River Play

Proper play at the river is a critical skill for good hold'em players. The biggest weakness that some players have is failing to bet the river for value. I believe a certain mindset comes over some players at the river. They look at the board, see all the ways they could be beat, decide "the pot is big enough," and simply check it down, hoping their hand is good. Many players who spend a lot of time playing hold'em leave hundreds of dollars on the table at the end of the year by failing to collect that extra bet at the river. Perhaps the following set of hands taken from live play will illustrate some of the considerations that come into play. Because the hands were taken from live games, not all of the decisions leading up to the problem in question are totally correct, but they are usually reasonable.

Hand No. 1 ($15-$30 game): You are in the cutoff seat with the A J. An early-position player and two middle-position players limp in. You raise. The button, the big blind, and the other players call. There is $190 in the pot and six players. The flop is 9 7 3, giving you the nut-flush draw with two overcards. The big blind checks, the early-position player bets, a middle-position player calls, and you raise. The big blind and the other two players call. There is $310 in the pot and four players. The turn is the 6. It is checked to you. Rather than bet into three opponents, you take a free card. The river is the A, giving you top pair, decent kicker. It is checked to you. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. With everyone checking, your top pair, decent kicker is probably good, and you will get calls from weaker aces or lower pairs.

Hand No. 2 ($20-$40 game): You are in the small blind with the 7 7. A middle-position player opens with a raise and you call. The big blind also calls. There is $120 in the pot and three players. The flop is Q 6 4, giving you second pair (a pair lower than top pair but higher than middle pair). You bet and only the middle-position player calls. There is $160 in the pot and two players. The turn is the 3, giving you a gutshot-straight draw as well as your pocket pair. You bet and your opponent calls. There is $240 in the pot. The river is the Q. What should you do?

Answer: Check. You should not bet on the end with your hand. The queen at the river, pairing the top flop card, will tend to induce a call from pocket eights or nines, not deter it. Check and be happy if your hand holds up. You will of course call if your opponent bets. With any luck, you might induce a bluff bet from A-K.

Hand No. 3 ($10-$20 game): You open with a raise from early position with the A Q. Two middle-position players and the big blind call. There is $85 in the pot and four players. The flop is 8 5 3, leaving you with two overcards and a backdoor-flush draw. The big blind checks, you bet, and everyone calls. There is $125 in the pot. The turn is the Q, giving you top pair, top kicker. The big blind checks, you bet, and only the big blind calls. There is $165 in the pot and two players. The river is the 8. The big blind checks. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. With no ace or king on the board, you figure to get called by a guy having just a pair, since opponents will put you on A-K for your preflop raise and subsequent play. Given the absence of betting on the part of your opponent, it seems unlikely that he has trip eights. You should bet and expect to get called by a worse hand.

Hand No. 4 ($8-$16 game): You are in middle position with the A J and raise the under-the-gun player who limped in. Only the cutoff and the under-the-gun player call. There is $60 in the pot and three players. The flop is J 8 3, giving you top pair, top kicker. The under-the-gun player checks, you bet, and both opponents call. There is $84 in the pot. The turn is the 2, making a flush possible. The under-the-gun player checks, you bet, and they both call. There is $132 in the pot. The river is the J, giving you trip jacks with an ace kicker. The under-the-gun player now comes out betting. What should you do?

Answer: Just call. Raising seems natural, since it appears that the under-the-gun player limped in preflop with something like K-J, Q-J, or J-10, and is now betting having made trips. But there's a large number of hands that are better than trip jacks, like flushes and even full houses. A player with a flush may not have raised your turn bet because he was fearful of your having a bigger flush or worried that a fourth heart may appear at the river, ruining his hand. Similarly, if a guy had flopped a set, he may simply call your turn bet because of the flush possibility, but now be willing to bet after filling up. There is also a third player in the hand who may be trapping with the nut flush. Furthermore, if the bettor had K-J, Q-J, or J-10, he might well have either bet or check-raised the flop rather than check-calling, so these holdings seem less likely than one would think. Finally, by just calling, you may lure the third player into making an overcall with a worse hand, so you end up collecting two bets at the river when your hand happens to be the best. (Special thanks to Bob Ciaffone for providing the problem and Barry Tanenbaum for providing the answer.)

Hand No. 5 ($30-$60 game): You open with a raise from middle position with the A 10. Only the blinds call. There is $180 in the pot and three players. The flop arrives with the 9 6 3, leaving you with overcards and a backdoor nut-flush draw. It is checked to you, you bet, and only the small blind calls. There is $240 in the pot and two players. The turn is the 10, giving you top pair, top kicker. The small blind bets, you raise, and he calls. There is $480 in the pot. The river is the 9, pairing the top flop card. He checks. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. With a 9 or an overpair, he would have bet or check-raised the flop. With a straight, he would have three-bet the turn. His betting pattern indicates that he has a weaker 10 than you. Bet and collect another $60.

Hand No. 6 ($30-$60 game): You are in the big blind with the K J. The under-the-gun player raises, an early-position player calls, everyone else folds, and you call. There is $200 in the pot and three players. The flop is K 10 6, giving you top pair and a backdoor-flush draw. You bet, the preflop raiser calls, and the third player calls. There is $290 in the pot. The turn is the Q, giving you an open-end straight draw in addition to your top pair. You bet, the preflop raiser makes it two bets, the third player calls, and you call. There is $650 in the pot. The river is the 3. You check, the preflop raiser bets, and the other player calls. What should you do?

Answer: Fold. Given the presence of an overcaller, I think you should fold. Had the third player folded, you must call. But a board containing a king, a queen, and a 10 figures to give an under-the-gun preflop raiser a better hand than you anyway, and a third player involved means your hand cannot be any good.

Hand No. 7 ($30-$60 game): You are in the small blind with the A K. Everyone folds to you and the big blind does not chop. You raise and he calls. There is $120 in the pot and two players. The flop is Q 10 4, giving you two overcards and a gutshot draw. You bet, your opponent raises, and you call. There is $240 in the pot. The turn is the 10. You check, your opponent bets, and you call. There is $360 in the pot. The river is the A. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. Your king plays and beats any ace or queen (but not A-Q), with which your opponent might call. If you check, the ace may inhibit your opponent from betting.

Editor's note: Jim Brier has co-authored a new book with Bob Ciaffone entitled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.