There are some hands that I almost always 3-bet (AA, KK) and some that I almost never 3-bet (72, 95), but in the middle are a whole bunch of hands and spots that are at least kind of close. What if you are 100BB deep, a tight-aggressive player opens UTG, and you hold AKo UTG+1? What if the effective stacks are 200BB, UTG+1 opens, CO calls, and you hold KJs on the button? What if you are in the SB with KQo and a tight-aggressive player opens on the CO?
What’s really important in these closer spots is how good your opponents are. Remember that most players are going to make bigger post-flop mistakes when stacks are deep relative to the pot size than when they are shallow. This is especially true when you have position, though you may also find that against better players you 3-bet hands like KQo from out of position in order to make the stacks shallower for your own benefit whereas you are more comfortable making post-flop decisions out of position against less-talented opposition.
Could you ever argue that calling oop in these spots is OK if you feel you have better post flop skills than your opponents? I always thought 3 betting was better used in position or when your trying to get someone to stack off to you. Am I wrong?
Yes, that’s what I meant to say in this post. The more comfortable you are against this opponent post-flop, the more inclined you should be to call instead of 3-bet.
Everything is better in position. But there are times you might choose to 3-bet from out-of-position to make your hand easier to play. Shallower stacks will reduce the value of position, and also certain hands, such as off-suit broadway cards, play better with shallower stacks where you can be more comfortable stacking off with one good pair.