At a glance
- On the HUD
- 5B
- Formula
5-bets / times they 3-bet, faced a 4-bet and could raise- Typical range
5–25%
- Where it shows
- Badge: the 3-bettor in 3-bet and 4-bet pots, and the 5-bettor. Panel on your turn: when you 4-bet.
- 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 5-bet is the fourth raise before the flop: open, 3-bet, 4-bet, 5-bet. The HUD measures it from the 3-bettor’s side. After they 3-bet and get 4-bet, how often do they raise again?
At 100 bb a 5-bet is almost always all-in. After a 2.5 bb open, a 9 bb 3-bet and a 20 bb 4-bet, any real re-raise commits most of the stack, so players just shove. In deeper home games a smaller 5-bet that leaves chips behind is possible, and the stat counts it the same way.
It sits beside fold to 4-bet and call 4-bet, the other two answers to the same 4-bet. It’s different from 4-bet, which is the opener re-raising a 3-bet, and from fold to 5-bet, which is the 4-bettor’s answer when someone does this to them.
How it’s calculated
5-bet = 5-bets ÷ times they 3-bet, faced a 4-bet and could raise
- Chance: they made the 3-bet (squeezes and limp-reraises included), their next preflop action faced a 4-bet, and they had more chips behind than the call. A 4-bet that covers their stack isn’t a chance, because the only options left are fold and call.
- Event: they raised, all-in or not.
- Only the 3-bettor’s 5-bets count. If the original opener 5-bets after someone else cold 4-bets, that raise isn’t part of this stat.
The HUD keeps 5-bet in two narrower versions, in position and out of position against the 4-bettor.
Example: Tomás 3-bet and then faced a 4-bet 16 times. Three of those 4-bets were shoves that covered him, so 13 chances remain. He 5-bet twice → 2 / 13 = 15%, comfortably inside the typical range. Both times he turned over aces or kings. A middling number on a small sample can still be pure value; the percentage alone can’t tell you the range.
Why it matters
The 5-bet is the risk on the other side of every 4-bet. Take a 2.5 bb open, a 9 bb 3-bet and your 4-bet to 20 bb. When they shove 100 bb, you call 80 more into 121.5 bb (your 20, their 100 and the 1.5 in blinds), so you need 80 / 201.5 = 39.7% equity. Against a player who only jams AA and KK, hands like QQ and AK fall short. Against a wide jammer who also shoves TT, KQs and A5s, both usually have enough. The 5-bet percentage is what moves your calling range.
It also limits your bluffs. A 4-bet bluff only wins when they fold, and every 5-bet costs you the 20 bb you put in.
From their side, a pure-bluff 5-bet is expensive. From a 9 bb 3-bet they add 91 bb to win 30.5, so it needs folds more than 91 / 121.5 = 74.9% of the time. That’s why real 5-bet bluffs carry blockers and some equity, and why most players simply don’t make them. In most games, a high 5-bet is more often a wide value range than a pile of bluffs.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 5%
What it says
They almost never 5-bet. Their 3-bet range folds or calls when 4-bet, which suits a cautious player who 3-bets a narrow value range and slowplays the best of it. Expect this from many Rocks and Fish. It doesn’t mean they lack big hands; it means AA and KK are hiding in their calls, or they rarely 3-bet them in the first place.
How to exploit it
- 4-bet bluff more if their fold to 4-bet is in range or above: the jam that would punish your bluff never comes.
- When they do 5-bet, fold everything except AA and usually KK. A near-zero 5-bet is one of the narrowest ranges you’ll face at the table.
- If they call 4-bets a lot instead, assume the calls include AA and KK, and don’t pile in on an ace-high or king-high flop with QQ.
- With your value 4-bets, size for a call rather than a fold. A player who never jams won’t punish a slightly bigger 4-bet.
About right: 5–25%
What it says
A normal mix: they shove a value core (QQ+, AK) and perhaps a few blockers like A5s, and fold or call the rest. The lower half of the band usually means value only; the upper half means some bluffs or a wider value range that adds JJ and AQs. Nothing here is a leak on its own; the useful question is which hands make up their jams.
How to exploit it
- 4-bet for value with hands that can call a jam: QQ+ and AK at 100 bb. Against the upper half of the band, JJ can join them.
- 4-bet bluff with blockers (A5s–A2s) rather than hands like 76s, which are crushed when they jam.
- Fold the bottom of your 4-bet range to the shove unless your price beats their likely range. The 39.7% in the example is the bar.
- Watch showdowns. One shown bluff jam tells you more about this player than ten more chances of the number would.
Too high: over 25%
What it says
They shove over 4-bets often. Either they 3-bet a strong range and 5-bet a big share of it (common with short stacks, where a 3-bet already commits them), or they’re an aggressive player who 3-bets light and fights back with blockers and medium pairs. Check their 3-bet: high 3-bet with high 5-bet is a real re-raise warrior; low 3-bet with high 5-bet is someone who only 3-bets hands they’ll get in with.
How to exploit it
- Stop 4-bet bluffing. A quarter or more of your bluffs get shoved on, and the rest still need folds.
- 4-bet for value with a range that calls a jam. Against a wide shover, JJ, TT and AQs can be value; against a tight 3-bettor who jams a lot, stick to QQ+ and AK.
- Against the light 3-bettor, consider flatting their 3-bets in position with AQ and suited broadways instead of 4-betting. You keep the pot small and play after the flop, where their aggression costs them.
When it’s your own number
There’s no read for 5-bet, so it won’t appear as a sentence on your badge, but opponents can see the number. A high 5-bet tells observant players to stop 4-bet bluffing you and to 4-bet only hands that call a shove. A near-zero one tells them your 3-bets fold or call when 4-bet, which makes 4-bet bluffing you cheap.
A healthy shape at 100 bb: shove your best hands, add a few blockers if your opponents 4-bet light, and fold most of the rest. If your number is near zero over a real sample while your 3-bet is above 10%, you’re not defending. Add QQ and AK as jams, and an occasional A5s.
Using it on the HUD
5-bet shows on the 3-bettor’s badge in 3-bet and 4-bet pots, and on the 5-bettor’s badge once someone has 5-bet. On your turn, when you can 4-bet, the panel lists the 3-bettor’s 5-bet rate beside their fold rate, so you see how often your 4-bet wins the pot and how often it gets shoved on. It’s also kept in and out of position against the 4-bettor, but the badge and the panel show the overall number.
It turns gold above 25% and blue below 5%, with no read.
This is one of the slowest stats on the HUD: a chance needs a 3-bet, a 4-bet and chips behind, so 12 can take several thousand hands, and even 30 chances leave a 10% number ±5.5 points. Until then, treat a 5-bet as AA, KK and some QQ and AK, and judge how willing they are to fight from their 4-bet as the opener and their 3-bet: players who re-raise light at one level usually do it at the next.
Questions
What is a 5-bet in poker?
A 5-bet is the fourth raise before the flop: open, 3-bet, 4-bet, then a re-raise of the 4-bet. At 100 bb it’s usually all-in. The HUD’s 5-bet stat counts how often a player who 3-bet raises again after facing a 4-bet, with a typical range of 5–25%.
What is a good 5-bet percentage?
Somewhere in the 5–25% typical range, depending on how light your opponents 4-bet. Against players who 4-bet only big hands, stay near the bottom with AA, KK and some QQ and AK. Against frequent 4-bettors, add more jams, including blockers like A5s that have equity when called.
How wide should you call a 5-bet shove?
It depends on the price and on their 5-bet frequency. After a 2.5 bb open, a 9 bb 3-bet and your 4-bet to 20 bb, calling a 100 bb shove costs 80 bb to win 121.5, so you need 39.7% equity. Against a player who only jams AA and KK, fold QQ and AK; against a wide jammer, call with them.
How many hands until the 5-bet stat means anything?
Usually thousands. A chance needs the player to 3-bet, face a 4-bet and still have chips to raise, which might happen once every few hundred hands. Even 30 chances leave a 10% number about 5.5 points either way. Use their 3-bet and 4-bet numbers in the meantime.