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Low Limit Holdem Strategy: The River

The river isn’t as easy a street to play as it looks. Yes, all the cards are out and your hand is either made or not made, but difficult decisions are still common. One of the most common quandaries new players find themselves in is deciding if they should call or fold on the river. The size of the pot is large and the size of the bets are small in comparison on the river. As a result, it sometimes makes sense to make crying calls with marginal hands.

Playing Strong Hands on the River

Strong hands are fairly easy to play on the river because your only job is to get more money in the pot. You don’t have to worry about other players having you beat because the odds of that being the case are low. If you’re in early position, the best move is almost always to bet. In middle and late position, you have a few options depending on what the other players do.

If the players in front of you check, you’ll want to place a bet the majority of the time. Going after a checkraise on the river is dangerous because several of the people in the hand have already shown little interest in the pot. The best move here is to bet and hope for a little action.

If a player in front of you bets, you have two options. The first option is to raise that bet and hope for a betting war against that player. The second option is to flat call that bet and hope the players behind you are encourage to call it as well. This is called going for the “overcall.” The options have their advantages and disadvantages. Pay close attention to the person who makes the bet in front of you. If it’s an aggressive player who likes to bet there’s less chance he has a legitimate hand. If he’s a tight player, you will want to go with a raise and try to bait him into a betting war.

Playing Marginal Hands on the River

Marginal hands are quite difficult to play well on the river. On one hand, there’s little chance your hand is good. On the other hand, the size of a single bet on the river is usually small compared to the size of the pot. Sometimes you’ll have to make calls with hands that appear weak because the pot is so large that folding incorrectly would be an even bigger mistake.

Take a close look at the player who makes the last bet on the river. That player’s playing style should tell you how likely it is he has a legitimately strong hand. Notice also how many other players call this bet on the end. If a tight player bets and three other players call that bet, you can rest assured that your hand is probably bad. The more aggressive the bettor is, the more often you should make that call on the river.

Bluffing on the River

Bluffing on the river is almost always a bad idea in small stakes Holdem games. First of all, the players are so loose that bluffs rarely work. Second of all, the pots are so large compared to the bets that the players are unlikely to fold for a single bet. The only time bluffs work well on the river are when you strongly suspect your opponent has some sort of broke draw. In that case, your bluffs will have a much higher success rate.

Bluffing should be kept to a minimum in small stakes Holdem games. The occasional successful bluff is nice but it’s not vital to you making money at poker. The best river strategy for small stakes games is to play a straightforward game and let your opponents make all the mistakes.

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