Apply a 4-BET in Poker with premium hands like AA or AK is practically mandatory when playing No-Limit Texas Hold'em, isn't it? So we can say that it's crucial to get the maximum possible value out of these hands when you get them.
It's obvious that the first step to playing strong hands is to raise pre-flop, but things get more interesting - and exciting - when another player applies a 3-BET.
Now the action comes back to you, and in many cases you'll want to re-raise with a 4-BET. While a 4-BET in poker is a simple move in theory, many players make mistakes at this stage by selecting bad starting hands or using a bad value for such a bet.
4-BET or call at 3-BET?
When we consider applying a 4-BET in value poker, the first thing to think about is your hand. There are basically two groups of hands in this case. The first includes AA, KK, QQ and AK - the best hands in poker. In almost all situations beating your opponent again will be the best option with these hands. Your intention is to put all your chips in play pre-flop, as these hands are usually well ahead of your opponent's hand range.
The second group are the hands that we can call "good, but not great", such as JJ, TT, 99 and AQ. Your strategy with these hands should depend on the situation and your opponents. If you're playing aggressively with lots of re-raises and bluffs, then these hands will be strong enough to apply a 4-BET for value.
However, if the game has been very tight, it makes more sense to just call the 3-BET, see the flop and proceed with caution from there. Always be able to adjust your 4-BET strategy and don't play too robotically - it can get you into trouble!
I made the 4-BET in Poker - now what?
Now that we've decided to re-raise, the next question is - how much? In a tournament, sometimes we'll have stacks of 20 or 30 BBs, where the only option is to go all-in. But the most interesting situations really happen at times in the tournament when the stacks are deeper (or in cash games), something at least over 40BBs.
In this case, it's not interesting to go all-in. For example, with a stack of 100BB, you raised 3BBs with AA and received a 3-BET of 10BBs. Going all-in here would be a big mistake because you would possibly only be paid off by a hand like KK or a rare but possible AA. You'd be losing a lot of value. Instead, you could make a 4-BET of something like 23BBs. By doing this, you allow your opponent to make a mistake, which would benefit you. Your opponent will have good odds to call with dominated hands, or they could go all-in trying to scare you out of the pot, or even thinking they have value, with a hand like QQ.
By keeping our 4-BET small, we give our opponent the rope to hang himself, either by bluffing or by calling with a weaker hand. If instead of doing this we just go all-in, we're basically relying on a cooler (KK vs AA), which doesn't happen that often.
Conclusion
A lot of the money you win or lose will depend on how you play the strong hands. Make sure you adjust your pre-flop game by working on the 3-BET and 4-BET moves before you start worrying about the more difficult parts of the game, such as the post-flop.
Article translated and adapted from the original: Four-betting Pre-flop with Strong Hands in No Limit Hold'em Poker
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