PokerToast · study tools for mixed-game poker
In heads-up limit Hold'em, I raised A-5 on the button, the big blind called and checked a 9-6-2 flop. Continuation-bet or check?
Heads-up, PokerToast's limit Hold'em solver checks with A-5 on a 9-6-2 flop after the big blind checks 87% of the time, and bets 13%.
The spot
- Game: heads-up limit Hold'em, Flop.
- You: A♥ 5♦ (your hole cards): A-5 offsuit: Ace high, no pair, no draw.
- Your opponent: called your raise in the big blind and checked the flop; the pot is 4 small bets.
- Board: 9♠ 6♣ 2♦.
- Pot before this street: 4 small bets.
- Pot size and the numbers: the solver groups pots by size: its numbers here are averages over every pot of between 2.5 and 6 small bets at this point, so in exactly this pot they would be a little different.
The solver's numbers
| Play | How often (strategy) | Worth from here on (EV estimate, small bets) |
|---|---|---|
| Check | 87.2% | +1.48 |
| Bet | 12.8% | +1.46 |
Measured on 23,862 play-outs of this situation. The highlighted row is the play that measured best.
Why, in plain words
Check and bet are worth about the same here (0.02 small bets apart, within the measuring noise of about 0.10), so neither is a real mistake; the solver's usual choice is to check (87%).
What popular strategy articles say
Bet every flop after raising before the flop (Brunson); the raiser is usually ahead, so continuation-bet when you were the last aggressor.
What strategy articles found by web search said on 2026-10-08 (PokerNews, Card Player, PokerStrategy, pokerskill and similar; mostly written between about 2007 and 2015, and mostly for full-ring games with several players in the pot).
Heads-up, the solver disagrees: it chooses the recommended play (bet) only 13% of the time; its main play is check (87%).
By the measured values, though, the two plays are worth about the same (within 0.02 small bets), so the common advice is not a real mistake here, just not the solver's usual choice.
Measured value from here on: check +1.48 small bets, bet +1.46.
Heads-up vs multiway
The numbers above are for heads-up play (two players). Most published advice is written for full-ring games with several players in the pot, so part of any difference can come from that.
How these numbers were made
From PokerToast's own heads-up limit Hold'em solver, trained 9,047,710 iterations, exported 2026-10-07 01:24:47, 63,797 situations (version H-9047710-20261007012447). It learned by self-play (Monte Carlo counterfactual regret minimization) for limit betting, at most four bets a street.
- How often is the solver's average strategy for this situation.
- Worth (EV) is an estimate measured after training by playing the situation out many times against the solver's own strategy: small bets won or lost from this decision on, compared with folding (0). It assumes an opponent who plays like the solver.
- Hand groups: the solver groups similar hands, so the numbers are for the group (here:
1|B|N1/r|Mi|k), not only these exact cards. Before the flop it knows all 169 starting-hand types and your position (button or big blind). After the flop it groups your hand by how it uses the board (for example an overpair, top pair and its kicker, or a draw), the board's texture (paired, two or three of a suit, connected), the pot and the betting so far on this street. - Looked up when this page was built (2026-10-19); a newly trained solver changes the page and its version number.
Practice it
Your equity with these cards Today's Hold'em Daily Spot Open PokerToast
More Hold'em spots: Heads-up limit Hold'em: which hands does the button fold? · Heads-up limit Hold'em: big blind defense against a button raise · Heads-up limit Hold'em: top pair in the big blind on the flop. Bet or check-raise? · Heads-up limit Hold'em: pocket 2s in the big blind against a button raise · Heads-up limit Hold'em: K-J offsuit on the button facing a 3-bet. Cap, call or fold? · Heads-up limit Hold'em: pocket Aces on the button. Raise or limp?