In general, when you aren’t sure whether or not to call one bet on the river, then call. The pot odds support a whole lot of calling on the river, because in the long run you don’t often have to be too successful in picking off a bluff for this call to prove profitable! Generally, though, I would fold my hand on the river for two bets, since rarely do you see someone making it two bets to go on the river on a bluff. Of course, if your instincts say fold, or call, or raise on the river, and you’ve begun to trust your instincts, then follow them!

So, before the flop in limit Hold’em, play only the top ten hands, and make sure that you play them very aggressively. On the flop, remember to raise to find out “where you’re at” so that you can make the right moves later on in the hand or possibly win a pot through your aggressive play that others wouldn’t have won. On fourth street make sure that you protect your hand, or fold it, depending on what you learned on the flop, what card came off, and the way the betting came down. On the river, look to call down your opponents because of the pot-odds principle, but be leery of calling two bets on the river.

You’ve now learned enough to win money playing poker in most small-stakes games. Remember, though, that it may take a long time to digest all the information I’ve given you so far. Before you rush on out and play, keep in mind that you need to learn to walk before you can fly. You’re not ready to play with Junior’s graduation money just yet.

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• The Following Hand Has Three Different Endings (0)
• Poker – Pot Odds Say Close Your Eyes And Call (0)
• Poker – Folding On The River (0)

When John bets out into |3-|5]-H"IS"I3 on the end and Frank raises to two bets, then it's a good time to dump your A-A even though the pot is huge! When they bet and raise at this point in the hand, what can you beat? It seems likely that one of your opponents has made a flush or a straight (he needs to have only a seven in his hand for a straight) or at least two pair. I'm assuming in this example that you played your A-A very aggressively and put in a lot of bets, which would have discouraged them from thinking that they could bluff you on the river.

When the Last Card Is Bad for Your Hand
Let's assume that you have put in a lot of bets with your Q-Q (pocket queens), that two opponents have called, and that the board has developed |5|-[S"B"[3 on the turn. Let's consider two scenarios.

In the first scenario, both opponents have just called you on fourth street and now the last card is (0, for a final board of^~ 0"0"[2'"f3- Your nrst opponent then bets out into you, and now it's your turn to act, with your other opponent waiting behind you. Wow, what an awful card Q was for your hand! You can't beat anyone who is holding either a nine (he now has trips, or three of a kind) or two clubs (he now has a flush), and either of those is a hand pretty likely to have withstood your heavy raising on the flop. A nine would have given him top pair on the flop, and the flop presented a flush draw.

I might lean toward folding here for the first bet (I would fold to a mouse, but not to a jackal), but let's assume that you call and now the opponent behind you raises and the other opponent calls. In this situation you can be almost certain you are beat. Judging from the fact that they have bet into you, raised you, and then called the raise, you can suppose they pretty much know your hand! (By the way, my guess here is that they both have your Q-Q beat.) Yikes, you had better fold, even though the pot odds are huge. The point is that you need to be very concerned when someone raises on the river! Ironically, the great size of the pot (which so powerfully entices you to call) demonstrates that they almost certainly have you beat, because they will have assumed you would call them with such a large pot staring you in the face. In very-high-stakes games, this isn't always going to be true, but when you're starting out, you aren't going to be seeing very many bluff raises on the river.

Let's assume now that 0 comes off on the river, for a final board of and that the first opponent bets out
into you. The second opponent is sitting behind you, waiting for you to act. This card is bad for you, because it completes the flush draws, but not nearly as bad as the [V] we looked at in the preceding example, because it doesn't give trips to those folks who may have started with top pair. Here, you have to call your first opponent. But if the second opponent raises, then you have to fold, regardless of whether the first opponent called the second opponent's raise or not. It's just too hard for the second opponent to bluff here. What's he going to do, raise hoping that both of you will fold?

• Poker – Folding On The River (0)
• The Following Hand Has Three Different Endings (0)
• Poker – Pot Odds Say Close Your Eyes And Call (0)

The question here is whether or not you should call on the river when calling costs you two big bets. In general, when you have to call two bets (someone bets and then someone else raises) on the river in a Hold'em pot, it's a good idea to fold. Usually, the only hands that you can beat on the end, when it costs you two bets just to call, are bluffs. You will rarely see an experienced player bluff raise on the river in low-limit Hold'em! It's just not a very profitable play. To return to a familiar example: let's assume that the hand has been played out among Jim, Jerry, and you, as detailed above. When Jerry bets out into 0-0-0-0-0 and Jim raises, it's a good idea to exit stage left with your modest little J-J.

If the last card is 0, leaving 0-0-0-0-0, and, as before, Jerry bets out and Jim raises, then get out of that one too. Even though 0 seems a harmless card, all you can really beat here is a bluff by both players. Is it really possible that both Jerry and Jim are bluffing? I don't think so! (If you want another reason to fold this hand, suppose now that you call, and Jerry really has the goods, something like A-6, and reraises! Now what are you going to do?

• The Following Hand Has Three Different Endings (0)
• Poker – Pot Odds Say Close Your Eyes And Call (0)
• Poker – Folding On The River (0)

You're holding K-K, and you three-bet an elephant before the flop. The flop then comes down 0-0-0, and now y°u make it four bets (a raising war on the flop). The next card off is and he checks and then calls your bet. Now 3 comes off the river, for [3-[3-[3-0-3, and the elephant bets out into you. In this case, any four or nine makes a straight, but you call the bet quickly because you can still beat a lot of hands. The pot odds are heavily in your favor for a call here—there is already $7 from the blinds that folded, $30 from before the flop, $40 on the flop, $20 from fourth street, and $10 from the elephant's bet on the end. One $10 call to win $107! I'd call quickly as well.

Suppose it's 0 that comes off on the river, for 0-0-0-0-0, and the elephant bets out into you. I'd call quickly here as well, because of the pot odds (there is a lot of money in this pot).

• The Following Hand Has Three Different Endings (0)
• Poker – Folding On The River (0)
• Poker – Folding A-a For Two Bets On The End (0)

Here's a familiar situation, involving Jim (the jackal) and Jerry (unknown profile). You have J-J and you've made it three bets over the top of Jim's two bets (reraised) before the flop. Jerry calls you from the big blind, and the flop is 0-0-0. Jerry bets out on the flop, Jim calls the bet, and you raise it, to find out what they really have. Both players call your raise, and then 0 comes off on the turn and they both check to you. You bet out, thinking your J-J is still the best hand, and they both call again.

The last card is 0, for a final board of 0-0-0-0-0. Jerry bets out and Jim calls. The 0 was probably the worst possible card for your hand, other than 0, because now you can't beat a flush, a straight, or a pair of kings. Jerry probably has you beaten, but how about Jim? It looks to me as if Jim has you beaten here as well.

Here, I'd put Jim on K-Q, which makes a pair of kings for him on the end. Think about it. If Jim has a flush, then he would have raised on the end. If Jim has kings and tens (another possibility, given the way the hand unfolded), then he would probably have raised on the flop himself, with his pair of tens. Whatever the case may be, it looks as if Jim has you beaten. It's true that there is already $125 ($45 + $30 + $30 + $20) in the pot, so you need to be over 92 percent sure that you're beaten before you decide to fold. But given this situation, I would have to fold, because I'd be convinced that both players have me beaten. Both players expect you to call on the end, and the chances that both of them are trying to bluff you therefore seem very remote to me.

Let's suppose now that the last card is 0, for [*♦]-[Vj"S~S~ 0, and now Jerry bets out into you and Jim folds. This bet would seem very suspicious to me, and I would call it very quickly. I would be thinking, "Why did Jerry decide to bet right here and now? I don't think that the six helped him, so he's either bluffing or holding an ace." If I'm facing an either-or situation and getting this kind of pot odds, I'm going to call without hesitation.

Let's suppose again that the last card is 0, for
SH8-H-
13-[3, and now both opponents check to you. Do you bet here or check? If you bet here, you have to be hoping that either Jerry or Jim will call you with a pair of tens or worse. I wouldn't be worried about Jim in this case, but Jerry would concern me a little bit. (Could Jerry have an ace with no kicker, like A-2, A-3, or A-5, which would explain why he just called on the flop? Did he fear an ace with a kicker on the flop?) This "value bet" that you're considering making (a bet you make believing that it will earn slightly more than it will lose, over the long run) is one that needs a little bit of reading ability as well (a little finesse). If you decide to bet, then that's fine; if you decide to check, that's fine too. I would bet it myself unless I felt strongly that Jerry had me beaten. We'll talk more about value betting in the intermediate and advanced sections.

• Poker – Pot Odds Say Close Your Eyes And Call (0)
• Poker – Folding On The River (0)
• Poker – Folding A-a For Two Bets On The End (0)

Let's assume that you have Q-Q in a four-way-action pot with a board of 0-0-0-0, and tnat there has been a lot of betting and raising on the flop during this hand. Say now that 0 comes off the deck and a mouse bets into you. You'll want to fold your hand without further thought. The 0 makes a flush, a straight, and a pair of aces all possible. That combined with the specter of a mouse betting into you is a scary scenario! You'd probably have to fold even if a jackal bet into you, especially if there are other opponents in the hand behind you yet to act. It is also a bad sign for you that there was so much betting and raising on the flop; this suggests that there are straight and flush draws out there. Some cards are just so bad that you have to fold.
The Board Is So Bad I Surrender!

Suppose you have 0-0, tne noP comes 0-0-0 (tms 1S one of the worst possible flops for your hand), and two opponents are really "jamming it" with you on the flop. Say 0 hits on the turn, they both check, you bet, and they both call you. Now you know that you probably have the best hand at this point, since no one has raised you, but you're also sure that your opponents have big draws. (What else could they have been jamming it with on the flop?) So when pops up on the river, for 0-0-0-0-0, what can you beat? Any heart makes a flush and any seven or queen makes a straight. How can you call even one bet on the end, especially given the way the others have played the hand? You can't even beat an opponent who holds 0-0 (that hand makes two pairs). Even though you waited hours for your A-A, and even though the pot odds are pretty good, sometimes you just have to surrender!

Now let's take a look at some situations where, most of the time, you just have to call on the river because of the pot odds.

• Poker – Folding A-a For Two Bets On The End (0)
• The Following Hand Has Three Different Endings (0)
• Poker – Pot Odds Say Close Your Eyes And Call (0)

In general, if you've made it all the way to the river with your top ten hand, then it's probably correct to call one bet on the river. The concept of "pot odds" will help me explain to you why I like to make a lot of calls on the river in Hold'em. In poker slang, I'm a "calling station" on the river in limit Hold'em; I'm from Missouri, the "Show me" state!

If the game is $5-$ 10, and I've played my top ten hand aggressively throughout the pot, then the amount of money already in the pot might be $140. For example, I make it $15 to go with three opponents ($60) before the flop, and now I raise on the flop and two opponents call my raise ($30). Then I bet out and two opponents call my bet on fourth street ($30), and finally one opponent bets out into me and my other opponent calls ($20). So the pot holds $60 + $30 + $30 + $20 = $140. Now, my $10 call gives me a chance to win $140!
If you do decide to fold here, then you must be at least 93 percent sure that you are beat (10/140 = 0.0714, and 1-.0714 = 92.86). That's why I don't lay down too many hands on the river! Of course, when the worst possible card for my hand hits on the river and a mouse bets into me, then I'm 98 percent sure that I'm beaten! So the $140 pot is laying me 14 to 1 odds on my call. $140 to $10 is pretty strong pot odds! This is why I encourage being a calling station like me in limit Hold'em!

Examples
Flaving said all that, I'll start with two examples of where I would fold a hand, even on the river.

• The Following Hand Has Three Different Endings (0)
• Poker – Pot Odds Say Close Your Eyes And Call (0)
• Poker – Folding On The River (0)