Play on the River

How should you respond when someone bets on the river? Should you always call out of fear that you could be folding the best hand and will lose an entire pot? On the other hand, you don't always want to be calling on the river when it is obvious you are beat. The next five hands outline some important factors to consider in playing these situations:

Hand No. 1 ($4-$8 game): You limp in from the small blind with the 10 8 after an early-position player, a middle-position player, and the cutoff limp in. There is $20 in the pot and five players.

The flop is the J 5u 3u. Everyone checks to the cutoff, who bets. You call, as does the big blind. There is $32 in the pot and three players.

The turn is the 2. You check, the big blind checks, and the cutoff bets. You call, as does the big blind. There is $56 in the pot.

The river is the 10. You check, the big blind checks, and the cutoff bets. Should you raise, call, or fold?

Answer: With $64 now in the pot, you have a clear call for another $8. You are probably beat by a top pair of jacks, but if the cutoff was betting a draw, you could easily have the best hand. The cutoff could have been betting a flush or straight draw and decided to bet the river because it was his best chance of winning the hand. Keep in mind that the cutoff was last, and everyone before him checked the flop. Folding is a serious error. In the actual hand, the player folded and the big blind called. The cutoff won a $72 pot with the 7 3, while the big blind had the 6 3, for a worse kicker.

Hand No. 2 ($10-$20-$40 game): This game has an unusual betting structure. It is a $10-$20 game with an optional $40 river bet available. On the river, a player may bet $20 or $40. If he bets $20, he can be raised to $40 or $60. If he bets $40, he can be raised to $80. You are in the big blind with the K 3. An early-position player and the small blind limp in. You get a free play. There is $30 in the pot and three players.

The flop is the 10 7 3. The small blind checks, you bet, the early-position player calls, and the small blind folds. There is $50 in the pot and two players.

The turn is the 5u. You bet, and your opponent calls. There is $90 in the pot.

The river is the 3u.You make the big $40 river bet, having made a set of treys. Your opponent now raises your bet to $80. Should you reraise, call the raise, or fold?

Answer: While making good folds on the river is not the way to make money in limit hold'em, I think this is one time when folding is right. Your opponent has been calling all along. He either had a hand or he was on a draw. On the river, no club arrives and the board pairs small. You make the big $40 river bet. You bet expecting to get called by two pair and a busted flush to fold. Obviously, your opponent was not drawing, since a blank came and he is now raising your big $40 river bet, which is a big move in this game. His raise means that he has a hand that can beat a set of treys. The most obvious hand for him to have is a flopped flush that he was slow-playing all along. A call might be warranted against a tricky player, a maniac, or some player who was capable of bluff-raising on the end, but against typical opponents, folding is correct here. On the actual hand, the player had flopped the nut flush, having the A 9.

Hand No. 3 ($30-$60 game with a $20 small blind): You are in the big blind with the Q 10. A middle-position player limps in and everyone folds to the small blind, who raises. You call, and the middle-position player calls. There is $180 in the pot and three players.

The flop is the Q 7 3. The small blind bets. You raise, having top pair and a heart-flush draw with only two opponents. The middle-position player folds. The small blind reraises, and you call. There is $360 in the pot and two players.

The turn is the 2. The small blind bets and you call. There is $480 in the pot.

The river is the 10. The small blind bets. Should you raise, call, or fold?

Answer: I think you should raise. It is highly unlikely that your opponent was raising out of his small blind and three-betting the flop with a made flush, unless he held specifically A K, A J, or maybe K J. A far more likely holding is A-A or K-K, or maybe even A-Q. There are 20 ways for him to have a hand you can beat, and only three ways for him to have the flush. There is a remote chance that he holds the other two queens, so maybe there are four ways you are beat here. Nevertheless, you almost certainly have the best hand with the top two pair, and will get crying calls from an overpair or top pair/top kicker.

On the actual hand, the player just called and won, as the small blind showed the K K.

Hand No. 4 ($20-$40 game): You are in the big blind with the 9 7. An early-position player, two middle-position players, and the small blind limp in. You get a free play. There is $100 in the pot and five players.

The flop is the 9 7 7. The small blind checks, and you check your flopped full house. The early-position player bets and one of the middle-position players calls. The small blind folds and you raise. Both opponents call. There is $220 in the pot and three players.

The turn is the Au. You bet and both opponents call. There is $340 in the pot.

The river is the J. You bet. The early-position limper folds. The middle-position player raises. Should you reraise, call, or fold?

Answer: With a full house, I think you should make it three bets. With pocket aces or jacks, he would have raised preflop. With pocket nines or a 7 in his hand, he would have raised on the turn. His most probable holding is 10-8, probably suited for his preflop limp, and he now has made a straight on the river, which he thinks is good. You know that it isn't, so punish him by three-betting.

Hand No. 5 ($20-$40 game): You are in the big blind with the K Q. An early-position player limps in and another early-position player raises. You call, as does the limper. There is $130 in the pot and three players.

The flop is the A Q 7. It is checked to the raiser, who bets. You call, as does the limper.

The turn is the 10. Everyone checks.

The river is the 3. You bet, the limper raises, and the other player folds. Should you reraise, call, or fold?

Answer: You should fold. It's agreed that everyone checking the turn made it appear that your middle pair of queens might be good, so you bet the river, but the early-position limper's actions are suspect. The 3 appears to be a blank, so what is the early-position limper suddenly so excited about that he wants to raise? He probably checked the turn thinking that the preflop raiser would bet. When this didn't materialize, he now decided to reveal himself. I would guess that he has at least a pair of aces and probably something more like two pair or a straight that he was planning to check-raise on the turn.