BLUFFTHESPOT

PREFLOP BIBLE
 Table of content

Introduction 1

Preflop Bible Pro 2

Open raise 3

3bet 9

3bet in position 10

Small Blind Defense 14

Big blind defense 17

4bet 23

Defending vs 3bet 23

Strategy deviations 25

Equity Realization (“R”) 26

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) 27

 Introduction
The foundation of an elite poker player’s game is his pre-flop strategy. You must first master
preflop, before you can perfect your post-flop game.

Included in our pre-flop bible is a series of hand charts, mathematical calculations, game theory
concepts, hand reading theory.

MMAsherdog is considered as one of the best No Limit Hold'em cash game players in the world. With
over 1 million of profit in 2018 alone he can be found on most major sites playing in the biggest games
possible.

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 Preflop Bible Pro
The foundation of an elite poker player's game is his pre-flop strategy. You must first master pre- flop,
before you can perfect your post-flop game.
Included in our pre-flop bible is a series of hand charts, mathematical calculations, game theory concepts,
hand reading theory.
We also added learning boxes. You will recognize them by their green background color. These boxes
small bullet points and summary information.
Once you've gone through all of this material, you'll be ready to tackle almost any pre-flop spot!
Post-flop play, your mental game and development of so-called soft skills are more complicated, and
requires far more guidance and attention to detail. Should you be interested in our private coaching
services, please go to https://www.bluffthespot.com/coaching
Please do not share nor reproduce this copyrighted content.
See you at the tables!

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 OPEN RAISE
Out of position, it's extremely important to control the size of the pot. Which is why we recommend a
small raise size.
Benefits: Lose less money when folding to a 3bet -Keeping the pot small out of position -Decrease your
chance of losing a huge pot when calling a 3bet out of position -Give yourself a better price on a raise
Downsides: You will face more flat calls in position On tables where your opponents call extremely wide
ranges and don't 3bet very often, increasing your open raise sizing to a minimum of 2.5BB is advised.

Non-ante
Early position (EP) & Middle position (MP) → 2.2bb open raise
Cut off (CO) & Button (BTN) → 2.5bb open raise
Small blind (SB) → 3bb
Ante Early position
(EP)/Middle position (MP) & Cut off (CO) → 2.5bb open raise
Button (BTN) → 3bb open raise
Small blind (SB) - Pot sized open raise, (which equates 3.4 - 3.6bb)
In an ante game, you should use a slightly larger size, because there is more money to go after and you
don't want your opponents to get a great price to enter the pot.

Raising vs limps
In Position → 3,5bb +1bb per limper
Out of position →4.5bb + 1bb per limper
Vs Small Blind limp → 3.5bb

Out of position, we raise a strong range because we get to complete the SB or see a free flop in
the big blind, which means we want to increase our sizing. We cannot allow our opponent to
get a cheap flop in position.

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 Under the gun (UTG)

Reference
Standard opening range
Borderline hands, which you should only raise on tables with tight or weaker players

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 Middle position (MP)

Reference
Standard opening range
Borderline hands, which you should only raise on tables with tight or weaker players

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 Cut off (CO)

Reference
Standard opening range
Borderline hands, which you should only raise on tables with tight or weaker players

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 Button (BTN)

Reference
Standard opening range
Borderline hands, which you should only raise on tables with tight or weaker players

Strategy deviations
You should decrease your Button open raise sizing when facing blinds who don't defend enough.
Tight opponents generally pay too much attention to their own holding, and not their pot odds.
We're giving ourselves a better price on a steal. If the table is very tight, we can also decrease our
raise sizing to a min-raise and open a wider range, since our opponents likely will not adjust by
increasing their 3betting and/or flat calling ranges

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 Small blind (SB)

Limping in the Small Blind should be avoided at below 5/10, because the rake is simply too high.

Reference
Standard opening range
Borderline hands, which you should only raise on tables with tight or weaker players

Strategy deviations
Many players over fold their blinds to steals, which further incentivizes us to play a raise
or fold strategy
It is extremely important that we adapt our strategy against different opponents.
Every player has different leaks. Spotting them and making adjustments can boost your
win rate significantly

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 3BET
Villain will realize more equity in position, which means we have to make him pay more to call our 3bet.
Our range is also slightly more polarized, since we already have money invested into the pot, giving us
a better price to call.

3bet sizes in bb at 100bb stacks 3betting By position

3BET MP CO BTN SB BB
UTG 7 7 7.5 10 10
MP 7 7.5 10 10
CO 8 11 11
BTN 11 11
SB 9

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 3bet in position
We only flat call when there is a weaker player behind us, since we want to play pots with him.

Don't be afraid to adjust your flat calling range, if there's extremely weak players behind you. They make
much larger mistakes than the strong player you could be 3betting, which could make you a lot more
money in the long run.

Middle Position (MP) vs Under the Gun (UTG)

Reference
3Betting range
3bet or flat calling range

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 Cut off (CO) vs Early positions (EP
Reference
3Betting range
3bet or flat calling range

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 Button (BTN) vs Early Position (EP)
Reference
3Betting range
3bet or flat calling range

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 Button vs Cut Off
There are merits on both parts for having a 3bet-or-fold strategy on the button, as well as a mix of flat
calls and 3bets.

Similar to in position spots, we also recommend playing a 3bet-or-fold strategy here.

Benefits: Extremely difficult for the Cut Off to play versus a high 3bet strategy
▪ Prevent squeezes from the blinds
▪ Prevent having a face up and capped range when flat calling
▪ Forcing the Cut Off to play a tighter range, which allows us to open raise more often

Downsides: You'll be in larger pots with medium strength hands

Reference
3Betting range
3bet or flat calling range

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 Small Blind Defense
3bet-or-fold strategy
We recommend playing a 3bet-or-fold strategy, from the Small Blind.
Benefits: Increase the pot size with a strong range -Pre-flop fold equity -Gaining the initiative -Kicking the
big blind out -Not having a capped and face up flatting range -Pay less rake
Downside: Having to fold a few hands that would have shown a profit, compared to folding -You'll have
to play a few larger pots with medium strength hands

SB vs UTG and MP
Reference
3Betting range
3bet deviation if they are opening wide or folding more than standard

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 It makes sense to not have a 5bet all in range vs a4bet in these positions, because most player
pools under bluff these spots. Player pools are generally fairly large and this spot is quite rare, so
it is very unlikely that anyone ever realizes that we do not having a shoving range in this spot. This
strategy simplifies our strategy, and allows us to get away from our hand on unfavorable boards.

Small Blind versus Cut Off

3Betting range
3bet deviation if they are opening wide or folding more than standard

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 Small Blind versus Button
3Betting range
3bet deviation if they are opening wide or folding more than standard

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 Big blind defense
3betting a depolarized range
Defending the Big Blind is one of the most important aspects of pre-flop play. It occurs extremely often,
which means it can win or lose you a lot of money. It's important to sometimes 3bet suited connectors
and suited Aces vs strong ranges

Benefits:
▪ Board coverage on middling boards
▪ Having sufficient bluffs on high card boards, since most of our range smashes those boards
▪ Pre-flop fold equity
▪ Gaining the initiative
Downsides:
▪ Increasing the size of the pot with a hand which is behind in equity
▪ Having to fold slightly more to 4bets

The EV of 3betting suited connectors and suited Aces goes up vs players who over fold to 3bets.
The EV of thin value 3bets goes down, because your opponent will fold more hands you
dominate. Inversely, you should 3bet big cards more thinly vs opponents who don't fold much
against 3bets. Suited connectors benefit a lot from pre-flop fold equity, which means their
3betting EV decreases.

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 Vs Early Position (EP)

Reference
YELLOW Call 100%
BEIGE Defend and 3bet x% Vs Early Position (EP)

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 Vs Middle Position

Reference
YELLOW Call 100%
BEIGE Defend and 3bet x% Vs Early Position (EP)

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 Vs Cut off

Reference
YELLOW Call 100%
BEIGE Defend and 3bet x% Vs Early Position (EP)

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 Vs the Button

Reference
YELLOW Call 100%
BEIGE Defend and 3bet x% Vs Early Position (EP)

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 Blind vs Blind

Reference
YELLOW Call 100%
BEIGE Defend and 3bet x% Vs Early Position (EP)

Strategy deviations
3betting when playing against someone who is over folding to 3bets, you can use a slightly smaller
3bet size. Be careful that you don't size down too much, or else people could pick up on it and
adjust. We include hands that we normally would have folded, and we can 3bet hands that would
have been in our calling range against a standard

Against a weaker player, we generally want to increase our 3bet size, since they call far too many
3bets, regardless of their pot odds.

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 4BET

4bet ratio We aim for a 1:1 ratio of value hand and 4bet bluffs. First, you should determine your value 4
betting range, then find an equal amount of bluffs.
Generally, you should 4bet hands that are slightly too weak to defend but have good blockers to
our opponent's continuing range.
Criteria for 4bet bluffs
▪ Block Villains 5betting range
▪ Playability and board coverage
▪ Aim to 4bet hands that are slightly too weak to call but a bit too strong to fold.

Example K6s and A9o are good 4bet bluffs, in a Button vs Small Blind situation. K6s has one high card that removes some of
Villains continuing range, like AK and KQs, and you are suited. A9o has the Ace blocker, which blocks some hands like AA and
AQs. You also dominate a few hands like T9s and 98s, that Villain could be calling a 4bet with.

4bet sizes in bb at 100bb stacks

4BET UTG MP CO BTN SB
UTG
MP 20
CO 20 20
BTN 20 20 20
SB 25 25 25 25
BB 25 25 25 25 23

Defending vs 3bet
Defense frequencies vs 3bets Both in and out of position, we should aim to defend roughly 55% of our
opening range. Either by calling or 4betting.
Being in position gives us a tactical advantage, but most players 3bet bigger while out of position, which
means our pot odds will be worse.
Inversely, being out of position puts us at a tactical disadvantage, but our odds to continue will be better.

Constructing defending ranges versus 3bets

Defense frequencies versus 3bets
Both in and out of position, we should aim to defend roughly 55% of our opening range. Either by calling
or 4betting.
Being in position gives us a tactical advantage, but most players 3bet bigger while out of position, which
means our pot odds will be worse.
Inversely, being out of position puts us at a tactical disadvantage, but our odds to continue will be better.

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 Bluff shoving pre-flop
Bluff shoving is theoretically a strong play, but we can't recommend it versus the vast majority of
opponents.
They have to be bluffing at roughly a 50% frequency, which most players simply don't do.
The main value of bluff jamming is pre-flop fold equity, since we only have 30% equity against his calling
range.

Considerations for bluff shoving

▪ Your hand
▪ Villains 4bet sizing
▪ Villains 4betting frequency
▪ Villains' open raising range
▪ Effective stacks
▪ Fold to 5bet

Which hands should I bluff shove?

We apply the same logic for bluffing as for 4bet bluffing. You should bluff shove hands that are slightly
too weak to call, slightly too strong to fold and have good blockers to your opponent's calling range.
Late position bluff shoves
AQo, AJo, ATs
Early position bluff shoves
A5s, A4s, AJo, KQo

Strategy deviations
If someone 3bets very polarized, we can use 4bet size because they still cannot defend their weak
hands, so they will often 5bet or fold.
When facing a more linear 3bet range, we have to use a larger size, because your opponent has
more equity and can call more 4bets. Our range for 4betting is polarized, which means we want to
get maximum value when having a strong hand, and getting maximum fold equity when we don't.

Slow Aces and Kings pre-flop

Against most opponents, we should sometimes slow play Aces and Kings pre-flop, especially facing
a 4bet.
Slow playing these hands protects the weaker hands in our range, and forces our opponent to
proceed carefully in a 4bet pot. If your range is capped at a medium strength hand, your
opponent can run you over with aggression.
Slow playing also keeps your opponents' bluffs in the hand. Aces and Kings are so far ahead of our
opponent's range, that we don't mind seeing a flop. If he hits any piece of the board, we will
likely win his entire stack.
When playing with deeper stacks, 5betting becomes more profitable than flat calling because we
will not easily put all in when in a 4bet pot, so protecting your range is not quite as important.
And of course, we want to build the pot with our monster hand.
Slow playing Aces and Kings is not an exact science. The amount you want to slow play these
hands depends on the pre-flop situation, your opponent, effective stacks and dynamics.

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 General deviations
How to adapt to different raise sizes
The smaller someone raises, the more we have to call, as are pot odds are now better. Against larger
open raises, we call less frequently and 3bet slightly more often.

Important factors when widening your opening range

The big blind's fold to steal -Our opening size -Our opponents' 3betting frequencies (We can open more
with tight 3bettors behind us) -The Big Blind's post-flop skill level. (If the big blind is a recreational
player, we can open also a wider range, as we want to play against the him in position)

What about flat calling?

When the open raise sizing is smaller, we can flat more, as well when there is a fish in the blinds.

Changing your 3betting frequencies

Villains opening range -Villains open raise sizing -Villains fold to 3bet frequency ( 3bet more often if he
over folds) -When a recreational player open raises, we 3bet more because we want to isolate him -
With recreational players behind us, we 3bet less often because we want to keep them in the pot

Folding to 3bets Against players with tight 3betting ranges

We can over fold to 3bets. Inversely, against loose players, we fold a bit less and also 4bet a wider range,
both for value and as a bluff.

Trouble hands
Avoid high card hands that are easily dominated and focus on calling more suited connectors. Against
loose players, we fold a bit less and also 4bet a wider range, both for value and as a bluff.

Statistical analysis
Our pre-flop ranges should be flexible, meaning we should adapt strategy from opponent to opponent.
One of the best ways of gathering reads on your opponents, is HUD statistics.
Stats to pay attention to -Villains pre-flop raise first in (RFI) -Villains 4bet range -Fold to 3bet (include
separate stats for IP and OOP) -Fold to flop c-bet

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 Equity Realization (“R”)

How to calculate ''R''

"R" includes implied odds, reverse implied odds, playability etc.
In order to defend our big blind profitably, we need to lose less than if we fold, which is 1bb.
Based on Villains open raise sizing and the pot size, we are going to calculate how much equity we need if
we would realize 100% of our equity.
(amount to call) / (pot+amount to call) = Equity needed to call (D)
However, we will not realize 100% of our equity, therefore we have to estimate how much of our equity
we are going to realize.
Equity * R >= D
R = Equity Realization
D = Equity we have to realize to call
When our equity * the equity realization of that hands is greater than the equity we have to realize, it
means we can call our hand. It is still possible that a 3bet has an higher EV than a call.
Example We have 35% equity against Villains range
How much equity do we have to realize?
35 * "R" = 28,6
"R" = 28,6 / 35
"R" = 0,82 → 82%
We need to realize more than 82% of our equity, in order to call profitably.

Which factors are important for R?

Rake → the higher the rake, the less equity we realize -Position → IP we will always realize more than
OOP -Opponent and his strategy -Our hand

How do we estimate "R"?

''R'' is only important for borderline hands.
Let's assume we are defending the exact same range as the open raiser. We are out of position, which
means we will realize less with our whole range. So, we can only realize around 85% of our equity of
our whole range.
But our range is wider, which that means that our average R will be even lower than the 85%.
Furthermore, as there are strong hands which realize more than 100%, there also have to be borderline
hands, which are below 85%
55-75% equity realization is more realistic.
Fortunately, we live in a time with GTO Solvers and these solvers can estimate equity realization far more
accurately than we can.
Later on, we will take a look at defending ranges in the big blind. The most important concept of this
chapter is that IP>OOP we want to call, which leads us to couple conclusions.

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 Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Why does the pre-flop bible not cover a Small Blind limping range?
Limping the Small Blind should generally be avoided below 5/10 No Limit. The majority of your opponent
over folds their Big Blind to steals, so there is a greater incentive to play raise or fold. And since you
will be seeing a lot of flops when employing a limping range, you would end up paying a lot more rake.
*For more information regarding Small Blind play, check out page 10.

Do you recommend purchasing any strategy books regarding pre-flop content?

We suggest avoiding most poker books and content, as the majority is outdated, or written by
authors who, unfortunately, should not be producing advanced poker content.

How does rake impact my game?

On almost all poker tables, the pots gets raked once you go to the flop. Which means there is
less incentive to see the flop.
Winning the pot pre-flop by 3betting, folding marginal hands in the big blind and not over calling
too many marginal hands in position becomes powerful in games with high rake

Why does the pre-flop bible not cover a Small Blind limping range?
Limping the Small Blind should generally be avoided below 5/10 No Limit.
The majority of your opponent over folds their Big Blind to steals, so there is a greater incentive to
play raise or fold.
And since you will be seeing a lot of flops when employing a limping range, you would end up
paying a lot more rake.

Is BluffTheSpot active on social media?

Yes. Click the links below to visit our social media pages.

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