Betting On The River In Texas Holdem

When you decide to bet on the river you should make sure that there is some value to be attained by placing a bet. This means that by betting on the river, which is the last card to be shown, you would hope that you are going to be called by a worse hand then you, or force a better hand to be “put down”.

For example, let’s say you have a pair of Aces as your hole cards. The board show’s Ace of hearts, 10 of clubs, 8 of hearts and a pair of 7’s of diamonds and hearts, this is a great time to bet on the river, you have a full house, apart from somebody having a pair of 7’s as hole cards you are in command and have this hand sealed up. Ideally somebody holding 2 hearts as hole cards will also be in the pot and actively seek to increase its size if this is the case you are sure to get some “river action”.

In poker unless you hold “the nuts” (best possible hand) you never know 100% that you are in front. Betting the river is essentially a gamble, unless you have the nuts. Always try to make a strong bet when you know the other player is weak or make a small “value” bet when you think your opponent is holding a hand which isn’t as strong as yours, and you think it is likely they will call it. If you hold a very strong hand but feel your opponent has a fairly week hand, it may also be suitable to place a “value” bet here, to extract more money rather then scaring away the opponent with a large bet.

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