A♥8♥ BTN vs BB, river on K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣, 90 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♥8♥
- Board: K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣
- Effective stack: 90 bb
- Pot: 15.5 bb
This river node requires thin value and bluff‑catch discipline.
Choose the highest-EV river action.
See the answer
Best play: Overbet 120% pot
Why
The ace on the river pairs hero's A♥8♥ to give two pair, aces and eights, a hand that sits near the top of the in-position range here: after the BB checks the river, that range is capped because the strongest aces and the sets are rarely held by the passive caller, leaving hero's two pair ahead of almost everything that continues. Overbetting 120% pot is polarized value — it charges the maximum from the BB's weaker aces and king-x that snap a big size, extracting more than a standard bet ever could from these second-best made hands. At this size the line stays balanced, since hero can show up here with bluffs as well, so the overbet is never one-way.
Key idea
On the river, overbet for polarized value when your made hand sits near the top of your range against a capped opponent.
Common mistake
Under-sizing a strong value hand on the river and leaving money on the table that a larger bet would have collected.