SPOT PRINCIPLE
The 3-bet range hardens to QQ+/AKs; everything else that continues keeps the preflop pot small, then decides street by street on board and action.
The 3-bet range condenses toward hands that welcome a giant pot; almost everything else that plays well flats. Bloated pots with dominated hands are how 500bb stacks vanish.
The most common confrontation in live poker: button steal, big blind close. Defend wide – but depth decides which half of wide.
Assumes a ~4bb open; 3-bet to ~3x the open in position, ~4x from the blinds – larger as stacks deepen.
Baseline assumptions: 9-handed · no ante · no straddle · 4bb opens · low-rake live structure · cold-calling allowed. Charts reduce low-frequency mixes to a single default action; adjust live for opponents and rake. Baseline v1 · updated 2026-08.