Poker players are becoming smarter with every passing year.
The games are getting tougher, and it is more difficult to find the edges needed to remain profitable in the game. One such edge that can be gained is countering thin value bets on the river.
So what is a thin value bet? A thin value bet is a bet made on the river designed to extract value from a worse hand, while holding a marginal hand.
One way to counter a thin value bet is to check-raise with a worse hand on the river. You can do this either with a stronger hand, which is designed to extract more value of your own, or with a worse hand as a bluff, designed to make your opponent fold his or her thin value bet.
If you were playing in the higher games on an online poker site, then this strategy would need to be deployed anyway, in order to retain the right balance in your river play.
The reason that this play becomes so effective is that a river check-raise generally signifies extreme strength.
Nearly, everyone in the game will be taken aback with this play. Therefore, because most players will assume that you are check raising with a Godzilla-type hand, then it makes a great spot for the check-raise bluff.
As usual, you need to deploy this play against the right opponent. So, choose thinking-type players and not calling stations, otherwise you could end up with egg on your face.
