In a game of poker, the river is one of the most unique betting rounds. This is because, during the turn, flop, and the pre-flop betting rounds, every person would have a chance to improve their hands. When it comes to river all the bets are either bluffs or value bets. However, this does not mean you need to knock someone out every time you end up in a river situation. It is also possible to semi-bluff when playing the river with suitable changes to your river strategy.
Each river is unique and needs to be approached individually, there is no one size fits all type of solution when it comes to river betting. Here are some of the most common scenarios in river betting that you can learn from and use to your advantage.
A semi strong hand with a multi way pot
Consider a situation where you have an ace and a jack in your pocket. You hold a middle position, you check-raise and everyone else call. On the turn you find another jack giving you a three of a kind. You continue betting to find that the dealer and the small blind call you once more. When it is the river, you find that it is a 10 and there is no other possibility of any flush draw among the community cards. Now you find that there are two more players still in the game. You find that the small blind bets once more and the dealer is next. So, you are in a tense situation now.
You simply cannot fold at this point of time because there is too much money in the pot and you also have the stronger kicker. Your only options at this point of time are to either call or raise. The best option would be to call. This is because, if you raise at this point of time, the dealer is more likely to fold if he has nothing and the small blind is likely to re-raise you if he thinks he has the stronger hand. If you have the best hand, there you will win the same amount even if you call or raise. If you do not have the best hand, say the small blind has pocket 10 then you would end up losing two more bigger bets. This is why you should focus on calling in the situation described above.
Aggressive heads up scenario
Consider that you have a very strong pair when you start with a heads up pot. In such a scenario, you are likely to bet throughout the game and your opponent has been calling everything. When you reach the river what you end up with is a pretty scary hand. So how do you tackle this situation? This depends greatly on your position. For the sake of example, consider that you have the position over your opponent. Your opponent checks and now you are thinking about a value bet. But, there is also a possibility that the opponent may raise.
Imagine that the opponent will always raise if he has a dominant hand and will always call if you have the dominant hand. So, you have a 2:3 chance at winning the hand. In other words, if you have a good hand, you will win one bet and if he has a better hand you stand to lose two bets. There is also a possibility that he may not raise even if the opponent has a better hand. In such situations, you will need to use your evaluation of your opponent to judge your actions. If you have the position early, then it is a good idea to bet more initially as the opponent will not have much opportunity to raise you on the river. If you have a hand that can be beaten with only one or two better hands, you bet safely.
In such situations, you can raise confidently as you would have placed heavy bets early on and would have continues to do it. This may instill a fear in your opponent suggesting that you may re-raise.
Dealing with draw situation at heads up
When you have a good draw and also position over your opponent, you can easily bet and raise him. If you do not have position and have the draw then things get tricky and you need to be well aware of your opponent’s game to make sure that you get value out of your draw.
If you have found out that your opponent is quite aggressive, you can go ahead with the check-raise. Aggressive players have a greater tendency to bluff and so the same could be happening here. The opponent may even try to represent a flush but you must not get bogged down by this. Any sign of weakness and an aggressive player will definitely start using value bets. As a result, it is very important to play a check-raise with aggressive opponents.
On the other hand, of you find that your opponent is a tight player, go for a simple bet. Tight players get scared easily, especially when it comes to a possible flush draw on the community. If you hit something like a three of a kind or a straight, you could probably go for a check-raise with tight opponents but with an obvious draw on the community you should always bet. If you have observed that the tight opponent tends to fold on the river, you should implement a bluff to draw them in.