Checking wins the minimum and gives worse jacks, pairs and floats a free card to draw out on you.

KJo on J♠ 6♥ 2♣, checked to you — bet or check?

Q: KJo on J♠ 6♥ 2♣, checked to you — bet or check?

Bet. K♦ J♣ gives you top pair with a strong king kicker on a bone-dry J-6-2 rainbow board, so you're ahead of every other jack and every underpair. A bet gets worse jacks, small pairs and floats to call, and there are almost no scary turns to fear here. Checking wins the minimum and hands those same worse hands a free card. Small and often is plenty — the solver bets it the large majority of the time.

The answer

Bet

value bet · ⅓ pot

Best size: ⅓ pot · $4

The math: Top pair, king kicker beats every worse jack and every underpair — and plenty of them will pay.

Why

K♦ J♣ gives you top pair with a strong king kicker on a bone-dry J-6-2 rainbow board, so you're ahead of every other jack and every underpair. A bet gets worse jacks, small pairs and floats to call, and there are almost no scary turns to fear here. Checking wins the minimum and hands those same worse hands a free card. Small and often is plenty — the solver bets it the large majority of the time.

The spot

Villain · BB

checks

POT · $12

J♠

6♥

2♣

K♦

J♣

BTN

$1 / $2 · 100bb

Your seat: BTN
Stakes and stacks: $1 / $2 · 100bb
Your hand: K♦ J♣
Board: J♠ 6♥ 2♣
Pot: POT · $12
Action on you: BB checks

Every option

Checkgive a free card
Why not: Checking wins the minimum and gives worse jacks, pairs and floats a free card to draw out on you.
Betvalue bet · ⅓ potCorrect
⅓ pot · $4 · ⅔ pot · $8 · pot · $12

The idea behind it

Top pair with a strong kicker on a dry board is a clear value bet: many worse hands can call, and a free card only helps your opponent catch up.

Concept: Value betting

See the glossary: value & bluffs Read the methodology

Terms in this spot

Value bet

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.