Building correct 3-betting ranges in PLO is a complex and often neglected topic - especially when you're out of position. Most players tend to oversimplify these spots (3-betting exclusively Aces) or avoid them altogether. There's a reason for that: out-of-position 3-betting requires more precision and more profound understanding than in-position play.
There are a few common scenarios where you’ll be 3-betting without position:
- from the Small Blind vs a single open,
- from the Big Blind vs a single open,
- from either the Small Blind or the Big Blind vs an open and one or more calls (commonly referred to as squeezing).
In this article, we’ll take a focused look at 3-betting out of position against a single open, using PLO Genius to illustrate how to build solid, efficient ranges. Our goal here isn't to cover every detail, but to provide a clear starting point - and encourage deeper exploration through solver work.
For a complete picture, make sure to also read our breakdown of in-position 3-betting scenarios.
How Often Should You 3-Bet in PLO When Out of Position?
3-betting is one of the most powerful tools in your strategic arsenal - but when you're out of position, it requires more caution and discipline.
Most players in today’s PLO games open wider than they should, with ranges that are weaker and less coordinated than optimal. At the same time, these players tend to underfold to 3-bets, continuing far too often with marginal or dominated hands. The result? You end up playing more postflop pots out of position than you ideally would - and that needs to shape how you build your preflop ranges.
This combination - wide opens and poor 3-bet defense - is precisely what makes PLO so profitable. But to take advantage of it, you need a clear strategy.
In No Limit Hold’em, the fix is simple: increase your 3-bet sizing and force your opponent to commit more chips with weaker hands. In PLO, the pot-limit structure caps your leverage, so you can’t rely on fold equity alone. Instead, your 3-betting hands need to be well-structured - with strong connectivity, suitedness, blockers, and the ability to realize equity postflop.
When it comes to 3-betting out of position, many of the same population leaks visible in in-position strategies still apply - but they’re often more extreme due to the added complexity of playing without position. Key issues include:
- Overly narrow ranges
Most players don’t know how to extend their OOP 3-bet range beyond AAxx and the absolute top-tier hands. - Fear of 4-bets
There’s often no clear plan for how to respond to a 4-bet, leading to overly passive or unbalanced reactions. - Weak postflop play
Players frequently struggle to navigate 3-bet pots out of position, especially when they don’t flop strong equity or clear playability.
How to Improve Your OOP 3-Betting Strategy?
The first step toward improvement is understanding what optimal 3-betting frequencies actually look like from the Small Blind (SB) and Big Blind (BB) versus a single open.
Solver analysis shows that both positions have fairly similar 3-bet frequencies - and when you break down the hands involved, the ranges are composed of comparable structures: premium AAxx, double-suited rundowns, high-card connectivity, and hands with key blockers.
That said, the Small Blind generally gains more from 3-betting. Since it doesn’t close the action, 3-betting:
- helps isolate the opener
- prevents the Big Blind from entering the pot cheaply
- gives the SB initiative in the hand, instead of passively calling and playing a multiway pot without position
For that reason, we’ll focus our breakdown on 3-betting from the Small Blind in the next section.
A solid 3-betting strategy from the Small Blind can be split into two main segments:
versus Early/Middle Position and Cutoff
Here, your range should be tight and selective, typically between 4.7% and 6.8% of hands. You’re focusing on structurally strong combos - premium AAxx, high-quality double-suited rundowns, and hands with solid blockers and nut potential.
versus Button Opens
Since the Button opens much wider, you can respond more aggressively. Solver outputs show a 3-betting frequency of around 10%, which includes more speculative but playable hands - especially those that perform well postflop or block premium holdings.
To keep things focused, we’ll look specifically at SB 3-betting ranges versus an Early Position open and versus a Button open - two common and strategically distinct situations.
Small Blind 3-Betting vs Early Position: Tight, Ace-Heavy Ranges
When you're in the Small Blind and facing an open from Early Position, there's no way around it — your 3-betting strategy needs to be tight and disciplined.
You should 3-bet almost all of your AAxx combos - roughly 90% of them, including nearly any hand that’s single-suited to the Ace or better. These hands dominate your opponent’s range, retain equity well postflop, and can stand up to 4-bets.
When it comes to KKxx or QQxx, however, the rest of your hand matters much more. Without an Ace in your hand, only a tiny fraction of these combos qualify as 3-bets versus early position opens. But if your Kings or Queens are accompanied by an Ace, they often become viable 3-bet candidates — especially if they’re suited or well-connected.
Key principle: In OOP 3-bet pots, having an Ace in your hand is one of the most important structural advantages you can have.
In fact, only about 1% of all non-Ace hands should be 3-bet versus an EP open. That highlights one of the core takeaways in these spots:
When you’re out of position against a tight range, you must choose hands that are rarely dominated — and having a suited Ace is one of the most reliable ways to ensure that.
Beyond AAxx, the only hands that consistently make it into the 3-bet range from the SB versus EP are:
- the strongest double-suited rundowns, usually with no more than one gap and high connectivity (e.g. 8654ds
- highly playable double-pair hands that can hit nut straights and play well across multiple board textures
Small Blind 3-Betting vs Button: When You Can (and Should) Widen Your Range
At first glance, the difference between SB vs MP (4.7%) and SB vs Button (9.7%) 3-bet frequencies might not seem dramatic. But in terms of raw hand combinations, it's the difference between 12,689 and 26,280 combos - a significant shift that opens up real strategic flexibility.
In practice, the Button is the only position where it's correct to widen your Small Blind 3-bet range out of position meaningfully.
So how should you do it?
- almost all AAxx hands remain 3-bets by default.
- AKKx and the majority of AQQx hands are also strong candidates.
- even some JJxx and TTxx hands become profitable 3-bets when paired with an Ace, as the blocker value and equity improve significantly.
Key structural upgrades: Aces and suitedness
The category that gains the most significant increase in 3-bet frequency is double-suited hands containing an Ace. These hands offer a potent mix of equity, nut potential, and playability, making them excellent 3-bet candidates — especially against a wide opening range from the Button.
You should 3-bet around 55% of all double-suited Ace-high hands in this spot.
Most of these hands should be defended either by calling or 3-betting, unless they're structurally weak (e.g., containing both a deuce and a trey).
The second category that expands meaningfully is double-paired hands. You should 3-bet about 35% of them — with a strong preference for double-suited versions. These hands improve in equity and playability postflop, especially when the Button's range is wide and uncoordinated.
Respect the Challenges of Playing OOP
When you’re out of position in PLO, there are a few key principles to keep in mind.
Position is one of the biggest edges in PLO - it helps you realize equity more efficiently, control pot size, and puts your opponent in more difficult spots. At the same time, especially at low stakes, many players flat too wide against 3-bets - and often get away with it in the short run because they have positional advantage.
That’s why it’s crucial to stay disciplined and keep your OOP 3-bet frequencies in check. GTO-based frequencies tend to perform well against most opponents, including those who defend too loosely. The one adjustment you might consider is slightly widening your SB range when facing weaker, looser players - but avoid making drastic deviations without an apparent reason.
Overextending your OOP range can be costly. It exposes you to difficult postflop situations and compounds the disadvantage of acting first.
That’s why having a clear understanding of how your ranges should look - both in theory and in practice - is essential.
You’ll find those solver-backed ranges and insights inside PLO Genius.