Seeing another thread about this got me thinking and was wondering what you guys tend to do in scenarios like this. Again limit games here general scenario....

Flop is checked around but you have a piece of it but it's a mediocre hand (TP mid-weak kicker, mid or bottom pair). You're the bettor on the turn with what appears to be a blank card and get 1 caller.

River card hits (HU now) what's your general action for:

1. non scare card do you... check/bet? call if raised? call/fold if bet into?

2. scare card hits (i.e. completes flush/straight possibilities or A, K) check/bet? call if raised? call/fold if bet into?

Yeah I know....it depends, but humor me, call it an "average" player not someone who you consider to be much of a thinker based on their plays.

Originally Posted by Beavis68

I almost never bet if I won't call a raise on the river.

Thats it.

You gotta do a little EV math on those. Figure the amoutn of times you win vs the amount of times you get screwed somehow... is it worth betting?

Remember, and especially on the river, an error that costs you a single bet is usually a far better error than the one that costs you a whole pot.

Well, this is a complicated question. I think Beavis's answer is a reasonable one to use 80% of the time but not always. I do think it is a good "rule of thumb" to use when you have no reads and no reason to think any other play is better - a good default play. But at the higher limits I think some other issues come into play.

The usual advice to help you best applies here: post some specific hands and we can talk about it.

I wish I had the HH, because I had the PERFECT hand the other day in $1/$2 LHE...

I was on the button with 4 seeing the flop all calling a raise from MP with no further raising. I had and the flop came 9xx rainbow (low cards I'm pretty sure) It was checked to me and I led out BB called EP folded then MP checkraised, I reiraised him to see where I was at because he was fairly aggressive and I figured if he had a big PP or flopped a set he would cap but he flat called (BB folded to the checkraise). Now, I put him on a big ace and am pretty sure he missed the flop. Turn came a 6 he checked again, I bet and again he check-raised, I re-raised and he called and didn't cap and now the pot was +/- $25.. River card was another blank for us both, but this time he led out, I called and was happy to see he had AKo and not a big PP because of course I didn't want to lose that big of a pot.

So, I got checkraised twice, and bet into on the river with a pair of nines on a 9 high, non connected board and smooth called his bet on the river which either makes me a TOTAL fish, or I just had a good read on the guy. Probably both is true but now I had +/- $15 in the pot and for $2 more I want to know if my reads on or not.

But, this play stuck with me for a few days now and Marms comment about losing one bet on the river instead of a pot really made me think.. On the river if I have a pot checked to me and I think I have a chance at the pot, I'm going to bet, and it seems more often than not I have won those pots with just a mid-pair. So in this instance I called and won a net $20, so that would mean I could call that bet 9 times and be wrong 8 and still be a +EV play because being if being wrong 8 times cost me $16, but I win a $40 pot the one time or am I way off base in this thinking????

If a hand comes up where I'm pretty sure I'm beat I'll fold if I'm bet into if I was on a OE SD or a high FD and I miss. But if I caught a good piece of the flop and I see any weakness from most players, I'm firing or calling..