At a glance
- On the HUD
- F3B
- Formula
folds / times they opened and faced a 3-bet- Typical range
40–65%
- Where it shows
- Badge: the opener after an open and in a 3-bet pot. Panel on your turn: when you 3-bet, the opener’s fold rate in or out of position against you.
- Read hint
- Above: Overfolds to 3-bets: 3-bet bluff more. Below: Continues vs 3-bets: 3-bet for value.
- 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
Fold to 3-bet is the opener’s stat. A player raises first, someone re-raises, and the action comes back: they can fold, call or 4-bet. F3B is the share of those spots where they folded. If Leo opens the cutoff to 3 bb and the button makes it 10 bb, Leo’s answer counts toward his F3B whatever he does.
The three answers split one spot, so fold to 3-bet, call 3-bet and 4-bet add up to about 100%. Read them together: a 40% F3B made of 50% calls and 10% 4-bets is a different opponent from a 40% F3B with 35% calls and 25% 4-bets.
Two neighbors get mixed up with it. Fold to 3-bet cold is for a player with no chips in who faces an open and a 3-bet at once; fold to squeeze is for a player who called the open and then faces a 3-bet. F3B is only ever the opener’s answer.
How it’s calculated
A chance is a hand where the player made the open (the first full raise of the hand) and their next preflop action faced a 3-bet. A fold counts; a call or a 4-bet doesn’t.
- In a limped pot the first full raise is the iso-raise, so a player who isolates limpers and gets limp-reraised has a chance too.
- If a 4-bet arrives before the action gets back to the opener (a 3-bet, then a cold 4-bet), they face a 4-bet, not a 3-bet, and get no chance.
- An all-in for less than a full raise isn’t a 3-bet, so the opener’s answer to it isn’t counted.
Formula: F3B = folds ÷ times they opened and faced a 3-bet. It’s also kept in and out of position against the 3-bettor, and by the opener’s seat.
Example: Theo opened 60 times and was 3-bet 15 times. He folded 10, called 4 and 4-bet once, so his F3B is 10 / 15 = 67%. With position on the 3-bettor he folded 3 of 6 (50%); without it, 7 of 9 (78%). The overall number hides that he is easy to push around only out of position.
Why it matters
F3B tells you how much of an opening range survives a 3-bet, once you multiply it by how wide they open. A player who opens 40% of hands and folds half of them to 3-bets still continues with 20% of all hands (0.40 × 0.50), about 265 combos, reaching small pairs and weak suited aces. A player who opens 15% and folds half continues with 7.5%, about 99 combos. Same F3B, very different ranges, so read it with raise first in.
It also decides your 3-bet bluffs. A 3-bet with a hand that can’t win at showdown pays on its own only if folds beat risk ÷ (risk + pot). Against a 2.5 bb open with blinds of 0.5 + 1 bb, the pot is 4 bb:
| Your 3-bet | From | You add | Folds needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| To 7.5 bb | Button | 7.5 bb | 65.2% |
| To 9 bb | Button | 9 bb | 69.2% |
| To 11 bb | Big blind | 10 bb | 71.4% |
| To 11 bb | Small blind | 10.5 bb | 72.4% |
These assume everyone behind folds too. The typical F3B of 40–65% is below every row, so against an average opener a 3-bet bluff earns through equity when called, not folds alone. Against a 75% folder, a 9 bb button 3-bet with any two cards gains 0.75 × 4 − 0.25 × 9 = 0.75 bb; against a 50% folder it loses 2.5 bb (0.5 × 4 − 0.5 × 9) unless the hand wins some pots after the flop.
Too low, about right, too high
Position and seat move the right number: a wide button opener has more weak hands to give up, and an opener with position on the 3-bettor can afford to call more.
Too low: under 40%
What it says
Under 40% the player rarely gives up an open. Check what replaces the folds. A high call 3-bet means they flat with hands like KJo, ATo, QTs and small pairs, often out of position: the home-game habit of “I already put chips in”. A high 4-bet rate means they fight back, which is rarer and more dangerous. The HUD read: “Continues vs 3-bets: 3-bet for value.”
How to exploit it
- 3-bet for value, linear: re-raise hands you’d usually flat against them, such as AQ, AJs, KQs, TT and 99. Their continuing range is full of hands you dominate.
- Cut pure bluffs. Needing 69.2% folds against a 35% folder is a losing trade; play suited connectors by calling in position or folding.
- Go bigger, especially out of position: with a range that’s ahead, you want the pot large.
- In the 3-bet pot, value-bet top pair and overpairs for more streets and bluff less; they have many second-best hands and few folds.
About right: 40–65%
What it says
Inside the range, the player folds the bottom of their opening range and defends the rest with a sensible mix of calls and 4-bets. Where they sit tracks how wide they open: a wide button opener at 60% is still defending a lot of hands, while a tight early-position opener at 45% is defending mostly strong ones.
How to exploit it
A balanced opener doesn’t give you a free bluff, since they fold less than the 65.2–72.4% in the table. Look for edges elsewhere.
- Choose 3-bet bluffs that play well when called: suited wheel aces (A5s–A2s), suited connectors, suited broadway hands just outside your value range.
- Use the split. An opener who folds 65% out of position but 45% in position is a better target from the cutoff and button than from the blinds.
- Check the players behind you: a button bluff also needs the blinds to fold. Their fold to 3-bet cold shows on the panel.
Too high: over 65%
What it says
Over 65% the player opens more hands than they’re willing to defend. Often it’s a wide opener with a high RFI, a LAG or loose regular stealing a lot and giving up the bottom when someone plays back. Sometimes it’s a Nit who opens tight and still folds all but premiums. Either way, much of their opening range is there only to win the blinds. The HUD read: “Overfolds to 3-bets: 3-bet bluff more.”
How to exploit it
- 3-bet bluff more from every seat. Against a 75% folder, a 9 bb button 3-bet profits with any two cards when the blinds fold; still prefer hands that play when called: suited aces, suited kings, suited connectors, KJo and QJo.
- Go smaller in position. A 7.5 bb 3-bet needs 65.2% folds instead of 69.2% at 9 bb, as long as they don’t call more against the smaller size.
- Keep your value range, and believe them when they continue: what’s left after folding that much is strong. Fold your bluffs to their 4-bets.
- Re-check each session: overfolders who notice often tighten up.
When it’s your own number
A high F3B tells observant players to 3-bet bluff your opens more; a low one tells them to 3-bet you for value only. Your own badge shows you those reads.
Judge yours against how wide you open. Folding 65% can be fine from a button that opens almost half its hands, and a leak from a tight early-position range. If yours is over 65%, open fewer marginal hands from early seats and plan your defense before you open: some pairs and suited hands to call in position, some suited aces to 4-bet. If it’s under 40%, stop calling 3-bets out of position with dominated hands like KJo and ATo; they make the second-best pair in a big pot.
Using it on the HUD
F3B shows on the opener’s badge after they open, in the version for their position against you, and stays there in a 3-bet pot, switched to their position against the 3-bettor. When you can 3-bet, the panel lists the opener’s fold rate in or out of position against you, next to their 4-bet rate. A thin split steps back to the overall number, and the tooltip says so.
Gold is over 65%, blue under 40%, faded under 12 chances. Chances come slowly: opening 25% of hands and getting 3-bet on a tenth of those opens means a chance in 2.5% of hands, so 12 chances take about 480 hands. A 50% F3B is ±9 points over 30 chances and ±5 over 100. Big gaps show early: 80% over 20 chances has a standard error of 8.9 points, enough above 65% to make a read. Read it with RFI, 3-bet and fold to 4-bet.
Questions
What is a good fold to 3-bet percentage?
The HUD’s typical range is 40–65%. A wide button opener can fold toward the top, a tight early-position opener should sit nearer the bottom. Above 65% their opens are a 3-bet bluffing target; below 40% they defend too much and you should 3-bet them for value.
How do you exploit a high fold to 3-bet?
3-bet them more often, including hands you would otherwise fold. Against a 2.5 bb open, a 9 bb button 3-bet profits with any two cards once they fold more than 69.2%, if the blinds fold too. Prefer bluffs with some equity and fold them when the opener 4-bets.
What’s the difference between fold to 3-bet and fold to 3-bet cold?
Fold to 3-bet is the opener’s answer to a re-raise of their own open. Fold to 3-bet cold is for a player with no chips in yet who faces an open and a 3-bet together. The first measures how much an opener gives up; the second measures how often the players behind you let your 3-bet through.
How many hands until fold to 3-bet is reliable?
Usually several hundred, because the player has to open and then get 3-bet. Someone opening 25% of hands and 3-bet on a tenth of those opens gets one chance every 40 hands, so 12 chances take about 480 hands. Even at 30 chances a 50% F3B is ±9 points, so treat it as a lean until the sample grows.