T♣8♣ BTN vs BB, river on K♠ T♥ 7♠ 6♣ 2♠, 60 bb
The spot
- You: BTN
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: T♣8♣
- Board: K♠ T♥ 7♠ 6♣ 2♠
- Effective stack: 60 bb
- Pot: 11.5 bb
Advanced node: capped range attack opportunity.
Best advanced line?
See the answer
Best play: Bet 40% pot
Why
River, board K‑T‑7‑6‑2 (three spades K7-2; hero holds no spade, so no flush). Hero T8 has a pair of tens, second pair with an eight kicker, after the 2 bricked. Against the capped BB - which by definition holds no flushes or strong Kx here - second pair becomes genuine thin value: a small 40% bet gets paid by worse tens, nines, eights and missed draws, while staying cheap enough to fold cleanly if raised. Merge at a small size rather than checking back and missing value from the worse pairs.
Key idea
Against a capped range that cannot have the made flush or top pair, even second pair is thin value - a small bet, not a check, captures the worse pairs.
Common mistake
Assuming the three-flush board means you must check second pair. Since the capped BB cannot have the flush, a thin value bet is fine; checking leaves money behind.