Q♠T♠ BB vs BTN, river on K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣, 90 bb
The spot
- You: BB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: Q♠T♠
- Board: K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣
- Effective stack: 90 bb
- Pot: 15.5 bb
River checks to hero after two-street sequence.
Best river decision in baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
Final board K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣: the river ace is the worst card for a bluff because it hits the BTN's wide flatting range hard (every Ax and the AK they would never fold), and no flush completed. Your Q♠T♠ is Queen-high with no pair — pure air, but the ace on board kills your fold equity since villain hit. Out of position you check: a bluff here runs into a range full of aces and kings that never fold, and you have no showdown value to protect, so checking and giving up loses the least.
Key idea
When the river card smashes villain's range (an ace that pairs all their flats), abandon the bluff — check and give up with air.
Common mistake
Bluffing into an ace-high river that paired villain's entire flatting range, getting snapped by every Ax.