Q♠T♠ BTN vs BB, river on K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣, 100 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: Q♠T♠
- Board: K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣
- Effective stack: 100 bb
- Pot: 15.5 bb
River checks to hero after two-street sequence.
Best river decision in baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
Final board A‑K‑8‑4‑3 rainbow, no flush. Hero's Q♠T♠ bricked entirely = queen-high air with no pair, no straight, no showdown value. On an ace-and-king-high board the BB's capped check-call range still contains plenty of weak Ax, Kx and pairs that beat queen-high, and Q/T are poor blockers to those calls, so a bluff is too thin. Check behind and give up: there is nothing to value-bet and no clean fold-out story.
Key idea
Not every air hand should bluff: when blockers are poor and the opponent's range still beats you, checking back is the disciplined give-up.
Common mistake
Bluffing every busted hand regardless of blockers, firing into an ace-high board where the BB's range calls too often.