Trouble on the turn

The following type of hand causes me many problems, and I was wondering what many of you do in similar situations:


You are holding T7o in the BB. MP open-limps, LP limper, SB calls, 4 of you take the flop.


Flop: Q-J-J rainbow. Checked around.


Turn: T.


How do you proceed? Obviously, it depends on whether there are slowplayers in the game, but you are in a dubious spot regardless. You may very well have the best hand, and the hand is certainly too weak to give a free card. Also, because of your position, you might allow the fools who call with a K or an A looking for the straight to bluff you out on the river, as it is difficult to call a bet with such a weak holding. How do you proceed? Thanks.


Mike

There are three things to consider, your read, the size of the pot, and your table image. You are not hurt to badly if you let this one go. You risk someone slowplaying Jx or QJ. You might just want to let the fools off the hook this time. Remember, you play to win money, not pots.


On the other hand, if you read your opponents as weak, then by all means bet. Having confidence in your reads is important also.

I'd check and fold in this position.


There are many people who will slow-play trip Jacks and people who will be unwilling to bet with a Queen. You're drawing dead against a Jack and are a huge dog to the Queen.


Even if nobody has a Queen or Jack, you're not in a good position against any other 10 who entered the pot volunarily. They almost certainly have a better kicker than you do.


Check and fold feels wimpy but I think it's the best play.

Your getting 2 to 1 on your money with a bet, go ahead and throw a bet it. Forget about the "reads" unless someone is an absolute movie marquee, its better to be the bettor than the caller. Anyone of the limpers could have a pocket pair lower than 10's and will most likely fire on the turn if you don't. I'd rather bet into a player holding a smaller pocket pair than check and call. Another reason for betting is to get these pairs and overcards to fold.


Remember, often the first one into a multi-way pot with a scary board takes it down. You are in the most likely position to slow play a Jack or a Queen and they have to respect that. If you get called, I would would check call the river.


If you want to send a message to the table, another frisky play would be to check raise the turn and really indicate a slow played Jack.

Check and fold. It's a small pot. You're out of position. You have bottom pair and a weak kicker. There are 3 opponents. The board is straight-coordinated with an over-pair. Wait for a better hand, a better situation, better position.

I agree with Andy primarily because of the texture of the board. If I pair the turn card the board is scattered rainbow, I'm much more likely to bet. Another thing I consider heavily is the FIRST opponent to my left. If he is likely to fold, say, a backdoor open-end straight draw, then I am more likely to bet out, because if the first opponent calls, a snowball effect of caller is more likely.


One way to think about the turn in situations like this is, would you bet out on a pure bluff? If the answer is yes, then the coincidental pairing of the turn card is just enough to tip the scales in favor of betting, especially with a good kicker, since someone pairing the same card will likely give action.


That said, I don't think much is lost by checking the turn, even with a scattered board, in order to check-raise if the last played bets, or, if checked around on the turn, to check again on the river to possibly pick off a bluff.


Tommy

Being that your hand is so weak, and the pot is so small, I would strongly consider checking, even though you may in fact have the best hand. If you get called, you are either beat, or they have a good draw. This being so, you may face a difficult decision on the river. Do you bet again? If so, you will only likely be called if you are beat, and you may get raised, in which case you have to fold. Do you check? If so, your opponent may bet a better hand than yours, or may bluff, but either way you are still in a sticky situation. Because of the difficulty of playing this particular situation, I would not be opposed to just checking the turn, and folding to a bet. If a total blank comes on the river, check-call, you might induce a bluff, but I wouldn't overcall if someone else also called.