Part: Part Six - Betting After the Flop
Thin value on the river
River
You raised pre-flop with A♣J♣, c-bet the J♥ 8♦ 5♣ flop and bet the 3♠ turn, both called. River 2♥ bricks and the big blind checks to you a final time.
Top pair, good kicker, on a dry run-out; he's check-called twice and checks the river. Best?
WhyBet a thin value bet. A player who check-calls twice and checks the river usually has a worse jack, a middling pair, or a busted draw that occasionally pays - a modest bet gets called by enough of those to profit. Checking back leaves value on the table; size it small enough to be called.
What happensYou bet 2,000; he calls with J-9 and you win. Thin value collected.
On a brick river against a passive check-caller, you made a small value bet with top pair good kicker rather than checking - thin value is found by betting the hands most players give up on.
Bet thin for value on the river against check-callers - a small bet that worse pairs can call earns chips that checking leaves behind.