Should you bet 1x or fold on the river in Hold’em vs. Dealer?

River spots, bet or fold

Fold is always −2.0000: you give up the ante and the blind. Average result per unit of ante (the blind equals the ante; trips not included), with the best play on every later street. Exact: every card that can still come and every dealer hand.

Why

Folding at the river costs the ante and the blind, two units. Betting 1x puts one more unit at risk to keep both in play, so you only need to win a modest share of the time for the bet to cost less than folding. A dealer “out” is a hole card that would beat you; with fewer than 21 of the 45 unseen cards doing that, enough dealer hands lose to you, or fail to qualify, that betting comes out ahead of folding.

Related questions

• Should you bet 2x on the flop with bottom pair in Hold’em vs. Dealer?

  Yes, when one of your own cards makes the pair, even with a weak kicker. Pocket 2s below the board are the exception: check them.

• Should you bet 2x on the flop with a flush draw in Hold’em vs. Dealer?

  Bet 2x when you hold the ace, king or queen of the suit. With a lower flush card, check: the draw alone doesn’t pay for a 2x bet. A jack is a coin flip that depends on your other card.

• Should you raise 4x with any ace in Hold’em vs. Dealer?

  Yes. Every ace is a 4x raise, even ace-deuce offsuit. The weakest aces are only barely worth it, but raising still beats checking.

All Hold’em vs. Dealer questions