An overbet on the flop can be a highly powerful weapon, but many new players don’t use it enough. It demands a thorough understanding of the range conflict.
Assume you’re in a 6-handed $1-$2 game with $200 effective stacks. Everyone folds to the cutoff, who asks for $7. The button makes a call. You make $30 in the little blind with black kings. The large blind folds, cutoff calls, and button folds.
The flip is Q ♥ 9♥ 3♥. The pot is $69, and you have $170 remaining.
This is an excellent position for an overbet.
With an overpair and an SPR of around 2.5, you’re nearly always committed in this position. The board is highly coordinated, and you are out of place. Pushing all-in preserves the pot while leaving you with no decision to make on the turn.
When we advise this line to players, they occasionally argue things like, “But, better hands aren’t folding, and worse hands aren’t calling.”
This kind of thinking produces errors. Do not think in dualities: “My hand is better or worse than my opponent’s hand.” Think in terms of range and equity.
If you play the range war right, your opponent will fold hands he should call and call hands he should fold.
For example, what is 7♥ 7♠? Is this a “better hand” or a “worse hand”? It may be behind your pocket kings right now, but with 11 outs and two cards remaining, it has more than enough equity to go all-in. Nonetheless, your opponent will occasionally fold when you go all-in.
What about A♠Q♠? You are well ahead of that hand. Will your opponent fold it? He can’t fold it appropriately in this situation because your range contains hands with more than enough equity to call against.
When overbetting, as with any other line, the wider and more balanced your range, the less likely your opponent is to make good selections against you.
Go back to the preflop action. Your opponent started from the cutoff, and the button flat called. That puts you in the ideal position to squeeze from the small blind. Your range for 3-betting should include more than simply pocket kings.
Here is another example.
Same game, same stacks. Cutoff opens for $7, and the button rings. You make $30 from the small blind with 7♦5♦. The large blind folds, cutoff calls, and button folds.
The flop is Q♦9♥3♦. The pot is $69, and you have $170 remaining.
Once again, this is an excellent opportunity for an overbet.
The purpose of your preflop 3-bet was to win the pot outright. Unfortunately, the cutoff referred to your squeezing. You flopped a flush draw, have 2.5 times the pot remaining in your stack, and are the first to act. Of sure, you should push!
Your opponent will fold a lot of hands when you go all in. What will he do with any medium pocket pair, including JJ, TT, 88, and 77? Probably fold. What will he do with A♠K♠. Probably fold. AJ, KJ, or AT? Fold, Fold, Fold.
When he calls, you have two cards to draw and often nine outs to hit. If your pair outs are good, you can get up to 15 at times.
These are only two scenarios in which an overbet on the flop might result in a significant profit. It is usually best to attempt it on coordinated boards, where equity is more evenly spread between opposing ranges. However, on occasion, you may try it on a dry board.
As always, a thorough awareness of your opponents’ ranges, as well as their perceptions of your own, is essential.
