A♥8♥ CO vs BB, river on Q♣ T♣ 7♥ 2♦ 2♣, 65 bb
The spot
- You: CO
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♥8♥
- Board: Q♣ T♣ 7♥ 2♦ 2♣
- Effective stack: 65 bb
- Pot: 17 bb
River checks to hero after two-street sequence.
Best river decision in baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
Final board Q♣T♣7♥2♦2♣ completes the club flush and pairs the deuces: the nuts are flushes and Q-x/T-x full houses, and the BB's range that called down is full of made clubs, pairs and busted hands. Hero holds A♥8♥ which makes only the board pair of deuces with ace-high, no club and no pair of his own, so this is effectively ace-high air that beats only missed bluffs. In position with the river checked through, hero has no worse value to target and no flush blocker to bluff effectively, so checking back and giving up is correct.
Key idea
Ace-high with no blocker on a flush-completing river has nothing to bet for; just check back.
Common mistake
Turning ace-high into a bluff with no flush blocker against a range loaded with made clubs.