Facing a 3-Bet Out of Position: Same Price, First to Act on Every Street
Facing a 3‑bet out of position, for the same 3‑bet size you pay the same price as in position, but you will act first on every street. After an open to 2.5bb and a 3‑bet to 9bb with the blinds folded, you need 33.3% equity to call, and the pot is 19.5bb with a stack-to-pot ratio of 4.7 at 100bb. The bigger the 3‑bet, the higher the price: 36.2% against 11bb.
A♥Q♥ in the cutoff facing the button's 3‑bet
You open to 2.5bb in the cutoff with A♥Q♥, the button 3‑bets to 8bb and the blinds fold. Fold, call or 4‑bet to 21bb?
See the answer
Calling costs 5.5bb for a final pot of 17.5bb: you need 31.4% equity. Against hands that 3‑bet from the button, before the flop:
| Button's hand | A♥Q♥'s equity |
|---|---|
| K♠Q♠ | 71.4% |
| A♦J♦ | 70.8% |
| A♠5♠ | 69.3% |
| T♠9♠ | 61.4% |
| 7♣7♦ | 48.3% |
| J♠J♦ | 46% |
| Q♠Q♣ | 34.3% |
| A♠K♣ | 30.3% |
A♥Q♥ is above 31.4% against every one of these hands except A♠K♣ (30.3%). A 4‑bet to 21bb played as a bluff risks 18.5bb for a 12bb pot: it has to make the button fold 60.7% of the time. The expected answer is the call.
The price of a call by 3‑bet size
Open to 2.5bb, blinds folded, 100bb stacks:
| Button's 3‑bet | What you pay | Equity needed | Stack-to-pot ratio after the call |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5bb | 5bb | 30.3% | 5.6 |
| 8bb | 5.5bb | 31.4% | 5.3 |
| 9bb | 6.5bb | 33.3% | 4.7 |
| 10bb | 7.5bb | 34.9% | 4.2 |
| 11bb | 8.5bb | 36.2% | 3.8 |
Out of position, the price is not the whole story: acting first, you realize your equity less well than in position, and a lower stack-to-pot ratio leaves less room to play the flop.
Keep going
- Who acts first and why: poker positions.
- The price of a call in detail: pot odds.
- What the remaining stack changes: stack-to-pot ratio.
- Why A♥Q♥ crushes A♦J♦: dominated hands.
- The same hand in detail: how to play ace-queen.
- One spot every day: the daily poker puzzle.
- The same decision with position: facing a 3‑bet in position.
- Facing an open, calling or 3-betting: cold call vs 3‑bet.
- The definition and price of a 3‑bet: what is a 3‑bet.
- The price of re-raising a 3‑bet: what is a 4‑bet.
- The hand after the call: how to play 3‑bet pots.
- Acting first on every street: playing out of position.
Sources
- Every equity is computed by exact enumeration with the app's equity module, and every price with its pot odds module, checked on October 11, 2026.
- The answer to the spot follows rules written by the app's author; it does not come from a solver.