AA - very basic

[Thundercat32]

Even the first time I responded to this post it was the same strategy,

Put your money into the pot and let them call

[Sciolist]

I don't see why you'd want to push on the river. You want him to call you, and putting in $20 is going to get that a lot more often. If he reraises you, then I don't see how you're passing here. You have top set, there isn't much that's ahead of you here with that betting.

[Pokey]

[ QUOTE ]
I like a push here as opposed to checking and calling a push.

[/ QUOTE ]

A push is going to be a pot-sized bet, here. Imagine the range of hands that villain could have at this point:

1. Flush -- that's not folding to any bet.
2. Straight -- again, probably not going anywhere.
3. Lower set -- that isn't likely to fold.
4. Two pair -- at this point, you might fold someone with a big bet, but get them to come along with a smaller bet.
5. Single pair -- probably going to fold to any bet.

The rule about river betting is that you'd like to either get calls from weaker hands or get folds from stronger hands. An all-in bet on the river would be large enough that it's going to fold many of the weaker hands, and it's going to be called by all the stronger hands. On the other hand, a tamer bet is more likely to get called by the weaker hands, and isn't likely to get raised by the bigger hands. So, you win more often when you're ahead (though not as much money) and you lose less money when you're behind.

The real question as to whether pushing is better than the $20 raise depends on the relative probabilities of (1) your opponent's hand beating you and (2) your opponent folding a weaker hand. I'd say that an argument could be made for pushing or for the $20 bet, and frankly, I'd like to hear them both.

[Vammakala]

I just love this approach.