9♠9♦ SB vs BTN, river on J♠ 7♣ 4♦ T♦ 3♠, 80 bb
The spot
- You: SB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: 9♠9♦
- Board: J♠ 7♣ 4♦ T♦ 3♠
- Effective stack: 80 bb
- Pot: 24.5 bb
This river node requires thin value and bluff‑catch discipline.
Choose the highest-EV river action.
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
On J 7 4 T 3 your 9♠9♦ is an underpair to both the Jack and the Ten and beats only busted bluffs; it cannot bet for value. Out of position as the SB the right play is to check and take it to showdown as a bluff‑catcher, since leading folds out the air you beat and gets called only by Jx, Tx and better. Check, then call against the BTN's bluffs if the odds justify it.
Key idea
A pocket pair below both board overcards is a bluff‑catcher with showdown value only. The correct OOP line is to check and decide whether to call, never to lead.
Common mistake
Betting an underpair to deny equity. The river is final, there is no equity to deny, and the bet only folds out worse and gets called by better.