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THE RIVER
We've seen the first four cards and now for the final one, the river.By now, you should know exactly where you stand.You still need to ask yourself the three most important questions:Did you make your hand?Did you improve your hand?Did you completely miss your hand?There is no more information coming from the community cards, so you will be getting all of your remaining information from the actions and reactions of your opponents.
TOP PAIR
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ACTION – Top pair could still be the best hand, even on the river. If you have no suspicion of a better hand than you should bet or call a bet.
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CALL – If your bet was just called then you have no more action and hope that your hand stands when everyone shows.
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RAISE – If your bet was raised, then you have a few things to worry about. You only have a pair, not bad, but you could be in better situations. You are probably beat, but if you have good pot odds and a top kicker than a call may be okay about 60% of the time.
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PAIR
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ACTION – There is no action. You are lucky to still be in this pot. You are hoping for free cards at this point and a showdown. Check through to the showdown, even in late position.
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TWO PAIR
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ACTION – You should almost treat two pair like top pair. There are still a lot of hands that can beat you. If you don't suspect a better hand (flush, straight, full house, etc.) you should throw a bet out there or call your opponent's bet.
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CALL – If your opponents called, you probably have them beat. They would raise with trips, flush, or straight. Be confident that you will win the showdown with two pair.
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RAISE – If your bet was raised, you need to be worried. You may be beat by a better hand, but if your pot odds look good, a call could win you the pot. If there are straight or flush possibilities you obviously wouldn't call, but you wouldn't have bet at the pot if there were those types of hands out there.
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TRIPS
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ACTION – Trips are very strong, especially if there are no possibilities for a straight or flush out there. If you are still slow playing, continue to do so if there has been a raise behind you on the turn. A check raise is in order if this is the case. If you are no longer slow playing and already bet on the turn, continue to bet on the river if you don't suspect a better hand.
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CALL – If your bet is called then you should be confident that you will win the showdown.
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RAISE – If there is no possibility of a flush or straight then you should still call a raise, especially if your pot odds are still good.
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THE NUTS
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ACTION – You should continue to slowplay if you still have action behind you. You can win a lot more money if they try and bet at the pot and you reraise. If your trap already had a biter on the turn than you will bet, looking forward to a win on the showdown.
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CALL – If your bet is called, get ready for the win.
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RAISE – If you are raised, continue reraising the pot.
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DRAWING HANDS AND OVERCARDS
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ACTION – Still around huh? You should feel lucky that you are and hope for a free showdown. Hopefully, you will be lucky and win.
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