A♠Q♠ CO vs BB, river on Q♣ 9♦ 6♣ 2♠ A♦, 85 bb
The spot
- You: CO
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: A♠Q♠
- Board: Q♣ 9♦ 6♣ 2♠ A♦
- Effective stack: 85 bb
- Pot: 19 bb
Population tendencies shape exploit windows in this high-EV branch.
Choose the strongest exploit-aware baseline.
See the answer
Best play: Overbet 120% pot
Why
River (Q‑9‑6‑2‑A). Hero holds A‑Q and the board pairs both: the ace (A-diamond) and the queen (Q-club), giving top two pair, aces and queens — a strong value hand on this final board (only two clubs, so no flush is possible for hero or a typical capped BB line here). Against the capped BB, two pair wants maximum value from worse aces, queens, and missed draws that call, so the polarized overbet is correct.
Key idea
Top two pair on a river where no flush completed is a clear overbet for value against a capped range. Big sizing maximizes the price paid by single-pair aces and queens that cannot fold.
Common mistake
Under-sizing two pair out of fear. Against a capped range with many one-pair calls, a small bet leaves value behind that an overbet would collect.