How much to bet when you make your hand on the river?

[MoreReady]

Gavin just posted a hand that got me thinking. I won't use his hand because the stack size affects my question.

I run into this a lot. I'll hit a flop with disguised drawing hand e.g. J8 to a board of 9-10-X. Depending on the table and stack sizes, I may take the lead and bet out. If I get called, I often continue with the bet.

When you "catch the miracle" river 7...how much do you bet? Do you base it on the size of the pot i.e. a certain percentage? Push all in?

When I hit and get called, I always wonder if I could have gotten more.

BTW...I know the risks of this play in that the Q could be disaster.

[ThrillFactor]

Very much opponent/situation specific. Also size of his stack compared to size of the pot.

Absent any info on my opponents, I generally try for about 1/4 - 1/3 the pot when heads-up (again situation specific) and against multiple opponents 1/3 to 1/2 pot.


Every once in a while I'll push when I hit the nuts on the river hoping that my opponent takes it as me trying to buy the pot. Haven't got called yet.

[Sam T.]

Depending on position and the opponent, you might also take a piece of eMarkM's advice and try to induce a bluff by checking. This can be especially effective if you flop a nut flush draw, and hit your flush on the turn. You pause and check, so the villain thinks, "He is not happy about the scare card. I'll bet it."

If your hand is well-disguised, however, this won't work unless you are against a LAG who you can count on betting if you show weakness. Depending on your opp's stack, I would bet 1/3 to 1/2 the pot. I think HOH has some good advice on this.

My two cents,

Sam