A♠Q♦ SB vs BTN, river on A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠, 65 bb
The spot
- You: SB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: A♠Q♦
- Board: A♣ 8♦ 5♣ 5♥ 2♠
- Effective stack: 65 bb
- Pot: 14 bb
River checks to hero after two-street sequence.
Best river decision in baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Bet 40% pot
Why
Final board A♣8♦5♣5♥2♠: the board pairs the 5, so BTN's value is 5-x trips, 8-x and 2-x two pair, A-x and the odd full house, with busted clubs and low pairs as air. Hero's A♠Q♦ makes top pair (aces) with the best kicker plus the board's fives — effectively aces-up with a dominating kicker, a clear value hand that beats every other A-x. Out of position a 40% lead is a thin value bet: it gets called by worse A-x, 8-x and busted clubs that won't pay a big bet, extracting from the chunk of BTN's range you dominate.
Key idea
Top pair top kicker on a paired board is a thin-value lead OOP: size small so dominated A-x and bluff‑catchers still call.
Common mistake
Overbetting top-pair-good-kicker and only getting called by trips/two pair that beat you.