River
Also: fifth street
The fifth and final community card, followed by the last betting round. The hand is decided at the showdown after river betting.
The river is the fifth and final community card, dealt after the turn and followed by the last round of betting. It is the point at which every hand becomes what it is going to be — nothing is drawing any more.
Where it sits in the hand
In hold'em and Omaha the community cards arrive in three stages: the flop (three cards at once), the turn (a fourth) and the river (a fifth). Each is followed by a betting round. In seven-card stud the equivalent card is the seventh and is often called fifth street, though "river" is used there too.
As with the turn, the dealer burns a card before dealing the river — one card is discarded face down first, a holdover from live play designed to guard against a marked or glimpsed top card.
What makes the river different
On every earlier street a hand can improve. On the river no cards remain, so there is no fold equity to protect and no draw to charge. Every decision reduces to two questions: can I be called by something worse, and can I be beaten by something better?
This makes river play unusually binary. Bets are either value bets, made because worse hands will call, or bluffs, made because better hands will fold. The large middle category of earlier streets — betting a draw that benefits from both outcomes — does not exist on the river. A bet that no worse hand calls and no better hand folds has no purpose at all.
Why pot odds are cleanest here
Because nothing can change, river calls are pure arithmetic against a read. Facing a pot-sized bet means calling one unit to win three, so the hand needs to be best about 33 per cent of the time. A half-pot bet needs 25 per cent; a bet of twice the pot needs 40 per cent. There is no implied-odds adjustment to make, because there is no later street to win money on.
Range reading peaks here
By the river an opponent has taken four betting actions, and each one has narrowed what they can hold. River decisions are therefore where careful play through the earlier streets pays off: the player who has been tracking the story has a much better idea of whether a large bet represents the nuts or the hands that missed.
The name
The origin is not settled. The best-known explanations connect it to riverboat poker on the Mississippi, where cheating with a card dealt last was said to get a player thrown in the river, though this is folk etymology rather than documented history. "Fifth street" is the plainer and older description of the same card.
Related terms
Full glossaryFrequently asked questions
What is the river in poker?
The fifth and final community card in hold'em and Omaha, dealt after the turn and followed by the last betting round. After the river there are no more cards, so no hand can improve.
How does river play differ from earlier streets?
There is no draw left to protect or charge, so a bet is either a value bet — worse hands will call — or a bluff — better hands will fold. A river bet that achieves neither accomplishes nothing.
How much equity do I need to call a river bet?
It is straight arithmetic. Against a pot-sized bet you call one unit to win three, so you need to be best about 33 per cent of the time. A half-pot bet requires 25 per cent and a bet of twice the pot requires 40 per cent. No implied-odds adjustment applies, because there is no later street.
Why is it called the river?
The origin is not documented with any certainty. The most repeated story links it to riverboat games on the Mississippi, but it is folk etymology. The card's plainer traditional name is fifth street.