4-bet

A re-raise over a 3-bet: the fourth bet in a round, counting the big blind as the first.

Last updated October 16, 2026

What it means: Before the flop the big blind counts as the first bet, the open as the second, a re-raise as the 3-bet and a raise over that as the 4-bet. One more raise is a 5-bet, nearly always all in.
How it is calculated: At tournament stacks a 4-bet commits so many chips that it is often a shove. The range that does it is narrow: the strongest hands, plus a few bluffs that block them.
Worked example: The cutoff opens to 2.5bb, the button 3-bets to 8bb and the cutoff raises again to 20bb. That last raise is the 4-bet.
Why it matters: When you open and face a 3-bet, your choices are fold, call or 4-bet, so the word comes up as soon as the charts cover that spot.