Part: Part Five - Betting Before the Flop

Three-betting for value

Pre-flop
Blinds 100 / 200Pot 900 (4.5 BB)BTNA♦K♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUto actMP● 25,000 (125 BB)Openerraises 600 (3 BB)SB● 25,000 (125 BB)posts 100 (0.5 BB)BB● 25,000 (125 BB)posts 200 (1 BB)D

A player opens to 600 from middle position and it folds to you on the button with A♦K♣.

MP opens to 600 (3 BB); you hold A♦K♣ on the button. Best?

WhyA-K crushes the range a middle-position player opens with, so keeping the pot small by flat-calling wastes that edge - reraising isolates him heads-up, denies the blinds a cheap flop, and lets you drive the betting from position.
What happensYou make it 1,900 (9.5 BB); the blinds clear out and the opener calls. Pot: 4,300 (21.5 BB). You've built the big pot you wanted, in position, with the better hand.
Flop
Heads-upPot 4,300 (21.5 BB)A♣9♦5♠BTNA♦K♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair, top kickerMP● 25,000 (125 BB)OpenerchecksD

Flop A♣ 9♦ 5♠ - you flop top pair, top kicker. He checks.

You flop TPTK in a three-bet pot and he checks. Best?

WhyTop pair with the best kicker on a dry A-9-5 in a bloated three-bet pot is about as far ahead as you get - worse aces, pocket pairs, and stray draws can all pay. Check it back and you leave that value on the table and gift a free card.
What happensYou bet 2,600 and he folds. You don't stack him this time, but a pot this size collected pre-showdown is a real win - value bets earn folds too, and that's fine.
You turned a premium into a big pot by three-betting rather than flatting, then kept firing when you connected. The pots you win biggest are the ones you inflate while you're the favorite.

Reraising your strongest holdings before the flop does three jobs at once: it grows the pot while you're ahead, isolates the original raiser heads-up, and buys you the initiative in position.