How to Play Ace-High Flops in PLO 3-Bet Pots
Button opens, big blind 3-bets, button calls, 100bb deep. On an A-K-4 rainbow flop the 3-bettor's range holds 62.8% equity to the caller's 37.2%, the biggest edge on any of the twelve flops we track for this pot. On the low flops the same range drops to 51.8% on 7-6-5 and 52.7% on 6-5-2. It never flips to the caller: the 3-bettor is ahead on all twelve.
The numbers come from the ranges each player takes to the flop in our current 6-max 100bb solve, the same data behind the range advantage page, where you can check every flop here and add your own. Class shares are exact. Equities are Monte Carlo, 50,000 sampled hand pairs per flop, with a standard error of about 0.2 points.
Why the 3-bettor owns ace-high
A big blind 3-bet range against a button open is 10.3% of hands, and 25.2% of it is A-A-x-x, almost nine times the rate in a random hand. Put an ace on the flop and every A-A-x-x the board doesn't block is a set.
| A-K-4 rainbow | BB 3-bettor | BTN caller |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | 62.8% | 37.2% |
| Top set | 16.9% | 0.5% |
| Any set | 26.7% | 5.8% |
| Two pair | 12.6% | 14.8% |
The 3-bettor flops top set about one time in six. The caller flops it one time in 200, because the button 4-bets 88% of its A-A-x-x hands and calls with the rest. Below the sets the two ranges are much closer, and the caller even flops two pair a little more often. Take the sets away and the rest of the 3-bet range holds 53.5% against the caller's range: most of the edge is the top of the range, and the top is mostly aces.
The two-tone discount
Add a flush draw and the edge barely moves. On A-Q-6 with two hearts the 3-bettor holds 61.3%, 1.5 points less than on A-K-4, and still flops top set 16.6% of the time.
| A-Q-6 two-tone | BB 3-bettor | BTN caller |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | 61.3% | 38.7% |
| Nut flush draw | 9.4% | 6.9% |
| Non-nut flush draw | 13.3% | 15.3% |
Both ranges flop a flush draw about as often, 22.7% and 22.2%. What differs is who holds the king. With the ace of hearts on the board the nut draw needs it, and 41% of the 3-bettor's flush draws have it against 31% of the caller's.
The flops that come closest
Low and connected is the texture the caller's range wants. On 7-6-5 two-tone it gets close:
| 7-6-5 two-tone | BB 3-bettor | BTN caller |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | 51.8% | 48.2% |
| Any straight | 9.0% | 14.2% |
| Nut straight | 7.1% | 8.1% |
| Any set | 2.5% | 4.4% |
| Two pair | 4.7% | 8.3% |
| Overpair | 52.2% | 27.2% |
| Nut flush draw | 13.0% | 8.1% |
The caller flops more of every hand from two pair up. The nut straight is close to even, but the caller has three times as many of the low straights and close to twice the sets and two pair. It still trails by 3.6 points, far outside the sampling error. Half the 3-bet range holds an overpair here, and its suited aces make the nut flush draw more often. The overpairs without a flush draw, 37.7% of the 3-bet range, have 46.5% equity against the caller's range.
On these twelve flops the line is clean. The four unpaired flops ten-high or lower give the 3-bettor 51.8% to 54.7% (6-5-2 two-tone 52.7%, T-9-8 two-tone 54.1%, 9-6-3 rainbow 54.7%), and every other flop gives it 57.7% or more. Paired 8-8-3 stays with the 3-bettor at 60.4%, with trips split evenly between the ranges (13.3% and 13.2%). So does Q-J-T, connected but high: 59.5%, with the nut straight 21.9% of the time to the caller's 14.3%, because an ace and a king together are three times as common in the 3-bet range as in a random hand.
As the 3-bettor, "I 3-bet, so I bet" holds up on a flop with a jack or higher, or a pair, where your whole range is at 57.7% to 62.8%. On the four low flops it stops being a reason: you are at 51.8% to 54.7%, and on 7-6-5 an overpair without a flush draw, over a third of your range, is behind the caller's range. As the caller, you trail on all twelve. You trail least on 7-6-5 (48.2%) and 6-5-2 (47.3%), where more of the straights, sets and two pair are yours, and those are the flops to defend. On A-K-4 you hold 37.2% against a range that has a set 26.7% of the time.
All twelve flops are on the range advantage page with both ranges' class shares, and you can type in any other flop. For what the 3-bet range contains preflop, the exact frequencies are on the range frequencies reference.