Is this a decent example of a blocking bet?

No reads on this guy...had recently sat in...generally he's calling with a better King or a draw.

Is it better to check/call the river or check/fold to an unreasonable bet?
I just don't like getting into that situation, where I have a fairly strong hand, no one tells me I'm beat, but the board gets semi-nasty - I check the river and they push...doesn't tell me I'm necessarily beat because it also looks like I missed my draw.
I figure if I'm raised here, I'm beat and can get out...otherwise I at least get a reasonably priced showdown.

Paradise Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $29.40
UTG+1: $22.90
MP1: $21.30
MP2: $5.35
MP3: $32.30
CO: $26.55
Button: $45.15
SB: $24.75
xTheHorrorx: $24.05

Pre-flop: (9 players) xTheHorrorx is BB with K 8
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, 3 folds, CO calls, Button folds, SB calls, xTheHorrorx checks.

Flop: 6 K 8 ($1.25, 5 players)
SB checks, xTheHorrorx bets $1, 2 folds, CO calls, SB folds.

Turn: 7 ($3.25, 2 players)
xTheHorrorx bets $2, CO calls.

River: 4 ($7.25, 2 players)
xTheHorrorx bets $3, CO calls.

Results:
Final pot: $13.25

Hmm, I don't really think you need to make a blocking bet here. The river isn't a scare card, why would he still be in the hand with a five? You're almost certainly still ahead, just make a standard value bet of $5.

If the river were something really scary like T it would be different.

Gutshot straight draws happen all too frequently (though I would expect to be minraised on the turn in that case)...and 57o in a limped pot chasing on the flop is a possibility.

Originally Posted by mcatdog

why would he still be in the hand with a five? You're almost certainly still ahead, just make a standard value bet of $5.

Oddly enough...and as my bad luck would have it, this donk of a Villain was calling me down with top pair shitty kicker that happened to catch a runner-runner straight, with the magical, mystical

K 5 (a straight, four to eight)

Yet, he did not reraise me on the end...so the $3 I threw out there at the river was all I paid to see his luckbox of a hand

Anyhow, that's why I posed the question about a blocking bet...obviously he would have called $5 as well, or any amount more, but for whatever reason decided not to raise. But I often see that if I had just checked, he might have bet the pot or pushed...I don't think I would have called in this instance, but I woulda been pissed that I never saw how he sucked out on me and didn't get to label him as a 'loose passive top pair weak kicker calling station' who soon went on to lose my money and the rest of his stack and bust off the table, unfortunately not to me. Am I bitter? not really - it's less than a third of a stack lost...but I am still looking to learn - perhaps proper play dictates the $5 bet here since normally I'm called down by a better K that misses its kicker.

This is a decent example of a blocking bet IMO.

Blocking bets are used when you are scared of a better hand and don't want to call a big bet on the river. Why put a lot more money in the pot when you don't want to? So put a little.. i.e. 1/3 pot. I don't think that 5/7 pot size bet could be considered a blocking bet because $5 is a big bet.

This board doesn't require a blocking bet though. Like mcatdog said, there' no need to be afraid of something like 75 here... Actually, 75 is a possibility. You have top 2 pair though, call a minraise but no more.