Easy Best / Obvious Check - Or Somewhere In-Between??

[Utah]

My river play seems to be giving me fits. I keep finding reasons not to value bet but then find out I should have...

What do I do here on the river:

2 early limpers
1 mid limper (strong tricky aggressive who knows me)

I raise with A [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] Q [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]

Blinds and everyone calls

K [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img] J [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img] 3 [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img]

Checked around

turn 10 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]
Giving me the nut straight

Strong player bets, I raise, sb calls, SP reraises, I reraise. sb calls all the way.

Hard to read the strong player. I am guessing the same hand or a pair + flush draw and is trying to get me to laydown. Just don't know

I am sure my hand is obvious to everyone and their brother

River K [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img]

Checked around

Thinking SP only calls with a hand that beats me (which of course means he will raise). Have no read on SB so I just don't know

I take it down. sb has two weak pair. SP mucks.

Should I have bet the river? If so, is it an easy play or a thin value bet?

[Ed S.]

Bet the river. How many hands beat you here or even tie for that matter?

Answers:

4 hands beats you: K,K / 10,10 / 3,3 / J,J

3 other hands tie you: AQ


So I say bet it here. Hopefully you can get the SB to call for 1 more bet and put some extra money on the split pot, rather than just checking and taking down a split pot with missed action. If he has KK,10s,3s, or Js, then your beat, but I see no reason to put him on those here.

With your strong player, and the way he played I would have have to put him on A,Q as well.

Ed S.

[AceHigh]

I would bet the river. Because you are late position and everyone checks to you, I think it makes a fairly easy value bet.

[Yeknom58]

What do you think the SP had? QQ, AXs, KXs.

You both showed strenght on the Turn so why did you think he checked on the flop and the River? Well lets think about this, say he's on a flush draw, we know he can't be holding a J or a K. Then when the King falls on the river you know you have him beat. Why not bet on the river. Is he the type to slow play KK, the way he did on the pre-Flop and Flop. He doesn't have K3 and if he has KJ I'm thinking he bets the flop and bets the river. So I would put him on a Ax diamond flush draw. Also your forgetting about the SB who seems like he will call with about anything. Your missing out on this guys money.

I wouldn't say it's an easy bet but definitely a bet.

[Diplomat]

I am scheptical that betting is the obvious play on the river here.

What are you looking for to call you? AK, KQ, Q9, or a chopping AQ. Any other hand that would call beats you (unless one of the players is really fishy and would call with JT). Would these hands, with the exception of Q9 (and maybe an agressive AK), be played in the manner that the turn was played? Probably not.

You also need to really consider what your opponents will do on the river if they fill up. I think the SB would bet out, but the SP might checkraise. I think these balance out and checking is still the best play.

I just cannot see any hand that would call you (except Q9) that does not beat you, considering the hand as a whole.

-Diplomat

[bad beetz]

you can bet the river and fold to a raise. You may collect money from Q9s and even an insane small two pair that got counterfitted.

This is just talk, I check it like you do. Although most people who just boated up will bet out, thinking you are scared of the paired board.

[switters]

there are also 6 ways each that your opponent could have KJ or KT, which also make boats here... I would say that the opponent's play could be consistent with either of these two hands as well (unless he's solid enough that he'd never play those hands pre-flop into two loose limpers...), making checking it down even more attractive...

from the turn betting, I could easily put the SP 3-bettor on two pair, and trying to make our hero pay to draw with a KQ or JQ (or two [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img]s). if this is the case, on the river he either has us beaten with a hand probably good enough to C/R, or he has JT and won't call a bet anyway...

I think the only hands you can expect to get any action from here are Q9, maybe AK, and possibly KQ, and it's hard to believe that SP LIMPED pre-flop with Big Slick! i'd check it down.

-switters