98o on K♥ 9♣ 4♠, checked to you — bet small, bet big or check?
The answer
Bet small
≈⅓ pot ($7)
Solvers also mix: Check
The math: Middle pair on a dry K-high board · a small bet takes thin value from the floats and weak pairs that call and denies the overcards; a check is close behind.
Why
On a dry king-high board the button range-bets small, and middle pair comes along. A ⅓-pot bet takes thin value from the floats, ace-highs and worse pairs that call and denies the two overcards a free card — the solver bets it 56% of the time. It is close: checking to control the pot and take a free showdown is nearly as good, and is better against a player who never folds, so treat both as fine. The one real mistake is betting big — that turns a showdown hand into a bluff, since better never folds and worse never calls.
The spot
- Your seat
- BTN
- Stakes and stacks
- $1 / $2 · 100bb
- Your hand
- 9♠ 8♦
- Board
- K♥ 9♣ 4♠
- Pot
- POT · $20
- Action on you
- BB checks
Every option
Bet small≈⅓ pot ($7)Correct
Bet bigpot-size ($20)
Why not: Betting big turns a showdown hand into a bluff with no fold equity: better never folds, worse never calls. On a dry board middle pair bets small or not at all.
Checktake the free showdown
The idea behind it
On dry, high-card boards the in-position raiser can bet small with a wide range — even middle pair — for thin value and denial, because the capped caller can’t punish it. When the spot is this close, a check for pot control is a fine low-variance alternative; the error is a big bet that folds out everything you beat.
Concept: Small, or pot control
Terms in this spot
Play it instead of reading it
The trainer deals this hand with hints, grading and spaced repetition — and randomized variations of it once you have seen it.