value bet this river?

[oddjob]

i thought this was an interesting hand. colorado $2-5. normally there is just 1 $2 blind, but the blind chose to post $3. she is a loose passive player. UTG calls $3, and has turned into a loose aggressive player due to him hitting many many hands, and people giving him a lot of respect. UTG+1 calls, and i call with 65 diamonds in MP.

we get 1 mp/lp caller, and the button makes it $6, he has a very liberal raising standards, and will often times muck if someone bets into him on the flop (which seems to be often) everyone but the UTG+1 calls.

flop comes 854, with one diamond. blind checks, UTG bets $5. this means nothing as he's been trying to buy a bunch of pots lately, and probably has big cards. i call with my middle pair, gutshot, backdoor diamond draw.

mp/lp calls, button folds as predicted, and the blind calls.

turn brings teh 3d. board of 8543 2 diamonds. picked up an open ender. blind checks, UTG bets $5, i consider raising, but i want the other 2 in there. they both call.

river brings an offsuit 4. board is 85434. it gets checked around and i knew i was good before we turned it over.

who would have bet this?

i feel like a big wuss for checking the river, when i normally would have bet it.

[Zag]

This is a no-brainer check, IMHO. You did the right thing.

Are there any better hands that would fold? Maybe a 5 with a better kicker than yours, but I doubt they'll fold if they made it this far.

Are there any worse hands that would call? I can't think of one. (A3? Would that still be in?)

Therefore, a bet would only cost you money. Furthermore, a check might make someone bluff at you, which you have a good enough hand to snap off.

[oddjob]

hmm, this is a good point. the only thing that made me think i should bet it is, the 2 people in front of me, hated to let anyone take the pot without a showdown... regardless of what they held. big cards no pair or bottom pair, but i think you're right. i had a hand strong enough to call bluff, but that could have been it.

[Louie Landale]

Value betting the river is NOT just about whether you have the best hand; its more about "who is going to call". Nobody has A3 or 52, the two pair hands (you can beat) that MIGHT call. Will AQ pay it off?

On the flop and turn your MAIN chances of winning this pot is with your pair of 5s, not with your draw. On both streets you are in great position to raise because [] the better probably has no pair and [] callers will worse hands or even slightely better hands may fold to the double bet.

It was a no brainer flop raise; and I'd say a no brainer turn raise. If you really wanted to value bet the river I cannot imagine why it didn't occur to you to raise earlier.

- Louie