J♠9♠ CO vs BB, river on Q♣ 9♦ 6♣ 2♠ A♦, 65 bb
The spot
- You: CO
- Opponent: BB
- Your hand: J♠9♠
- Board: Q♣ 9♦ 6♣ 2♠ A♦
- Effective stack: 65 bb
- Pot: 13 bb
Advanced node: capped range attack opportunity.
Best advanced line?
See the answer
Best play: Bet 40% pot
Why
River Q9 6 2 A; hero J-spade-9-spade made middle pair of nines, no flush (only three spades total). In position versus a capped BB, a small bet thinly values the pair against worse pairs and missed draws while keeping villain weaker holdings in, and the small size avoids being raised off a marginal made hand. Going large would only be called by tens-up, two pair, and better, so the 40 percent size is the EV-maximizing thin value line.
Key idea
Middle pair on the river can take a small thin-value bet in position against a capped range; size down to keep worse in.
Common mistake
Overbetting middle pair, which folds out everything worse and isolates against better made hands.