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Poker glossary

Squeeze

What it means

A squeeze is a large re-raise made after an initial raise and one or more calls. The play gets its name from the pressure it puts on both the original raiser and the callers caught in between. It’s typically made with a wider range than a standard 3-bet because it exploits the capped ranges of the callers who would have re-raised with their strongest hands.

How it works at the table

Here’s a typical squeeze scenario: You’re in the big blind with A♠ 5♠. A tight player raises to 3bb from middle position. The button calls, and the small blind calls. The pot is now 10.5bb. You squeeze to 15bb. The original raiser folds K♣ Q♣, worried about your show of strength. The button folds 7♦ 7♣, not wanting to play a big pot out of position. The small blind folds J♠ T♠. You take down the pot without seeing a flop. The squeeze works because the callers rarely have premium hands - they would have 3-bet with those.

Strategic context

Squeezing is most effective from the blinds or late position when multiple players have shown weakness by just calling. The ideal targets are loose openers who fold to 3-bets frequently and passive players who call raises widely but can’t stand the heat of a squeeze. Your position matters less than usual because you’re often trying to win the pot preflop. Stack sizes are crucial - squeezes work best when effective stacks are between 30-100bb. Too shallow and you’re committed; too deep and players can call more liberally.

Common mistakes

Players squeeze too small, making it profitable for opponents to call with speculative hands. A squeeze should typically be 4-5x the original raise plus 1x for each caller. Another error is squeezing without considering the original raiser’s opening range - squeezing a tight player’s early position raise is burning money. The biggest mistake is squeezing too frequently from the same positions, making you exploitable to light 4-bets.

Squeezing is one form of 3-betting that relies heavily on fold equity. Unlike standard 3-bets, squeezes target multiple opponents and use their collective weakness against them. The concept relates closely to isolation raises but with the added complexity of multiple opponents already in the pot.