B/F on River .... why?

[b1grich]

I see that a lot of guys tell people to bet/fold on the river. Why not just check/call on the river if your unsure. That way you can use the same amount of money to see the other guys hand.

[BigBadBabar]

the simple answer is lots of the time if you bet a guy will call you with a worse hand and raise you with a better hand, so you get more value from your winning hands and you know when you're beat. obviously it depends on the opponent and if you do it a lot, and other factors too. checkcalling lets him check behind weaker hands that he might call a bet with.

[BigBadBabar]

obviously there are times when you want to checkcall as well

[BigBadBabar]

like if the guy likes to bluff a lot or on scare cards

[Zeldark]

There's BBB failing to use that edit button again [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

His answers, however, are correct of course.

[sharpie]

Because 2+2 = bet/fold

[OziBattler]

b1, believe me...it takes dicipline to bet fold. I Think alot of people 'master' the bet/call before they eventually clue into the fact that there are very few people who are raising them with a bluff.

bet/fold works best against predictable players. check/call works better against players who will bluff the river when checked to but wont call unless that have something decent. of course, these are generalisations and at often 'depends'.

heres another take on it...whilst you may see a few 'bet/fold' recommendations it doesnt mean that OP is often forced to fold. In such cases the times hero gets raised is much less than the times times when hero gets flat called and wins. hence +EV

[b1grich]

Thanks for all of your advice. I'm starting to comprehend this. Although it prob. looks simple to you, I'm just starting out with limit holdem and grasping these concepts will take time.

Thanks Again.

[Zeldark]

It is on the fancier side in a way. Because really your options are simple. Raise, call, fold or at times, bet or check. Then you can mix them together in fancy combos like the C/R and B/F and less obvious plays are opened up. There are others of course too, but less common.

The B/F is counter-intuitive, like a lot of good poker is. The Check-raise makes sense. You set the trap, they spring it and bet, and then bam, you raise. But the idea of putting money into the pot when you're not bluffing just to fold to future aggression is certainly not a straightfoward concept.

You aren't the first person to be confused by the B/F. You won't be the last.

[OziBattler]

good perspective Z. I like it.