River
The river is the fifth and final community card, after which no more cards come and one last round of betting decides the hand.
It is the only street where nothing is a draw any more. Every hand is finished, so a bet is either value or a bluff, and there is no third reason to put money in.
That makes it the round where the largest mistakes happen. Calls made out of curiosity and bluffs made out of frustration both cost full sized bets, with no card left to rescue either one.
an example
your cards
board
The fifth heart of your draw arrives on the river and you have the best possible flush on this board. Nothing else is coming, so the only question left is how much a worse hand is willing to pay.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find river in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Turn
The turn is the fourth community card, dealt face up once the betting on the flop is complete.
Showdown
A showdown is the point after the final round of betting where the remaining players turn their cards face up and the be ...
Value bet
A value bet is a bet made with a hand you expect to be best, sized so that a worse hand can still convince itself to cal ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
The full order of play, from the blinds to the showdown.