J♦J♣ BTN vs BB, river on A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠, 65 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: J♦J♣
- Board: A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠
- Effective stack: 65 bb
- Pot: 20 bb
River checks to hero after two-street sequence.
Best river decision in baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
Final board A 8 5 5 2 (A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠): the ace and paired fives make Ax and full houses the top of both ranges. With J♦ J♣ you hold only an underpair to the ace — a hand that beats busted clubs and missed broadways but loses to every Ax. That makes it a medium showdown / bluff‑catcher, not a polarized hand: overbetting turns a hand with real showdown value into a bluff that folds out only worse and gets called only by better Ax/boats. Check to take it to showdown.
Key idea
Polarization discipline: a hand that beats only bluffs is a bluff‑catcher, not an overbet — check, don't blow it up.
Common mistake
Overbetting a medium showdown hand as a bluff, folding out only worse and getting called only by better.