A♠Q♠ BTN vs BB, river on J♦ 8♠ 5♣ 9♠ 2♦, 70 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♠Q♠
- Board: J♦ 8♠ 5♣ 9♠ 2♦
- Effective stack: 70 bb
- Pot: 14.5 bb
Advanced node: capped range attack opportunity.
Best advanced line?
See the answer
Best play: Overbet 120% pot
Why
River (J♦ 8♠ 5♣ 9♠ 2♦). The hand is final — no draws. A♠Q♠ made nothing: no pair (no A or Q on board), and only the two board spades plus hero's A♠Q♠ exist, so no flush. It is pure air with zero showdown value — but it holds the A♠ nut-flush blocker and the Q♠, removing the strongest spade and high-card combos the BB would call with. That makes it a clean polar bluff: the 120% overbet credibly represents the nutted spade/straight combos the BB cannot have, and the capped, value-light range is forced to fold its bluff‑catchers.
Key idea
Pure air with the nut blocker and no showdown value is the ideal polar overbet bluff against a capped range.
Common mistake
Giving up with air that holds the nut blocker, or betting small with it instead of using the full polar overbet to fold out bluff‑catchers.