On the river, your favorite dealer (at least he was in the past) brings out a third club. Now flush is quite possible. Your only opponent, the feint-aggressive player, checks you out. You want to believe that you have a winning hand – that your kings have raised it to the river.

So you show your confidence by making a huge bet – $ 12 in this case. Without hesitation, your opponent then got up. Oh oh! You fell into his trap. When you call a raise check, you expect him to try to bluff. After all, he was a cheat. Not lucky; He shows down the club flush he makes in the river.

Sure, it’s a long shot, but even at a 4-on-1 card odds against him, the pot is big enough to warrant his call to see the river. And it worked for him.

There’s no way you can avoid losing that hand. It’s poker, as they say. But you can avoid losing two big bets on the river. When a third club falls on the board you have to realize that it may have a flush.

Did you make wise decisions when betting on the river? Consider the odds: If he has anything less than a large pair, he will most likely fold when you bet on the river; so your bet will be worth it.

If she hooks up with a flush and believes she has been beaten on the hand, she will surely rise. After all, a raise is a trick – and quite acceptable – strategy for building pots. The only hands he might have just called your bet on the river are big / medium pairs.

You only make a small profit betting on the river – one big bet at most. But you have the potential to lose two big bets – and you do.

So, readers, what do you think?