· Raj
Should I call a river shove with top pair, weak kicker?
At low stakes live, I usually fold this. Top pair feels too good to fold. But a player who bets three times and then shoves on an ace-high board rarely has a worse ace. Call only if you know he bluffs.
$1/$2 live cash. You started with $200. He started with $130.
You have A♠ 7♣ in the big blind.
The cutoff raises to $10. You call.
Flop A♥ J♦ 6♣. You check. He bets $12. You call.
Turn 2♦. You check. He bets $30. You call.
River 9♠. You check. He moves all in for $78.
This one comes up all the time. You have an ace. He keeps betting. And now it is all in.
I've definitely called here before just because I had top pair. Usually I knew I was probably beat before I even put the chips in.
So I slow down and ask the same two questions I always ask.
What can the villain have here, and why?
He raised from the cutoff. So he has a lot of hands. Aces, broadway cards, pairs, suited stuff.
Then he bet the flop. He bet the turn. And he shoved the river. That is three bets. Each one bigger than the last.
So which hands do that? Strong aces do. Ace-king. Ace-queen. Aces that made two pair, like ace-jack, ace-nine or ace-six. Those all beat my seven.
Worse aces mostly do not. Ace-five or ace-four might bet the flop. Maybe the turn. But a lot of those players check the river and hope it is good.
And then the draws. The turn put two diamonds out. Plenty of straight draws too. All of them missed on the 9♠. Some players fire those as a bluff. Most players at these stakes give up.
Is his range capped? No. Nothing about this line takes his big hands away. If anything it points right at them.
So what do you do here, and why?
The price is good. I put in $78 to win $183. So I do not need to be right very often.
But I do need to be right sometimes. And for that he has to show up with worse hands. The worse aces mostly checked. The missed draws mostly gave up. What is left is mostly the hands that beat me.
So I fold.
Unless I know this player. If I have watched him bluff missed draws on the river, I call. That is the whole decision. It is not about my hand. It is about him.
His range now
Strong aces and two pair, with a few missed draws if he is the bluffing type.
The habit from this one is simple too. Before I call a river shove, I name one worse hand that bets this way. If I cannot, I fold.
Questions
Should you call a river all in with top pair and a weak kicker?
At low stakes live, usually not. A player who bets the flop, the turn and then shoves the river on an ace-high board rarely has a worse ace. Call only if you know he bluffs his missed draws.
Why does a weak kicker matter so much?
Because the aces that bet three streets are mostly the strong ones. Ace-king, ace-queen, and aces that made two pair. Your seven loses to all of them.
Does the price make it a call?
The price is good. You put in $78 to win a pot of $183. But a good price only helps if he shows up with worse hands often enough, and here he mostly does not.
When would calling be right?
When you have seen this player bluff. If he fires missed diamond draws and busted straight draws on the river, a call is reasonable.
Practice this spot with a coach.
Two questions every street. What can the villain have, and what do you do. Talk or type, and the coach tells you what you got right and what you missed.
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