9♠9♦ BTN vs BB, river on A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠, 55 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: 9♠9♦
- Board: A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠
- Effective stack: 55 bb
- Pot: 20 bb
This river node requires thin value and bluff‑catch discipline.
Choose the highest-EV river action.
See the answer
Best play: Bet 40% pot
Why
Final board A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠: the only real value on a paired ace-high board is A-x (aces up) and the rare 5-x or pocket pair to a boat, while missed clubs and busted 8-x show up as air in BB's checking range. Your 9♠ 9♦ makes nines-and-fives via the board pair — a small pair under the ace that beats 8-x, 6‑6/7‑7 and busted club draws but loses to every A-x. A 40% bet is thin value: it gets called by those worse pairs and missed draws that would never call an overbet, while an overbet only folds out worse and gets paid by A-x.
Key idea
Thin value: bet small with a hand that beats the bottom of the calling range but folds to a raise.
Common mistake
Overbetting this small pair as if it were value — it only gets called by the A-x that beats it.