A♥J♥ BTN vs BB, turn on J♣ 8♦ 5♠ Q♠, 105 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♥J♥
- Board: J♣ 8♦ 5♠ Q♠
- Effective stack: 105 bb
- Pot: 14.5 bb
Hero arrives on turn with equity and blocker leverage.
What action realizes the most EV in solver baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Call
Why
The Q♠ turn on J‑8‑5‑Q puts an overcard out and the queen helps the BB's range; your A♥J♥ now holds second pair (jacks) with the ace kicker plus a gutshot to Broadway (a ten makes KQJT-A potential, and the queen also opened that draw). You have a pair and equity but you're behind any queen, so blowing up the pot is wrong. Facing the BB's turn bet, calling is correct: you bluff‑catch with second pair, keep the BB's bluffs and worse Jx in, and get the right price to draw to your gutshot while controlling the pot in position.
Key idea
Second pair plus a gutshot on an overcard turn is a call: bluff‑catch and draw cheaply rather than bloat the pot behind.
Common mistake
Raising second pair here turns a fine bluff‑catcher into a bluff that folds out worse and gets called by every queen.