A♠Q♦ BTN vs BB, river on Q♣ T♣ 7♥ 2♦ 2♣, 65 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♠Q♦
- Board: Q♣ T♣ 7♥ 2♦ 2♣
- Effective stack: 65 bb
- Pot: 17 bb
This river node requires thin value and bluff‑catch discipline.
Choose the highest-EV river action.
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
The final board Q♣ T♣ 7♥ 2♦ 2♣ is a paired, three-club board — completed flushes (any two clubs) and full houses are live, so this is a low spot to pile money in without one. Your A♠Q♦ is just top pair (queens) with an ace kicker and no club: a bluff‑catcher that loses to every flush, every deuce, and two pair, and beats only worse one-pair hands and bluffs. An overbet here turns a showdown hand into a bet that is called only by flushes and folds out the worse pairs, so check (or at most a small bet) is correct, not 120%.
Key idea
On a paired three-flush river, top pair with no flush is a bluff‑catcher — check it, never polarize-overbet it.
Common mistake
Overbetting a bare top pair on a flush-and-paired board, where it is called only by hands that crush it.