Explanation of Four-bet
Bets in poker can be assigned numbers to show where they fall within a sequence of bets.
One-bet – The first bet in a sequence
Two-bet – The first raise in a sequence
Three-bet – The first re-raise in a sequence
Four-bet – The second re-raise in a sequence
Five-bet – The third re-raise in a sequence
Note that the first open-raise preflop in Hold’em and Omaha is referred to as a “2-bet” because the mandatory blind payments are considered as the first bet of the sequence. This can cause some confusion amongst novice players. It’s common for a postflop 2bet (the first raise) to be mistakenly referred to as a “3bet”.
Example of Four-Bet used in a sentence -> Our opponent three-bet against our open so we put in the four-bet with our pocket Kings.
How to Use Four-bet as Part of Your Poker Strategy
Four-bets are somewhat rare during the postflop betting rounds. A postflop 4bet is very often all-in (apart from in fixed-limit formats), and typically implies the four-better has a very strong holding. Seeing as postflop three-bet bluffs are extremely rare, postflop four-bet bluffs are virtually non-existent in the vast majority of games.
Preflop four-bets are generally representative of less strength than postflop four-bets. A number of players have been exposed to the strategic idea of four-bet bluffing vs aggressive three-betters, so it’s certainly not impossible that any given four-bet ends up being a bluff in many games. Despite this, the majority of four-bet ranges are heavily weighted towards value. It’s naturally a lot less likely that a preflop four-bet is a bluff when compared to preflop three-bets.
See Also
Three-bet, Five-bet, Omaha, Hold’em, Structure, Raise, Actions
