At a glance
- On the HUD
- FC3B
- Formula
folds / times their first decision faced an open and a 3-bet with no chips in- Typical range
Not colored on the HUD: it has no typical range, because a good number depends on the game. See “Too low, about right, too high” below.
- Where it shows
- Panel on your turn: when you 3-bet, for players behind you.
- 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
FC3B is about the players behind a 3-bet. The hijack opens, the cutoff 3-bets, and now the button and the blinds each face two raises without having put a chip in voluntarily. Each of them folds, calls cold or 4-bets cold, and FC3B counts how often they chose to fold.
It answers the question you care about when you 3-bet: will the rest of the table get out of the way? That makes it different from fold to 3-bet, which measures what the opener does when their own open gets re-raised. It’s also different from fold to squeeze, which is for a player who already called the open before the 3-bet came.
The three answers share one spot, so FC3B is roughly 100% minus cold call 3-bet minus cold 4-bet. With those two inside their typical ranges (0–8% and 1–6%), that leaves about 86–99%. A player well under that is calling or re-raising two raises far more than most.
How it’s calculated
The HUD charges a chance when a player’s first decision after the open faces both the open and a 3-bet and they have nothing in voluntarily. Blinds are included, since posting isn’t voluntary. A fold scores.
- Limpers already have chips in, so they’re left out.
- Someone who called the open before the 3-bet came is counted in fold to squeeze; to the 3-bettor, that 3-bet was a squeeze.
- If a 4-bet comes in before they act, they get no chance here.
Formula: FC3B = folds ÷ times their first decision faced an open and a 3-bet with no chips in, with no position or seat splits.
Example: Ben faced an open and a 3-bet with nothing in 40 times. He folded 33, called 5 and 4-bet twice, so his FC3B is 33 / 40 = 82.5%. His cold call 3-bet is 5 / 40 = 12.5%, well over its 8% top, which tells you where the missing folds went.
Why it matters
Your 3-bet bluff doesn’t only need the opener to fold. Everyone behind you has to fold too, and their folds multiply. Against a 2.5 bb open with blinds of 0.5 + 1 bb, a 9 bb button 3-bet needs 69.2% folds to profit with any two cards (9 ÷ 13). If the opener folds to 3-bets 60% of the time and both blinds fold cold 95%, the chance that all three fold is 0.60 × 0.95 × 0.95 = 54.2%, treating them as independent. Swap one blind for a player at 80% and it drops to 0.60 × 0.95 × 0.80 = 45.6%.
The more players behind you, the more it matters. A cutoff 3-bet with the button and both blinds left, each folding 95%, gets through all three only 85.7% of the time (0.95 × 0.95 × 0.95), so about one time in seven someone behind plays. That’s before the opener has said anything.
FC3B also tells you how your 3-bet pots will look. A low number behind you means more multiway 3-bet pots and more cold 4-bets, both of which punish light 3-bets and reward value hands.
Too low, about right, too high
The HUD has no typical range for FC3B and doesn’t color it. The bands below are this guide’s, based on the roughly 86–99% that the typical cold call 3-bet and cold 4-bet ranges leave.
Low: under 85%
What it says
Under 85% the player continues against an open and a 3-bet more than about one time in seven. Check which way. If their cold call 3-bet is high, they flat re-raises with pairs, suited aces and broadway hands: a Whale, Fish or Station. If their cold 4-bet is high, they’re re-raising light behind 3-bets, which is rarer and more aggressive.
How to exploit it
- Cut 3-bet bluffs when they sit behind you; they cost you the folds your bluff needs.
- 3-bet for value wider and bigger instead: AQ, AJs, KQs and TT gain when a flatter comes along.
- If the missing folds are cold 4-bets, 3-bet hands that can stand a 4-bet and shove some of them over it.
- Expect multiway 3-bet pots and c-bet with real hands rather than air.
Typical: 85–95%
What it says
In this band the player continues now and then, usually with strong hands: a cold 4-bet with QQ+ or AK, a cold call with JJ or AQs. That’s what most decent players do, and it’s where the typical cold call 3-bet and cold 4-bet ranges put them. They rarely interfere with your 3-bet, but when they do, they mean it.
How to exploit it
- Base your 3-bet bluffs mainly on the opener’s fold to 3-bet, but multiply in each player behind: two players at 90% already cut your fold equity to 81% of what the opener alone gives you (0.90 × 0.90).
- When one of them does call or 4-bet, believe it. Fold 3-bet bluffs to a cold 4-bet and play the multiway pot straightforwardly.
- Prefer 3-bet bluffs from later seats, where fewer players are left behind you.
High: over 95%
What it says
Over 95% the player almost never comes in behind a 3-bet: a 4-bet-or-fold strategy with a tight 4-bet range, or a tight player who folds everything but aces. That’s sound for most players in most spots. Small samples often read 100%: a player who folds 95% of the time folds all of their first 12 chances a bit over half the time (0.95 to the 12th power is 0.54).
How to exploit it
- When everyone behind you folds this often, your 3-bet bluff mostly has to beat the opener alone. Use the opener’s fold to 3-bet as the deciding number.
- When they do call or re-raise, they have it. Fold your bluffs and medium hands like JJ and AQ to their cold 4-bet unless the sample says otherwise.
- Seat selection helps: a 3-bet in front of tight folders is worth more than the same 3-bet in front of stations.
When it’s your own number
Your badge never flags FC3B, since it has no read hint, yet observant opponents can still see it. If yours is low because you flat 3-bets cold, they 3-bet bigger for value when you sit behind and stop bluffing into you; if it’s low because you cold 4-bet often, they 3-bet a range that can stand a 4-bet.
A high FC3B is normal. If yours is under 85%, check your cold call 3-bet first: most leaks here are flats with hands like small pairs and offsuit broadway that can’t pay 9 bb with the opener still behind. Fold most of them, and keep a few strong hands to call or 4-bet.
Using it on the HUD
FC3B lives on the panel. When it’s your turn and you can 3-bet, the panel lists each player behind you who hasn’t put chips in voluntarily, with their fold to 3-bet cold and their cold 4-bet rate, next to the opener’s fold to 3-bet. Read them together to see how likely the whole table is to let your 3-bet through. It isn’t on the table badges; the player database shows it with every other stat.
The HUD doesn’t color FC3B. A number with fewer than 12 chances is faded, and chances come slowly, because someone has to open and someone else 3-bet before this player acts. Over 30 chances a 90% FC3B carries ±5.5 points of error, over 100 about ±3. Read it with cold call 3-bet and cold 4-bet, which show where the missing folds went.
Questions
What does fold to 3-bet cold mean?
It’s how often a player with no chips in folds when they face an open and a 3-bet before acting. If the hijack opens, the cutoff 3-bets and the button folds, the button folded to a 3-bet cold. The blinds count too, since a posted blind isn’t a voluntary bet.
What is a normal fold to 3-bet cold percentage?
Most players fold the large majority of these spots. The HUD has no typical range for it, but with cold call 3-bet and cold 4-bet inside their typical ranges, FC3B lands around 86–99%. Under 85% the player calls or re-raises two raises often; over 95% is normal and tight.
How is fold to 3-bet cold different from fold to 3-bet?
Fold to 3-bet is the opener’s answer when someone re-raises their own open. Fold to 3-bet cold is for players who hadn’t put chips in yet and face both raises at once. When you 3-bet, you need both: the opener’s fold and the folds of everyone behind you.
Why doesn’t the HUD color fold to 3-bet cold?
Because it has no typical range in the HUD, so there’s nothing to compare against for gold or blue. Its partners, cold call 3-bet (0–8%) and cold 4-bet (1–6%), do have ranges and colors, and between them they show where any missing folds went.