Printable View
:?: When play has gone to the river and from the way players have bet, noone seems to have a really good hand... if I have a small pair, 2 to 4, or just a high card, 9 to J, ...
... is it better to fold if I think I have a small chance of winning rather than SHOW the other players that I bet to the river with really nothing in my hand...
I did a few searches and scanned through topics to see if I could find an answer, but found nothing...
Thanks!
David
J or 9 high, fold it... If someone is going to bet on the river they probably have atleast a pair, or are slowplaying a monster hand. If its checked to you just check it out, and muck your hand.
Calling river bets with low pair/high cards is a recipe to lose money/chips.
Welcome to the forums :)
It depends on whether you normally play like this or if you want to advertise in order to get action later on.
If you play like this a lot, then fold it and don't let them know you are a bad player because they will eat you up. :lol:
Otherwise, if this is a rare thing (and as long as it is cheap), you might as well see the river as a form of advertising. The good players will notice you were playing with crap, and will lower their standards when playing against you in future hands.
If 2-3 people limp in pre-flop and check it down to the river, then someone in late position bets the minimum on the river, you should fold your J high (even Q high) but call with bottom pair or next to bottom pair. At that point it seems obvious that everyone has missed a lot, and no one is slow-playing. However, you don't know if your battling a miracle river pair or a pot stealer or a confident high card.
However, this is situational. There are many times I will muck next to bottom pair, there are still a lot of opportunities for me to be beat.
I usually DO NOT play bottom pairs or try a 9,10, or J high... when I do, its usually in late postion and my "read" on others is that they may be bluffing or just limping in to see what happens.
Typically, the way I play is basically steady... but mixing things up. When my position and the time seems right, I may play aggressively with little in my hand... OR with a monster hand. Othertimes, I play passively with little or A LOT.... but most of the time I stick to "smart", safe play. I've even folded on 4th street with,say, AQ off suit when the read seems right. And yes, a few times I have kicked myself because, if I had stayed in, I would have won the pot. Of course, I've even gone to the river with small pairs and sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.
I figure that, the way I play, no one ever knows WHAT in the heck I'm going to do. It seems to work for some of the guys on the wpt & world series...
As far as how expensive I play... right now VERY inexpensive and mostly for fun.... BUT ... I've got my eye on the "big" seat... maybe one day you'll see me there! I always say... "the more you practice, the better you get"... so that's what I'm doing... for now. <wink> :D
David