check TPTK here?

[schwza]

there are no draws, and the only overcard that hurts me is a king. checking here would risk letting a PP hit their 2 outer for free, but a free card really doesn't scare me here. also, i can see very few hands that are going to call my bet (which is why i usually steal on boards like this). given that i actually have a good hand, should i check-call and hope the villain catches up a little?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 max, 5 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

saw flop|<font color="C00000">saw showdown</font>

Button ($339.33)
Hero ($49)
BB ($50)
UTG ($66.65)
MP ($49.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A/images/graemlins/spade.gif, Q/images/graemlins/club.gif.
<font color="666666">1 fold</font>, MP calls $1, <font color="666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises to $4</font>, BB calls $3, MP folds.

Flop: ($9) 3/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 3/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets $7</font>, BB folds.

[SpiderMnkE]

I think a check here is good. You are either way ahead or way behind right.

You might be able to get him to stab at the turn or even pair one of his cards that he might feel is good enough for a bet.

Since he called pf raise it is unlikely he has a 3. So the only thing reasonably beating you is KK. Which also seems unlikely given the pf action.

I really don't think checking here is scary... so if you feel that this guy isn't going to call your flop bet... you can check and try and get the money some other way.

[JrJordan]

I make this bet every time. Then again, I make the same bet if I miss the flop as well. Make it hard on your opponent to know what you have. If you bet when you're on a steal, and when you're solid, your opponent can never get a good read on you. That, and you don't want to give any free cards if he's looking for a draw.

[schwza]

[ QUOTE ]
I make this bet every time. Then again, I make the same bet if I miss the flop as well. Make it hard on your opponent to know what you have. If you bet when you're on a steal, and when you're solid, your opponent can never get a good read on you. That, and you don't want to give any free cards if he's looking for a draw.

[/ QUOTE ]

i think this makes sense against good opponents - you want to bet when you do have it to preserve a valuable bluff. but what about against an opponent who i don't think is good/observant?

OTOH there could be backdoor draws out there, which i had been kind of discounting. someone holding JTs has a good chance to pick up an OESD and/or a flush draw, which could be a disaster. and i guess there's always the chance that the villain will pick a bad time to bluff-raise, so it'd be nice to give him the opportunity to do so.

[SpiderMnkE]

So are we saying that we should stick with playing it straight forward and just bet out?

[schwza]

i dunno... i think i should've checked. i make a lot of money by people folding too much in this exact situation when i don't have a hand, so there's no reason to think they'll call or bluff-raise now. and i'd be surprised if anyone's keeping track of me that closely, so if i get in an identical spot later i'll probably check.