Part: Part Eleven - Short Tables
Three-handed: very wide
Pre-flop
Three-handed. It folds to you on the button with K♦4♦.
Three-handed, folded to you on the button with K♦4♦. Best?
WhyAgainst just two random hands, a suited king sits comfortably above the middle of the pack, and the button gives you position on both. K-4 suited flops flushes, king-pairs, and straight cards while denying the blinds a walk, so raising is right - folding would be far too tight three-handed.
What happensBoth blinds fold and you collect. Three-handed you'll raise hands that look ugly at a full table - that's correct, not reckless.
Every player who leaves lifts the value of what you hold. Three-handed, a suited king is a routine button raise, and folding hands like it hands the blinds away.
The fewer the opponents, the higher every hand ranks - three-handed, most holdings play above average.