4-Betting Strategy: When to Re-Raise a 3-Bet

A 4-bet is the second re-raise before the flop: someone opens (the 2-bet), someone re-raises (the 3-bet), and your re-re-raise is the fourth bet — the 4-bet. Its two jobs are simple: stack off with your very best hands, and punish players who 3-bet too loosely by making them fold their bluffs. A good 4-bet range is heavily value-weighted with a small, deliberate dose of bluffs.

Value 4-bets vs. bluff 4-bets

Like every aggressive action, a 4-bet is either for value or a bluff:

• Value 4-bets — hands that want the money in even against a 3-bettor’s strong continuing range: A-A, K-K, and often Q-Q and A-K. These crush the hands that call or jam over your 4-bet.
• Bluff 4-bets — hands too weak to call the 3-bet but ideal to re-raise because they carry blockers. A-5 suited holds an ace, so your opponent is less likely to have A-A or A-K. When they fold, you win now; when called, you still flop draws.

The reason bluffs matter: if your 4-betting range is only monsters, a good player never pays you off and always folds correctly. Balance forces them to guess.

A sample 4-bet range

You open from the cutoff, the button 3-bets, and the action is back on you (100bb). A balanced response looks roughly like this:

Bucket	Example hands	Action
Premium value	A-A, K-K	Always 4-bet, happy to stack off
Strong value	Q-Q, A-K	4-bet for value; A-K plays great all-in
Bluff 4-bets	A-5s, A-4s (ace blockers), sometimes K-Q suited	4-bet to fold out their bluffs
Continue by calling	J-J, 10-10, A-Q, suited broadways	Flat the 3-bet, keep pot smaller
Fold	The rest of your opening range	Give up

Widen your value and bluffs against opponents who 3-bet a lot; tighten to mostly A-A/K-K against players who only 3-bet premiums.

Sizing: how big to make it

A 4-bet doesn’t need to be huge — it already represents a monster.

• In position: about 2.2–2.5× the size of the 3-bet.
• Out of position: slightly larger, 2.5–3×, since you’d rather take it down now than defend a big pot without position.
• Short stacks (under ~40bb): just jam all-in. Any smaller size commits you anyway, and the shove denies your opponent a clean fold with equity.

A worked spot

You open A♠ 5♠ from the cutoff. The button — an aggressive regular who 3-bets wide — makes it 3x. Folded back to you.

• A-5 suited is too weak to flat-call the 3-bet profitably out of the postflop initiative.
• But it’s a prime bluff 4-bet: the ace blocks A-A and A-K, the two hands most likely to continue against you.
• You 4-bet to ~2.3× the 3-bet. Against a wide 3-bet range, the button folds the bulk of their bluffs and you scoop the pot.
• When they do continue, you still hold a suited ace that can flop the nut flush draw or a wheel draw — so you’re rarely drawing dead.

Move the same hand against a nit who only 3-bets Q-Q+ and A-K, and the 4-bet becomes a burn — just fold. Your read on the 3-bettor’s range decides everything.

Reacting to a 5-bet

If your opponent comes back over the top with a 5-bet, the pot is usually so big that only the top of everyone’s range is left. Continue with A-A and K-K (and often A-K/Q-Q at 100bb depending on the player), and fold your bluffs — they’ve done their job by winning the earlier pots. Don’t fall in love with a 4-bet bluff once a 5-bet lands.

Common 4-betting mistakes

• 4-betting only premiums. Predictable and it forfeits fold equity. Add blocker bluffs.
• Bluffing with no blockers. Hands like 8-7 offsuit make weak 4-bet bluffs — they block nothing. Prefer suited ace-x.
• Oversizing in position. Bloating the pot invites only their strongest hands to continue, which is the opposite of what a bluff wants.
• Ignoring position. You can 4-bet a touch wider in position because you realize equity better. See why position matters.
• Not folding bluffs to a 5-bet. Your bluffs win by getting folds, not by calling all-in.

Putting it together

A 4-bet range is value-heavy with a few blocker bluffs, sized modestly in position and larger out of it. Read how wide your opponent 3-bets, pick bluffs that block their premiums, and give up cleanly when a 5-bet arrives. It’s the natural next layer on top of your 3-bet range and the mirror image of defending against 3-bets. To pressure-test any of these ranges, run them through a GTO solver, and revisit the full framework in the preflop strategy hub.