K♣5♣ SB vs BTN, river on K♠ T♥ 7♠ 6♣ 2♠, 90 bb
The spot
- You: SB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: K♣5♣
- Board: K♠ T♥ 7♠ 6♣ 2♠
- Effective stack: 90 bb
- Pot: 20.5 bb
Advanced node: capped range attack opportunity.
Best advanced line?
See the answer
Best play: Bet 40% pot
Why
River, SB out of position leading into a capped BTN on K-spade T‑7-spade-6‑2-spade. Three spades sit on board but hero holds no spade, so there is no flush — hero has top pair, weak kicker (K-c-5-c, a pair of Kings). Against a capped, bluff-heavy BTN, a small 40% lead extracts thin merged value from worse King-x, T-x and missed straight/flush misses while keeping the pot controlled with a mediocre kicker.
Key idea
Count the suits before claiming a flush: three spades on board plus zero spades in hand is not a flush. Top pair with a weak kicker is a thin-value hand, not a monster — size down.
Common mistake
Seeing three spades and miscounting top pair as a flush, then overbetting — or treating a clear top pair as too weak to bet at all.