AJo on 8♥ 7♥ 6♣, checked to you — bet or check?
The answer
Bet
fire small (⅓ · $4)
Best size: ⅓ pot · $4
Solvers also mix: Check
The math: 8-7-6 with two hearts smashes the caller's range, but ace-jack high has two overcards to bet small for denial — the solver bets 54% and checks 46%, essentially a toss-up.
Why
This low, two-tone 8-7-6 is the flop the Big Blind called to see: their suited connectors and small pairs made straights, two pair, sets and big draws, while your ace-jack whiffed. But it is closer than it looks — the solver bets 54% and checks 46%. A small bet denies the overcards and air a free card and folds out the worst of their range; checking keeps the pot small and takes a free showdown with a hand that still beats their busted overcards. Both are fine — just don't fire a big bet into the range that smashed this board. Here a marginal ace-high is a genuine mix, not an automatic anything.
The spot
- Your seat
- CO
- Stakes and stacks
- $1 / $2 · 100bb
- Your hand
- A♦ J♣
- Board
- 8♥ 7♥ 6♣
- Pot
- POT · $12
- Action on you
- BB checks
Every option
Checktake a free showdown
Betfire small (⅓ · $4)Correct
⅓ pot · $4 · ⅔ pot · $8 · pot · $12
The idea behind it
Low, connected, two-tone flops smash a caller's range, so a marginal ace-high is not an automatic bet — but it is not an automatic check either. Around a 50/50 mix, a small denial bet and a check both work; the mistake is a big bet into the range that connected.
Concept: A true mix
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.