Playing the river in holdem poker
The river is the last community card in Texas Holdem Poker. If you have been playing properly you will not see the river card unless you have a strong hand that is a favorite to win or you have a draw to a winning hand. Once the river card is turned over, you know exactly what you have. Playing decisions on the river are easier than during other skill is required to maneuver smoothly.
actions
When you get to the river there are two choices that you can make. One is to call a losing bet, which will cost you the price of a bet. The other is to fold your hand, which will cost all the money in the pot. Since folding your hand will be a far more costly mistake then merely calling a bet. If there is a slight chance you may have the winning hand you should call. I’m not advocating calling with nothing but you should call if there is a chance to win. Often the pot odds will justify making the call.
Pot Odds
In low limit holdem poker, the pots can get very large. Often many players stay for seeing the flop and the turn. By the time the river card is dealt you will probably be getting the correct odds to call with any hand that has a possibility of winning. Look at this example. You are in a $4/8 game and you get to the river and there is $80 in the pot and you are last to act. There are two other players still active in the hand. Before any betting takes place you are getting 10 to 1 odds. If the first player bets there is now $88 in the pot. The second player calls and brings the pot up to $96. It will cost you $8 to call as well. You are now getting 12 to 1 odds for your call. If you made this same call 13 times and lost 12 times but won once you would be even. You would lose $8 in 12 attempts or $96 dollars when you lost, but would win $96 when you won. If you were to win this bet once in 12 tries, you would be ahead of the game by $8.
Bet It Out
A check raise on the river isn’t smart. As with the Turn, if you have a strong hand you should bet your hand if you are first to act. If you bet and the other player folds then they more than likely would have just checked if you had checked in an attempt to check raise. Many times a player in a low limit game will call your bet with just an ace high in hopes that you are bluffing. You want to make this type of player pay and betting is the only way to do this. On the other hand if you think that you might be beat because of a scare card on the river it might be prudent to just check and call.
Evaluating Cards
You should always look closely at the river card and try to determine how it could help someone’s hand. If everyone checks on the turn and there is a bet from early position when third suited card falls, you can be pretty sure you are up against a flush. If the board pairs on the turn it could give someone a full house. Because of the any ace mentality in low limit games, you should also be cautious when an ace comes up on the river. A player with a small pair and ace kicker could have made two pairs.
If you hold only top Pair and there is a raise with the possibility of a flush on the board you are beat. Seldom will a player bluff with a raise on the river when there are three suited cards on the board.