Re: Checking in the dark
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The downside is that if you hit a marginal but vulnerable flop, you haven't tested the waters at all. Say there are four people to the flop, including you and the BB. You hold 7-9 off. The board comes up 3-4-7. You have a very vulnerable hand, but you might be ahead. If you don't lead out and bet the top pair, you're giving everyone else a (potentially) free look at the turn. Instead, if you throw out a half-pot bet or similar, you can try to gauge where the rest of the table is at rather than being completely in the dark because LP makes a position bet after everyone folds. Top pair weak kicker on a low board right there is not exactly a good hand to be check-raising with. I'd rather throw out a bet and get a feel for where my opponents are at...
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I would not bet out in your example. From SB, I would not even try and protect top pair/small kicker with four or five callers. I either hope for the free card to make my miracle trips or two pairs or I fold -- maybe I call a very small bet with big implied odds -- probably not.
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