river (poker)

The river, or fifth street, in poker is the final fifth card to be dealt to the board, consisting of a face-up community card that each of the players in the game can use to make up their final hand. Typically found in Texas Hold'em and Omaha Hold'em, the river follows the completion of the third round of betting after the turn, and is immediately followed by a fourth and final round of betting which concludes with a showdown. The river can change the fortune of a game by delivering one player a card which they need to beat another player's already completed hand. A player losing the pot due only to the river card is said to have been 'rivered' or 'drowned at the river'. A particularly unlikely change of fortune due to the river card is often called a bad beat; most regular poker players gradually collect a number of bad beat stories which they may enjoy reciting.

River (Poker)

See Also