To bet or not to bet the river?

[cmwck]

UTG+1 and SB are new, unknown players.
MP2 and MP3 are both loose-passive, playing very passively on the flop


PokerStars 0.02/0.04 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, MP3 calls, CO folds, Button folds, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (5 SB) 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(5 players)</font>
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, MP2 checks, MP3 checks.

Turn: (2.50 BB) Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(5 players)</font>
SB checks, <font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, UTG+1 calls, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, SB folds.

River: (4.50 BB) 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">UTG+1 raises</font>, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 8.50 BB


On the turn, I figure someone would have bet with an ace, and i might even be able to knock the MP's off an ace-rag.

The river looks like a blank, but I'm allways nervous about throwing bets out on the river with less than top pair. I almost checked at first, thinking maybe UTG+1 was calling down with a weak ace, then thought he could also be calling down with a queen, so I bet.

Of course, his raise at the end made me wish I had checked instead.

-C.