B = 4-bets ÷ times they opened, faced a 3-bet and could raise. There’s an in-position and an out-of-position version, measured against the 3-bettor.
Example: Sam opened and faced a 3-bet 24 times, always with chips behind. He 4-bet 3 times, so his 4B is 3 / 24 = 12.5%. In position he 4-bet 2 of 8 (25%); out of position 1 of 16 (6%).
Why it matters
4B decides what your 3-bets are worth against this opener. Every 3-bet you make has to hold up when they come back over the top, so their 4-bet rate tells you which hands you can 3-bet and which you’ll have to fold.
The money gets serious. If the cutoff opens to 2.5 bb, the button 3-bets to 8 bb and the cutoff 4-bets to 20 bb, the cutoff adds 17.5 bb to win a 12 bb pot (2.5 + 8 + 0.5 + 1). As a pure bluff that needs the 3-bettor to fold 17.5 ÷ 29.5 = 59.3% of the time. The HUD’s typical fold to 4-bet is 40–70%, so a 4-bet bluff only works against 3-bettors near the top of that range or above it.
The answer to a 4-bet is usually all in or fold. If the button now shoves 100 bb, they add 92 bb to win 29.5 bb, so a pure 5-bet bluff needs 92 ÷ 121.5 = 75.7% folds. That’s why 5-bet shoves are mostly value: hands that are ahead of the 4-bet range, which a high 4B widens.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 5%
What it says
Under 5% the player 4-bets only their very best hands and flats or folds the rest. A player who opens 20% and 4-bets 3% of the time re-raises about 8 combos (0.20 × 0.03 × 1,326), fewer than AA and KK together (12 combos). Many recreational players in PokerNow games never 4-bet without aces. The HUD read: “Rare 4-bets: fold marginal 3-bets to them.”
How to exploit it
- When they 4-bet, fold everything that isn’t a premium: JJ, TT and AQ are crushed, and QQ and AK are often behind too once the sample is real.
- 3-bet them more often if their fold to 3-bet is normal or high: they rarely punish a 3-bet bluff with a re-raise.
- Don’t 5-bet bluff. A range this narrow doesn’t fold.
- Remember their big pairs often flat instead. When they call your 3-bet, slow down on boards that don’t help you.
About right: 5–15%
What it says
Inside the range, the player 4-bets their value hands and may add some bluffs, more often in position. Where they sit depends on how wide they open and how often they get 3-bet light: a late-position opener facing aggressive blinds should 4-bet more than an early-position opener facing a tight 3-bettor.
How to exploit it
Check the split and the follow-up before you change much.
- Compare the panel’s number, their 4B in or out of position against you, with their overall 4B. A player who 4-bets far more in position is likely including bluffs there; continue more often against those 4-bets.
- Turn the rate into a range with their raise first in: 10% of a 15% opening range is a much stronger 4-bet than 10% of a 45% one.
- Check their fold to 5-bet and 4-bet size. A small 4-bet with a high fold to 5-bet leans toward bluffs.
Too high: over 15%
What it says
Over 15% the player re-raises 3-bets with far more than premiums: suited aces, broadway hands, and sometimes any two cards when they feel they’re being 3-bet too often. Some are aggressive regulars fighting back against light 3-bets; others are Maniacs, or short stacks who shove over every 3-bet with a wide range. Their 4-bet tells you less about their hand than anyone else’s. The HUD read: “Frequent 4-bets: widen 5-bet shoves.”
How to exploit it
- 5-bet shove wider for value. JJ, TT, AQs and AK do well against a wide 4-bet range; they don’t need folds.
- Call their 4-bets in position more often with hands that play well when stacks are deep, rather than folding everything that isn’t a shove.
- 3-bet a range that can stand a 4-bet. Fewer pure bluffs that must fold, more hands that are happy to get it in.
- If they’re a short stack, treat each 4-bet as a shove and call with any hand that beats their wide shoving range often enough for the price.
When it’s your own number
A low 4B tells observant players to fold their marginal 3-bets when you 4-bet; a high one tells them to 5-bet shove wider against your 4-bets. You can see the same reads on your own badge.
To check yours, look at it next to your opening ranges and the 3-bettors you face. If you open wide and never 4-bet, light 3-bettors win the hand every time you fold, so add a few 4-bet bluffs in position with blockers like A5s. If you 4-bet often and keep folding to 5-bets, cut the bluffs first, especially out of position, and keep 4-betting your value hands.
Using it on the HUD
4B shows on the opener’s badge after they open, and stays in a 3-bet pot in the version for their position against the 3-bettor. In a 4-bet pot the 4-bettor shows it too (a player who wasn’t the opener shows their cold 4-bet instead). When you can 3-bet, the panel lists the opener’s 4-bet rate in or out of position against you, next to their fold to 3-bet. With fewer than 12 chances in that version, the HUD falls back to the overall 4B and the tooltip tells you.
Gold means over 15%, blue under 5%, faded under 12 chances. Chances are rare (the player must open and then be 3-bet), and the number is small: a 10% rate is ±5.5 points over 30 chances and ±3 over 100. Read it with fold to 3-bet, call 3-bet and fold to 5-bet.
Questions
What is a good 4-bet percentage?
The HUD’s typical range is 5–15%. Where a good player sits depends on how wide they open and how light they get 3-bet: openers in late position facing aggressive blinds should 4-bet toward the top, tight early-position openers toward the bottom. Under 5% means premiums only; over 15% means they 4-bet light.
What’s the difference between a 4-bet and a cold 4-bet?
The HUD’s 4-bet stat is the opener re-raising after being 3-bet. A cold 4-bet comes from a player who had no chips in yet and re-raises an open and a 3-bet together. Cold 4-bets are rarer and usually stronger, because that player is acting into two raises at once.
Is a 4-bet always aces?
Only from players with a very low 4B. A 20% opener who 4-bets 3% of the time is re-raising about 8 combos, less than AA and KK together. A player near 15% has room for QQ, JJ, AK and some bluffs. Use the rate and their opening width to estimate the range rather than guessing.
How should you respond to a player who 4-bets a lot?
Widen your 5-bet shoves with hands that are ahead of their range, such as JJ, TT, AQs and AK, and 3-bet hands that can stand a 4-bet instead of pure bluffs. Calling in position with deep stacks also works. Pure 5-bet bluffs don’t: a 100 bb shove over a 20 bb 4-bet needs 75.7% folds.