When someones been checking/calling all the way to the river and then min raises on it, is it worth always calling to see their hand even if I know I definitely have the worst hand possible? (essentially I'm paying a blind so they can't muck their hand)
-
4There is no "always" in poker. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Dec 23 '16 at 9:06
-
1@Mawg your comment should be a wisdom quote :) – Roman Mik Jan 6 '17 at 19:30
I would say it's player dependent. I sometimes min-raise the river as a bluff against a good player, because most thinking players interpret the play as me having a strong hand. But don't do it very often. If it is some old guy at the card room that's min-raising you, he almost always has a good hand. If you know you're beat, just fold. Curiosity can cost money.
-
Thanks. I was looking at this from an information kind of perspective. As I play online mostly I don't get as good a read on someone which is why I sometimes consider this kind of play. I agree that it'll probably cost me money in the long run if I don't make much use of that information. – Shuri2060 Nov 3 '16 at 14:31
-
1It's hard to give an exact answer because I don't know your bet sizings or how many streets you fired, the action pre, or any specific hand you've seen him play. If you give me a specific hand, I could give you a better answer. – Wyatt Shuler Nov 3 '16 at 14:58
No if you have the worst hand and you don't want to bluff then fold
How do you know you have the worst hand if you don't call him?
Some times (or more) we have to call our marginal holdings down, otherwise villains will take notice and bluff us relentlessly, especially on River. An example:
Hole cards 8♥ 7♥
Board cards K⋄7♠3⋄T♠5⋄
Background: Villain is known to be checking/calling i.e. a station and bluff many rivers if met passivity.
You bet the flop, he calls. Turn is check/check. River you check, he min-bets.
No matter what, i'm calling here for information for later hands. In addition, i have a bottom-pair which certainly is something and not always worst. You don't know the Villain yet. He may be betting to represent diamonds flush. Because otherwise he does not represent ANYTHING. Or perhaps he bets a T which thinks it's best now. Or a K if he's that passive. The 5⋄ is as brick as possible. Regardless, you win too much information about your Villain and how he plays by just calling that down as cheap as that.
I casually call here min-bets with bottom-pair. You always win something, if not the hand, your opponent tendencies on the River.
Finally, don't bet against Calling stations (as he seems to be). They'll call anyway and you built an extensive history with him cheaper :)
-
Its very possible to know you have the worst hand without calling (i.e. 24o wrt the board you mentioned). The question is if its worth it to see the hand for blind money, with no chance of winning. – sakon Feb 15 '17 at 3:42
-
OP said if it's worth calling with the worst hand and i've answered with some reasons to do that i.e. information. OP didn't shows a hand so i don't know about
zerochances of winning, that's relevant to personal perception. – vlzvl Feb 15 '17 at 3:49
