A♠Q♦ CO vs BB, river on J♠ 7♣ 4♦ T♦ 3♠, 90 bb
The spot
- You: CO
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♠Q♦
- Board: J♠ 7♣ 4♦ T♦ 3♠
- Effective stack: 90 bb
- Pot: 18.5 bb
River checks to hero after two-street sequence.
Best river decision in baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
Final board J♠ 7♣ 4♦ T♦ 3♠: no pair, flush or straight completed for hero; made hands here are J-x and T-x pairs, while BB also holds plenty of missed flush and straight misses. Hero is IN POSITION with A♠Q♦ = ace-high, an unmade broadway that needed a king and missed, so it only beats busted bluffs. Checking back is correct: there is nothing worse that calls a bet, hero holds no useful blocker to turn it into a profitable bluff, and ace-high wins a meaningful share at showdown against BB's many missed hands.
Key idea
Ace-high with no blocker value should check back and realize its showdown equity, not bluff into nothing worse.
Common mistake
Turning a decent ace-high showdown hand into a bluff that only folds out worse busted hands.