Q♦J♦ BTN vs BB, flop on Q♣ 9♦ 5♠, 80 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: Q♦J♦
- Board: Q♣ 9♦ 5♠
- Effective stack: 80 bb
- Pot: 9 bb
Hero chooses between call, raise, and controlled passivity.
What action keeps the highest practical EV?
See the answer
Best play: Call
Why
Q♣9♦5♠ is a dry, disconnected flop and the BB donk-leads into the in-position BTN. Hero's Q♦J♦ flops top pair (the Q) with a strong J kicker plus a backdoor diamond draw off the 9♦. As the IP BTN, calling the lead is ideal: it keeps the BB's worse Q-x, draws, and bluffs in, controls the pot with a one-pair hand that beats most of villain's donking range, and lets Hero bluff‑catch or value cheaply on later streets.
Key idea
Top pair good kicker in position vs a donk-lead prefers calling to keep worse hands and bluffs in the pot.
Common mistake
Raising top pair here and folding out the worse hands and bluffs you most want to keep paying you off.