A♥8♥ SB vs BTN, river on K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣, 100 bb
The spot
- You: SB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: A♥8♥
- Board: K♦ 8♠ 4♥ 3♦ A♣
- Effective stack: 100 bb
- Pot: 15.5 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
The river A pairs you up: on K 8 4 3 A your A♥8♥ is top pair, aces with a weak 8 kicker. That is a thin value hand against the BTN's capped range, which still contains plenty of worse pairs (Kx, 8x, pocket pairs) that can pay a small price. As the SB leading first, a 40%-pot bet extracts value from those worse made hands while keeping the pot small enough that better aces and two pair don't punish you.
Key idea
A small lead is the right size for thin value: it lets weaker made hands call while limiting your loss when the rare better hand is there. Don't overbet a marginal top pair.
Common mistake
Overbetting top pair weak kicker: only better aces and two pair call an overbet, turning a thin value bet into a hand that gets paid only when it's beaten.