Rule: Be careful betting the river

As best I can tell there are two basic kinds of bets on the river. Value bets, and bluffs. Chris Ferguson calls betting on the river with a weak hand the worst play in poker. The more poker I play, the more I’m inclined to agree.

This is especially true in low-limit NL games where players will check their rivered straights or flushes to you expecting you to throw out yet another bet. Know your opponent before betting with even TPTK on the river. It’ll save you money. Now, if you know their playing Ax, go ahead make more money, but if you have them on a draw or aren’t sure, check it down.

Dealt to BurntOrnge [Js Ac]
rainyjr68: folds
gvouel: folds
Quijebo: calls $0.25
jonah514: calls $0.25
rainyjr68 leaves the table
BurntOrnge: calls $0.25
fedex32: folds
SleepySnoozy: calls $0.15
bonchkid: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ad Ts 8h]
SleepySnoozy: checks
bonchkid: checks
Quijebo: checks
jonah514: checks
BurntOrnge: bets $1
SleepySnoozy: folds
bonchkid: folds
Quijebo: calls $1
jonah514: folds
*** TURN ***
[Ad Ts 8h] [3d]
Quijebo: checks
BurntOrnge: bets $2.80
Quijebo: calls $2.80
*** RIVER *** [Ad Ts 8h 3d] [9c]
Quijebo: checks
BurntOrnge: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Quijebo: shows [Qh Jh] (a straight, Eight to Queen)
BurntOrnge: mucks hand
Quijebo collected $8.45 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.85 Rake $0.40Board [Ad Ts 8h 3d 9c]
BurntOrnge mucked [Js Ac]
Quijebo [Qh Jh] won ($8.45) with a straight, Eight to Queen