River betting in Texas
holden poker
By
Jennifer Schwechten
The
river is a unique round in that it is the
only round when you cannot improve your
hand. \
By the
time the river card is drawn, your hand is
already determined.
Hopefully, by this point, you will
have already folded a poor or mediocre hand
and are playing with what you think is a
solid hand.
The goal
of the river round is, therefore, about
making value bets to increase the pot or
bluffing your way past an unsuspecting
opponent.
You
should have an idea of your opponents’
hands by the time the river is dealt, since
the flop and turn card give you insight into
possible card combinations.
River
betting requires a unique strategy and is
highly dependent on how strong you think
your final hand is versus your opponent’s
hand. Your
ability to read other players is also
important at this stage in the game since
you will need to deduce if players have a
strong hand or if they are trying to bluff
their way into a victory.
Situation:
You think you have the best hand
If after
the river is dealt you still think that you
have the best hand, then you should raise
your opponents. The goal in this case is to maximize the value of the pot,
and therefore, your winnings.
When there is a lot of action on the
table and the size of the pot is quickly
increasing, other players will most likely
call you in an attempt to minimize their
losses if they have not gotten their desired
draw.
Situation:
You think you are beat (your opponent has
the best hand)
You
either didn’t get the draw you were hoping
for, or the river opened up a whole new
realm of possibilities that will likely mean
you have been beaten.
You are left with a decision to make
at this point: do you fold or do you stay in
the game and try to minimize your losses?
Smart
players know that folding during the river
is not usually a strong move, since you will
be forfeiting all of your bets up to that
point.
The key, then, is to minimize your
losses or bluff your opponents into thinking
you have the best hand.
If you think you are beat, then, you
should check and call the hand.
This will avoid you being raised or
check raised by another player who made his
hand on the river and is trying to trick you
into upping the pot.
This is
a sound strategy regardless of your
position.
If you are in position, you stand to
save two bets by checking on the river.
Even if you are out of position, you
still can save one bet and minimize by your
losses with a check.
Situation:
You are unsure if you have the best hand
If you
are unsure of the strength of your hand (you
could have the best hand, or you could be
beat), your best move is to check and call.
Doing so will likely result in
several losing hands for every hand you win.
However, by playing carefully and
consistently and only staying in the game
when the pot odds are in your favor during
earlier rounds, you can break even in the
long run.
This strategy only requires that a
smart player win a small percentage of the
time on larger pots in order to stay in the
game.
Situation:
There is a pair on the board
Preflop hand:
On the board:
If there
is a pair on the board, you need to be wary.
Although you have a straight with the
river, there are still a number of card
combinations that can beat you out.
For example: consider the following:
Opponent A:
Opponent B:
Opponent
A draws a four-of-a-kind with the river, and
Opponent B already has a full house in place
with the turn.
In both of these instances, you would
have lost the pot with your straight, in
spite of the fact that a straight is often a
solid best hand.
In the
case where there is a set pair on the board,
regardless of how high the pair is, your
best bet is often to call unless you are
sure you have the best hand.
It’s easy to get carried away and
get into a value betting war, only to find
you have lost a sizeable pot because someone
else had you beat.
Situation:
Your opponent(s) are calling machines
If one
or more of your opponents is a frequent
caller, you should bet against them.
Frequent callers are often reluctant
to fold in early rounds and hold out for
last-minute river draws in the hopes of
making a play.
As a result, they often find
themselves at the river with poor hands and
will call to minimize their losses.
Next: When
to fold in online poker
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