A♥J♥ SB vs BTN, turn on Q♠ 9♦ 4♣ 2♠, 100 bb
The spot
- You: SB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: A♥J♥
- Board: Q♠ 9♦ 4♣ 2♠
- Effective stack: 100 bb
- Pot: 13 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 2♠ turn on Q♠9♦4♣ is a blank that changes little: A♥J♥ is ace-high with a gutshot to Broadway (a T makes AKQJT) and a backdoor spade absent here, so your real equity is overcard plus the straight draw. Out of position against the IP BTN's turn bet, calling is correct: you have a price to continue with your ace-high gutshot and the A blocker, and you realize equity by seeing the river rather than folding out a hand with outs. Raising turns a draw into a bluff with no fold equity edge, so check-call and keep your range uncapped.
Key idea
Ace-high with a gutshot OOP calls at the right price to realize equity instead of bluff-raising.
Common mistake
Check-raising ace-high with just a gutshot OOP bloats the pot with no made hand and weak fold equity.