Action on the river

Scenario 1

	In cash games, whenever players start taking off and you’ve only got one pair on a non-drawing board, don’t fall in love with it

You’re playing in a $25/$50 no-limit game, six-handed. You’re on the small blind with 4♣-4♠. Your stack is $9,500 and your table image is tight-aggressive. The player under the gun folds, middle position raises to $200, the cut-off and you both call. The flop is 8♥-7♦– 4♦.

You check, middle position bets $450 and the cut-off folds. You raise to $1,600. The middle position player calls; he is very experienced and has been making aggressive moves. He also has the biggest stack at the table: $10,700. The turn is J♦. You check, he checks. The river is A…. You bet out $2,500 and your opponent raises all-in. Now what?

Praz Bansi

The raise on the flop is definitely the right idea here; he may put you on a draw of some sort and push with an overpair, which would be ideal. The turn brings another diamond, which is not the best card to see, and him checking behind you could either mean he is disguising a made flush or attempting to control the pot with an overpair. If he is an experienced player like you say, he may smell your 2.5k bet as being a value bet rather than you holding the nuts. He could have rivered a set of Aces, or have the flush and decided to stick it back up you. I really think you have to fold here as you’re not beating much.

Jerome Bradpiece

The flop is the interesting street in this hand. I prefer betting out on the flop to check-raising here, but I think check-calling might be the best play. By check-raising the flop you’re announcing you have a big hand, yet your holding is far from the nuts. I know you’ve got to love a set, but here 7-7, 8-8, 5-6 suited and 9-10 suited are real possibilities. A good player is not going to get his stack in against you on that board with an overpair, especially starting the hand with nearly 200 big blinds.

Of course, a scary turn card can lose you the bet you would have gained from check-raising the flop – assuming your opponent has an overpair-type hand. But your hand is more disguised, and you avoid having to play a big pot out of position against a good player. If a safe turn card comes in, you can proceed to go to war. It’s all about choosing when to build a big pot. Assuming you play the flop as stated, the check on the turn is automatic, but the river play is horrible. You should fold to his shove, but check-calling is so much better here. What hands can you beat that he calls with on the end? There’s a flush and straight out there, let alone better sets.

Karl Mahrenholz

To make this raise on the river I would assume that the player either has a flush or no hand, and is just making a play, trying to represent the flush. I think with either the flopped straight or a higher set, a river all-in raise is a bad bet – as with three diamonds on board it can only really be called by a hand to which it is losing. I would also be considering why an aggressive player wants to check the flush card on the turn; players with a very aggressive image will often exploit it by betting made hands strongly. On the river, the pot stands at $14,050 and it is costing you $5,200 to call.

Against a player who you have tagged as very aggressive, I would call. If your knowledge of this player suggests he would be making a move at least one in three times then in the long run this will be a profitable call. An alternative play on the river would be to check-call which, against a very aggressive player, is often a good play that will likely induce a bluff. It also gives you an easier call than the all-in, as happened above.

Scenario 2

You’re playing in a $10/$20 no-limit game, six-handed. You’re on the button with A♦-K♠ with a stack of $3,000. The player under the gun calls. He is new to the table and has $2,000. The cut-off – who has been haemorrhaging chips for the last hour, bluffing whenever he can and getting caught on almost every occasion – calls. He has reloaded once already and now has a $1,800 stack. You raise to $120. The big blind calls, the UTG calls and cut-off calls. The flop is 2♥-5♣-K♦ and is checked to the cut-off, who bets $240. You call, the big blind folds and the UTG calls. The turn is 5♦. The UTG checks and the cut-off bets $600. You call, as does the UTG. River is 6♥. The UTG goes all-in and the cut-off goes all-in. Now what?

Praz Bansi

I don’t think the hand has been played badly, but I think you probably have to let it go here. You could have raised it up on the flop to find out where you are and make a possible straight draw pay to hit his hand. But by the betting it seems like the UTG player could have flopped a set and turned a house, while the cut-off could have anything! In cash games, whenever players start taking off and you’ve only got one pair on a non-drawing board, don’t fall in love with it. Pass and wait for a better spot.

Jerome Bradpiece

First thing’s first, I’m folding here. However, we first need to examine the thinking behind the conclusion. The flop was great for us: rainbow and only one primary straight draw. But our hand is not strong enough to slow- play multi-way, so I would have raised the cut-off to $600 or so. This would get rid of the other two, and get us heads-up against the maniac with what is almost certainly the best hand. The problem with flat-calling is that we get no information from it. If the other two get involved, is it because they think no one has much, or because they’ve flopped a set of 5s or deuces? It’s impossible to tell unless we make them cold-call a raise and a re-raise.

Also, this may get rid of 3-4, which would be a boon because the Ace that fills their straight will make us top two and commit us to the coup. Given our call on the flop, it’s near impossible to fold the turn. If the maniac has a 5, good luck to him. I’m a bit worried by the UTG, but now it’s unlikely he has 5-5, so I’m putting him on 2-2, K-x or 3-4, two of which we can beat. When the UTG calls on the turn, 3-4 becomes less likely, given the board has paired and he’s seen a bet and a call. On the river, our worst fears are confirmed: the UTG is pushing with 3-4 at worst, and more likely 2-2.

Karl Mahrenholz

On the river you’ve put 1/3 of your stack in the pot and are getting almost 5/1 on the final call of $1,040. From this it can be argued that a call wouldn’t be too bad as there is so much in the middle. However, with two people all-in in front of you on the river it is rare that top pair will be good enough on this board, so I would save the $1,040 and make the pass. The most likely holdings for the UTG player are either 2-2 or A-5, 4-5 suited or 5-6 suited. With a flopped set it is likely he may have check-raised on the flop, but with the board pairing on the turn it is now possible to continue to slow play, despite the diamond draw. With a 5 the player would be calling for value on the flop and has caught trips on the turn.

The cut-off has been playing very loose over the past hour, but to call the river bet, you must be thinking he has some sort of hand. He has $840 left on the river and the pot to him stands at $3,850, so he is getting 4.5/1 on his call and in his current mood would probably call with most pairs. A weak King is most likely as he failed to raise pre-flop, but has bet both the flop and turn into the original raiser.