River Tips
The river is the last street in hold’em that you can get value in. It’s your last chance to beef up the pot you are about to take down. It could also be a great chance for you to save some money by folding. As long as you are confident and you have some nice solid river tips you should be able to handle the river like a pro fisherman! You can also check out our preflop tips, flop tips, and turn tips if you haven’t already!
We have compiled a list of the top five river tips for Texas hold’em. If you apply these poker tips to your game you should be crushing the tables in no time.
Top Five River Tips
- Watch Out For the Draw- Just like on the turn, it is important that you watch out for your opponents hitting their draw. It is normally only the players who you have noticed like to chase draws that you have to watch out for, so keep a good eye on them. When the draw comes in on the river and they are looking to get their money into the pot, you should just give up and save yourself the chips no matter the strength of your hand.
- Reevaluate What has Happened- On the river it is good for your game if you recap the previous streets to reassure yourself of the range of hand you have your opponent on. During this you should be checking to see what lines they were taking and what type of hand that represents. If they were just check/calling you on a draw heavy board then they were probably chasing. If they were leading out on a ten high flop and then check/calling they probably have a ten, etc. This is great for getting your mind deeper into the game and analyzing not only your own lines you take, but the lines that others take as well.
- Value Bet- If you still have the best hand on the river then bet! You opponent can fold, but if so then it was the same if you just checked. If they call then you get the extra money. If you are not sure if your hand is the best then you can simply check. There is no need to waste money if you aren’t really positive your hand is best.
- Believe Your Opponent- If the dynamics of the board have been changed drastically by the river card and your opponent switches gears on you then you should believe them. Let’s say the flush comes in on the turn and then there is a four flush on the river and your opponent leads out. You already know they have high cards, so if they are leading out in this situation and you do not have the ace for the flush I recommend just letting the hand go.
- Make it to Showdown- It is important that against loose opponents you make it to showdown on the river. A lot of times the pot will be medium size and bad players will bet out a small amount on the river to try to steal it. Do not fold to this. When you are playing strong hands against bad players your range of hands that you can make is so much greater that on average your made hand will be better than theirs.
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