LESSON 5: PLAY ON THE RIVER

Betting on the river is usually (although not always) more straightforward than on other streets, because all 5 of the community cards have been dealt, and every player knows the strength of his or her hand.

If you have led the betting on the flop and turn and have not been raised, then you should generally go ahead and bet the river, unless you have reason to believe that the final card might have improved an opponent's hand to a winner. Let's say you hold



in middle position, and 2 players in late position, and both blinds see the flop, which comes



You bet the flop with your top pair and all 4 opponents call. The turn comes



You again bet and all opponents call. The river brings the



We hope you noticed that the river card created both a diamond flush possibility, and a potential straight for any opponent holding a Jack-Ten. Given the number of opponents who have been passively calling your bets up to this point, it is likely that several of them were on draws, and you should just check on the river (but call if an opponent behind you bets). After all, you still only have a single pair. Yes it's top pair, but you're very vulnerable on this type of a board.

Advanced Topic: Inducing Bluffs.

There is a second less obvious advantage to checking when the river completes a draw: exhibiting caution might induce an opponent who missed his draw to bet as a bluff, thus gaining you a bet you would have foregone had you simply bet and had your opponent fold. Consider the example above, but this time against a single opponent. As a reminder, you hold



and the final board reads



Let's say your opponent had stuck around with two low hearts. If you bet again, he is almost certainly going to fold his hand, having missed his draw. But if you are first to act and check to him, it is possible (and even likely against some more aggressive opponents) that he will make a desperation bluff bet, figuring it is his only remaining chance to win the hand.

You proceed to call, and the strategy has won you an extra bet that you would have missed had you simply bet and driven your opponent out. Knowing your opponents' style of play is crucial to determining when you think you will successfully be able to induce a bluff on the river.

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