The River check/raise

As anyone progress thru the different levels, the aggression keeps getting higher and higher. Sometimes is good to use that aggression against our opponent. A good example for exploiting this is using the River check/raise. Some players are just to busy playing too many tables and if they see someone check they instantly bet, with or without a hand. Some people like to valuebet too thin on the river and those are the instances where ck/raising for value is good.

For example in this hand, I knew that if he has an Ace or air he is going to bet the river, so once I hit I can expect to be called when I check/raise him if he indeed had an ace. It would have been even better if I made the raise a little bigger, but still:

Now this one is in heads up, and I can expect him to float me a lot when I donk the turn, with a bunch of air and flushdraws. So again I think he is going to bluff the river, or bet it with the K/J/T of the flush and probably called me if I raise.

So if we are doing the check/raise for value, we should use it as a bluff in some spots. But when would be a good time to do it as a bluff?? Simple, when you think he can valuebet thin on the river, but the board is scared enough to call and you can actually have something there. Its also important to know that if we ever going to try the check/raise bluff we need to have some showdown value in case he decide to check behind so that we sometimes can win the hand.

In that hand, I decided to donk the turn to protect against draws and to get a cheap showdown on the river. I can't let him spike his FD, and if he has a weak king he might check behind for the free showdown. Of course I expect him to also float me a lot when I do this so this is also a good line to take when I have a small flush. I expect a thin valuebet from AK but he can't call a raise, even a hand as strong as two pair or small sets have to think about it and may fold sometimes.

So again, for value its good to try it when you think villain will bet/call river. As a bluff when you think his range is most likely a bluff or a thin valuebet and he can fold.