Continuous betting on dangerous boards

Hi there. I'm a tight and aggressive player. I've played since February, and a lot, but i'm still rather inexperienced.

Here's a frequently occuring situation for me and i'd like some input on if my reasoning and play is correct.

Lets say i have A/images/graemlins/spade.gifA/images/graemlins/diamond.gif in early position (god you gotta hate early position in NL). I raise 4xBB and a typically weak player calls from late. He's the kind that sees a lot of flops and doesn't raise you on the flop/turn/river with top pair or anything worse than two pair when there's a preflop raise (which goes for like 60% of the players on my tables). Rather loose passive in other words.

The board comes:

4/images/graemlins/spade.gifQ/images/graemlins/heart.gif8/images/graemlins/heart.gif

I bet out anything from half the pot to the full size of the pot. I don't have a pattern to this, but i believe most of the time i bet 3 or 4 if the pot is 6 dollars or 2-4 dollars if the pot is 4. Is there a standard on how much i should bet (lol)?

The guy calls my 4 dollar bet and the pot is now 14 dollars. I automatically put him on top pair or a draw. Since he doesn't raise with top pair he could have either.

Now of course another /images/graemlins/heart.gif (any low heart) drops (they drop more than mathematically possible for me) completing a potential flush.

But, since flushes are rather rare, i bet out again, for two reasons: 1. to make him pay me off all the way with his top pair 2. to make him pay for a flushdraw (he could be holding a /images/graemlins/heart.gif in his hand) 3. to get information. 4. To prevent him from bluffing big. If he raises me here, and it's a very big raise, i typically fold my aces, kings or queens or whatever overpair i have. Correct reasoning?

Now, lets make the board a little more dangerous.

Lets make it

4/images/graemlins/spade.gifQ/images/graemlins/heart.gifT/images/graemlins/heart.gif

Wow this is dangerous. Although a hand like QJ or KQ is the most likely in this scenario, he might hold QT for two pair or a hand like J9, KJ, and any flush draw.

If the "blank" heart drops, i still bet out. But what do i do if the K/images/graemlins/heart.gif, J/images/graemlins/heart.gif or 9/images/graemlins/heart.gif drops?

This could give him the straight, two pair, flush, there's now a whole lot of cards which might beat your aces.

Do you still bet out here to prevent him from bluffing and to get that potential raise which justifies a fold from you?

I find that i'm a little perplexed as to what to do in these situations. Sometimes i bet out. Sometimes i check-fold, sometimes i check-call. Depends on the size of his bet. It really sucks to check-call and then get a bet on the river for more than half my stack. It just makes me feel lost in the hand and when he shows his two-pair, flush, straight, or whatever, i feel like a fish.

Discuss.

[jkkkk]

I think in the first situation you have to bet, if he doesn't have the flush he'll more likely fold than bluff and you definitely don't want the A /images/graemlins/heart.gif drawing for free.

The second situation is more read dependent, but its ugly. Assuming you are HU with the guy, knowing what he draws with is essential. Some people only draw with OESD's when they are HU so that they can use both draws to their advantage, (bluff the flush draw should it hit) others of course will raise this flop with AQ if they have any sense.

The big question is I guess, what do you do with no read?

I would say this depends largely on the texture of the game, If this is 50NL, i'm check folding right here. This might sound weak but I think check-folding is probably going to be your best option at most tables. Against a weak-passive player, I probably bet half pot, the odd's of him having TPWK at this level make it probably +EV.

[amoeba]

This is something where I disagree with the majority of the board.

I dislike betting the turn when the flush completes especially when I'm in position and its checked to me. out of position with villain still to act, I could go either way and its player dependent.

The problem with betting the turn is if you bet something small like 1/2 pot, its pretty much guaranteed that its an info bet and smart villains will checkraise you on the turn with nothing. if you bet more like 2/3 to full pot, you might as well save the money for the inevitable value bet/bluff on the river from villain and go to showdown.

I'm not worried about give A hearts free card as the likelyhood of lone Ah here is very low and the times that this does happen evens out with the times that a 4th heart comes and I can bluff a low flush out of pot or prevent a low flush from betting the river thus saving me money.