[Vee Quiva]

I was sitting in a live 3-6 game earlier this week and this question popped into my head. The players were very passive. I was the only one who would raise preflop and usually there were 3 or 4 people willing to call 2 cold.

I consistently saw showdowns where JJ, QQ, and even KK were not raised or reraised preflop. There was an old man sitting next to me who kept flashing his cards in the middle of the hand. He would consistently check-call, even with top pair. He would only raise on the river if he had the nuts. There were probably a couple of other players playing this passive as well.

The basic strategy I have read is to play tight, wait for solid hands, and value bet. I am wondering if there is a better way.

I briefly read an idea about "schooling" where the other loose players collectively increase their equity by calling too much. Is there a defense against this?

Here's an easy hand example:

I have K-Q on the button. 3 callers and I raise. The blinds come along and everyone else calls so there are 12 small bets in the pot.

The flop: Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. It's checked to me. Now I'm pretty sure I have the best hand right now. However let's say one player has a flush draw and another player has a straight draw (open ended).

If I bet, I am giving everyone at least 13-1 odds. If I check, I am giving them infinite odds. Also bad.

If I check it through and the turn card is harmless, say a 2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Then I can make a better decision about my hand. If there is a late bet, I can raise and give the other draws bad odds to call. If it's checked to me, at least I am giving them 6-1 instead 13-1 or better. Plus I may win more when my hand holds up, because they may not believe I have top pair.

Does this theory hold any water?