Last one for a while. Flop check.

[Entity]

Button is a very good, very aggressive TAG. BB is unknown but seems about average in looseness and slightly passive (30/10/1.5), and UTG is by far the worst player I've ever met. Will call off most of his stack with no pair no draw. I'm convinced he'd call two bets with 5 high on the river hoping to pair up on sixth street.

Party Poker 5/10 Hold'em (6 max, 5 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
UTG calls, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Button raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>, BB calls, UTG calls, <font color="#CC3333">Button caps</font>, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (16 SB) 6/images/graemlins/spade.gif, K/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 3/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="#0000FF">(4 players)</font>
Hero checks...

[Lmn55d]

ya, checkraise to protect against possible 5 outers and charge bad players who will call 2 cold with mid pair (as well as PFR who you almost surely have beat)

[Womble]

Hmmmmmm, checkraising is good to get rid of potential gutshots and other Aces (wont know they are dominated). Although I think bet/3bet is better to get more value since there are few draws (if any)

[Lmn55d]

I don't think there's many capping hands here that pfr 3bets, especially if a middle guy calls. Well I guess maybe like KQs, other AK, KK, AA...but there's more that he wouldn't.

[Womble]

My thinking is that if you go for a checkraise you will get about 1BB if you are ahead.

By betting you should get at least one caller from the others and also the PFR (1BB), + you havent broadcasted your strength so you are more likrly to get another bet on the turn.

Or am I way off? Am I thinking that TPTK is too strong here?

[Lmn55d]

no, I think it's close actually, but I like a checkraise because, as per entity's description, there's bad players in the middle who might call 2 with Ax or any pair.

[Catt]

I'm making an assumption that, with your solid read on Button, he also has a decent read on you and views you as solid and appropriately aggressive.

I initially thought WTF? why not bet hoping to three-bet, but I think I like the C/R for value (hoping at least the worst player ever will come along and BB may come along). If Button's capping range is something like AA-TT, AK, maybe AQs, and he is "very good, very aggressive" there's a better than average chance that he calls a flop lead rather than raises (if he's got an underpair to the K, he's got odds to peel but probably wouldn't raise here - and there's a risk that he flat calls even AA, AK, or KK in order to pop the turn). The pot's so big on the flop that you can't really protect with a C/R on this board, so we're focused on value (especially since at least UTG sounds like he'll come along to the river no matter how many bets he has to put in).

What I'm trying to figure out is how the flop action affects the turn. You lead the flop, he flat calls, you lead the turn and he's likely folding or popping you (maybe calling with AK), and I don't think you can fold a possible winner / chopping hand to a turn raise. You lead the flop, he raises, you three-bet, same possible action on turn. You lead etc. he caps, you can lead again, or go into C/C mode. You C/R the flop, he calls, you lead the turn -- same possibility except you got extra bets in on the flop. You C/R, he 3-bets, and again probably no more than 1 bet from each of you goes in on the turn.

Enough rambling -- given his likely range, I don't think you can feel terribly good about going multiple bets on the BB streets (since he doesn't do that without AA, KK, or AK, and seems to me he'd be a lot more likely to do that with AA or KK which feels like it offsets the much larger number of AK hand combos out there), but the pot is big enough and with UTG likely padding the pot, you'll be getting to showdown on this one. I'd like to get bets in on the flop, and I think a C/R lets you do this better than a flop lead on this board and his presumed hand range.

[SCfuji]

hey rob if the tag is aggressive enough to bet the turn i like check raising the turn since you really have no fears with this board and your hand. if the tag is good enough to know when to check behind then i like getting the $ from the other players when i can. not sure which part of your read came into play with this particular hand but a flop check raise is going to paint a AK on your forehead for that tag.

[Catt]

Fuji - doesn't this TAG fold to a turn C/R with any underpair in any event if we call the flop? He'll be getting about 11-1 to 15-1 (depending on BB and UTG) and has to put Rob on at least a K if he gets C/R on the turn. He's either 3-betting us on the turn (in which case we cross our fingers for a chop with AK) or folding, meaning we don't gain anything much by waiting until the turn to C/R, especially if we forego a couple of extra SBs from the middle players and Villain on the flop when it would have been easy to call a flop C/R given the pot size.